Chomps
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- Mar 18, 2019
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The full economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on the NFL remains to be seen, but it is likely going to be significant whether there are any fans in the stands for games this year or not.
A drop in revenues would put an end to the long stretch of salary cap increases and a lower cap will force teams to change some of their plans when it comes to signing players. The Browns have some key players coming up on new contracts, including defensive end Myles Garrett, and their vice president of player personnel Glenn Cook said on Thursday that the team has been taking everything into account as they plot a course forward.
“All of that goes into play when we’re talking about any of these moves that we’re looking to make, whether it’s extensions, signing free agents, possibly trades or even going into . . . 2021 and 2022,” Cook said, via Cleveland.com. “It does somewhat change what our overall plan is and we actually initially did have some conversations around that just in terms of team planning — not specific to Myles — and just what that looks like given what COVID was saying in February, March or going into the next year. Yes, you do think about that with all the moves we make and all the decisions that may come into play now and into the season.”
Cook said the team still wants to have Garrett on hand “for a long time,” but the timing and structure of that deal and others may wind up looking different than they would under normal circumstances.