Browns renegotiate Olivier Vernon’s contract

Posted by Darin Gantt on July 7, 2020, 9:50 AM EDT
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If the Browns want to continue their pursuit of free agent defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, they have a little more flexibility.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Browns have renegotiated Olivier Vernon‘s contract.

Vernon was previously set to make $15.25 million, non-guaranteed, this season.

Now, he gets a $7 million signing bonus, a guaranteed $3.75 million base salary, and a $250,000 workout bonus. There’s also $2 million available in incentives.

Vernon’s entering the final year of the contract they acquired in a deal with the Giants. He had 3.5 sacks in 10 games last year. Clowney hasn’t appeared particularly interested in the Browns’ advances, so now they at least have a known commodity opposite Myles Garrett.

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5 responses to “Browns renegotiate Olivier Vernon’s contract”

  1. Vernon is a better value on the dollar compared to whatever Clowney is asking for. Clowney is good, but not great. He wants premium money. I like this value play.

    Granted its not my money and I’d be glad to have Clowney on the roster at pretty much any price, but from a financial standpoint this makes sense.

  2. He should be ecstatic to be making that much. $15.25 million?????? It’s like paying $500 for a donut.

  3. They already had him under contract. I’m surprised they were able to squeeze him so low. He probably couldn’t get $10 million from another team this late in the offseason.

  4. root4cleveland says:
    July 7, 2020 at 11:11 am
    Vernon is a better value on the dollar compared to whatever Clowney is asking for. Clowney is good, but not great. He wants premium money. I like this value play.

    Granted its not my money and I’d be glad to have Clowney on the roster at pretty much any price, but from a financial standpoint this makes sense.
    ________________

    Agreed 100%. They are both essentially the same player – great against the run but inconsistent pass rushers, and both show up on the injury report more often than their coaches would prefer.

    If the choice is to pay Clowney $20 million or OV $10 million, I’d take Vernon. However, I don’t think it makes much sense to roster both players, especially if they expect to have Garrett back in the fold.

  5. Browns turn $15.25M into $11M plus incentives. Must have been a ‘take it or be cut’ scenario. Vernon’s people knew that, after last year, he wouldn’t sniff 11 on the market. Smart move by both parties. Earn that next contract OV! I don’t think the $7M signing bonus counts against the (fake) cap either.

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