The Browns and contract-year wide receiver Terrelle Pryor began extension talks in October, but the two are unlikely to strike a deal by the end of the regular season, reports Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. The club will have until March 9 to either extend Pryor or place the franchise tag (worth nearly $16MM) on him; otherwise, he could hit the open market and head elsewhere. There’s motivation to get a deal done on Pryor’s end, though, as he has offered effusive praise for the organization multiple times this year.
Cleveland has shuffled through five different quarterbacks en route to an 0-13 record, but that hasn’t prevented the 27-year-old Pryor from breaking out as the top target in its aerial attack. The former Ohio State and Raiders QB leads the Browns in catches (63), targets (116), yards (858) and receiving touchdowns (four). As a result, the 6-foot-4, 223-pounder stands to cash in as arguably one of the two best wideouts (alongside Alshon Jeffery) on track to reach the market. The Browns should be able to stop Pryor from becoming a free agent, however, as they’re set to enter the offseason with upward of $64MM in cap space.
By locking up Pryor, the Browns would at least leave open the possibility of using the ~$14.8MM franchise tag on another important soon-to-be free agent in linebacker Jamie Collins. There’s no word on whether the Browns and Collins have engaged in contract talks yet, but they do hope to keep him, according to Cabot. Since the Patriots sent Collins to Cleveland in a stunning late-October trade, the 27-year-old has piled up 49 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in five games. Between Collins’ overall work with the two clubs this year, he ranks 29th among Pro Football Focus’ 110 qualified edge defenders.
Collins, who turned down an $11MM-per-annum extension from the Pats before they traded him, is reportedly aiming to top the $12.36MM average annual value Panthers superstar linebacker Luke Kuechly received on a five-year, $62MM extension in September 2015. That’s not an unrealistic goal for Collins, as he also has a track record of excellence and should benefit from the NFL’s ever-increasing salary cap. When Kuechly inked his deal, the cap ceiling was just over $143MM. By next season, that figure will sit between $166MM and $170MM.
I have no faith in this team. I expect both players to be playing for different teams next season.
Unfortunately I see the Browns messing up contract talks with both… but one of them will get the franchise tag.
I love this team.