The Cleveland Browns recently traded for a wide receiver and have added one in each of the past three NFL drafts, but the time may have come for the franchise to try its hand in free agency.
David Kenyon of Bleacher Report on Sunday, April 28, listed Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tyler Boyd as among the “10 best NFL free agents” still unsigned as of the conclusion of this weekend’s draft
Kenyon mentioned the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles as his top two landing spots for Boyd, however Cleveland makes sense as well at the right price.
Tyler Boyd Has Proven Solid Option for Bengals Over 8-Year NFL Career
The Browns aren’t in any better shape than are the Bengals when it comes to the 2024 salary cap, with approximately $13.6 million in space as of Sunday, according to Over The Cap.
But Cleveland is all in on its current team, which could mean the Browns front office is more willing to engage in an exercise in cap gymnastics to make a deal for a player like Boyd than a franchise such as the Bengals. Cincinnati also wants to win now, but with quarterback Joe Burrow locked up through 2029 and a long-term extension likely on the way for Chase, its winning window figures to be open longer than the current one in Cleveland.
Boyd, who will turn 30 years old in the middle of the upcoming season, played a solid third fiddle for the Bengals over his most recent four-year contract in Cincinnati, which paid him $43 million in total. He caught 271 passes (67.75 per season average) for 3,098 receiving yards (774.5 per season average) and 16 TDs (4 per season average), according to Pro Football Focus.
Spotrac projects his current market value at just shy of $16 million over a new two-year deal (approximately $8 million annually
Tyler Boyd Would Play Similar Role for Browns Behind Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy as He Did for Bengals
The Browns already made a splash move this offseason by trading the Denver Broncos a fourth-round pick and a sixth-rounder, both in 2024, for receiver Jerry Jeudy. Cleveland then extended him to a three-year deal that pays the wideout $52.5 million and keeps him under contract through the 2027 campaign.
The investment was a considerable one on Cleveland’s part, particularly given the fact that current No. 1 receiver and Pro Bowler Amari Cooper is heading into the final year of his deal and will carry a cap hit of nearly $24 million this season. Cooper is a good candidate for an extension this offseason, which would bring down his cap hit in 2024, though injuries at the end of each of the last two campaigns make such a call more precarious.
