Chomps
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- Mar 18, 2019
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With the draft out of the way, teams can move on to making decisions about exercising the fifth-year options on their 2017 first-round picks.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that the Browns have made calls on both of the players they selected that year. Cabot reports that they have exercised the options on defensive end Myles Garrett and tight end David Njoku.
The salaries for those options will be guaranteed in the case of injury only. This is the final year where that will be the case as the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will make the salaries guaranteed when the options are exercised for members of the 2018 draft class and for the years that follow.
In Garrett’s case, that salary will be equal to the transition tag for defensive ends. Njoku’s salary will be the average of the 3rd-25th best-paid tight ends.
While Garrett’s 2019 season ended in ugly fashion, it is no surprise that the team has moved to retain contractual control over the first overall pick from 2017. Njoku’s situation was a little less certain after the team signed Austin Hooper as a free agent this offseason, but the Browns can still change their mind if they don’t see what they want from him this year.