Cowboys, Browns talking. This is a tough sell

It’s money. Let’s start with this.

Davante Adams would like to move out of Las Vegas. The invaders would like to have the advantages of splitting the star on the wing.

However, the reason not everyone can be included in trade talks for the three-time All-Pro, and the reason the Raiders may not get the return they expected, comes down to money. Namely, reaching the salary cap of $36.25 million and Adams’ $37.25 million will cost his new team in the 2025 and 2026 seasons, per Over the Cap.

There are ways to reduce that number, but the fact is that there is still a good chunk left on the five-year, $140 million contract extension Adams signed with Las Vegas in 2022. Any team that gets his talent will also get his finances. While the overall impact of this situation can be mitigated through restructuring or even layoffs, it still poses a huge hurdle when considering any transaction.

This is also why the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns, while in need, don’t make much sense as trade partners.

The Jets and Cowboys are among many teams monitoring the Davante Adams situation. The two contacted the Raiders. At this point, I’m told that Vegas is in no rush to make a move until the team meets their asking price, but Adams wants out of the team as soon as possible.

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) October 2, 2024

The New York Jets, the first team mentioned in a report by Dianna Russini of The Athletic, are projected to have a $88 million cap hit in 2025, compared to the projected salary cap for 2025. The Cowboys have a $29 million cap hit. The Browns are -$3.6 million.

Bringing in a player with huge salary obligations is a big challenge for both Dallas and Cleveland. The Cowboys would have an easier time fitting Adams onto the payroll, but a good chunk of that estimated $29 million in 2025 spending will likely go toward a contract extension with Micah Parsons (or maybe not, given the recent negotiations for champion Jerry Jones).

Restructuring the recently signed extensions of CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott could allow Adams to strike a deal with Parsons that would reset the market. This could even create room to re-sign future Hall of Famer and free agent Zack Martin for 2025, but that’s a tough pill to swallow. This would effectively condemn Jones to another poor offseason next winter.

Is Adams really the missing piece in this lineup? From a financial perspective, awarding one or two inexpensive draft picks soon to a 32-year-old winger is a warning sign for a team in need of young talent to support expensive veterans.

Those red flags turn into blaring horns when you factor in the Browns. This isn’t just because Adams would be stuck as the 46th best quarterback in the league heading into 2022. That’s because while Cleveland has over $44 million to spend in 2024, the team’s cap hit for the next two years is blocked by Deshaun Watson, who has a cap hit of $72 million.

Watson, accused of more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct and what the NFL later called “predatory conduct,” is not only a terrible quarterback, but also warrants a $230 million contract extension. The recent restructuring means he will be on the roster, taking up roughly a quarter of the Browns’ cap room until at least 2026, when the dead cap amount on his contract will drop from $99.8 million to $26.8 million. As a result, Cleveland is the only team in the league currently projected to be over the salary cap in both 2025 and 2026. Even the New Orleans Saints, who always play in a leading position, are not in a worse situation.

The good news is that the Browns don’t have the same priority free agents as the Cowboys, although there should be extensions for cornerbacks Greg Newsome II and Martin Emerson. The bad news is that it doesn’t really matter. Watson is struggling even though the Pro Bowl wide receiver is on the wrong side of the 30 players already on the roster. Pairing Adams with Amari Cooper would be nice, but it would also mean throwing money the team doesn’t actually have on a problem that certainly doesn’t seem fixable until Watson’s contract finally expires.

This does not mean that commercial tire kicking causes any harm. Dallas and Cleveland are doing their due diligence. It would be disturbing if they didn’t.

However, an actual deal with Adams is a difficult sell for the Cowboys and an extremely difficult one for the Browns Really cannot afford to accept the future salary. This obviously won’t matter to the Raiders if the trade price is right – but it could create major constraints beyond 2024 for the big-name teams on the other side of the deal.