This week the Cleveland Browns extended the contract of wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. The extension is for 3 years and worth up to $58 million dollars. Once again, the Cleveland Browns make a move, and it has endured much criticism. But when you take an analytical look at this move it makes sense.

On the Saturday before the NFL free agency began, the Cleveland Browns traded their 2024 5th and 6th round draft picks to the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. This move filled a need for the Cleveland Browns for a number 2 receiver. Jeudy was the 15th overall 2020 first round draft pick. His numbers in Denver were not overwhelming. But the Browns believe he can thrive in the right environment. They believe in him so much; the Cleveland Browns reworked his contract.

Over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the Browns restructured the fifth-year option on Jerry Jeudy’ s rookie contract. That move saved over 10 million dollars on the 2024 salary cap for the Cleveland Browns. On the following Tuesday, the Browns signed Jerry Jeudy to a 3-year contract extension. He will be under contract for the next 4 years with the Cleveland Browns. Jeudy will turn 25 years old next month and he is about the be in the prime years of his football career. The contract itself seemed expensive with 41 million dollars guaranteed.

The breakdown of the deal is that the Browns see Jeudy as their next number one receiver. They are without a first-round pick in this year’s draft. And the wide receiver free agency market did not have the quality receiver available to accommodate the need for a receiver this off season. This extension was a move for today and the future. Amari Cooper is on the last year of his contract, and he will turn 30 years old in June. The contract extension for Jeudy seems excessive today. But in four years it will look like a bargain. And it will go down as another strategic move by Andrew Berry.