Jamar Taylor earns 3-year, $15 million contract extension with Browns

On Saturday, the Cleveland Browns made the following statement, announcing that they’ve signed starting cornerback Jamar Taylor to a three-year contract extension:

“Jamar has been a really good addition to our secondary and we are happy to come to an agreement with him on an extension,” said Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown. “He's an extremely hard worker and has shown true perseverance throughout his NFL career. His veteran presence and flexible skill set that allows him to function at nickel and corner has proved to be a valuable asset to our team. Jamar is a solid performer that has made some nice plays for us over the course of season and we look forward to him contributing to Browns victories in the future.”

Here is what we know about the deal, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer:

• Overall, it’s a 3-year extension worth $15 million.
• Includes a $3 million signing bonus.
• The deal includes $10.05 million over the first two years.

Based on that information, Taylor’s cap hit in 2019 should be $4.95 million ($3.95 million base, $1 million signing bonus). We can’t say for certain about the cap hits in 2017 and 2018, since Cabot only specified $10.05 million over the span of the first two years.

This should almost certainly spell the end of Tramon Williams’ career in Cleveland. Williams is set to make $7.5 million against the cap in 2017, but if Cleveland cuts him this offseason, they will only owe him $500,000. That significantly lessens any burden one might foresee on Taylor’s deal.

What about Terrelle Pryor and Jamie Collins? Those deals will take a lot more back-and-forth negotiating, given that they are top-tier players. Taylor was a guy who revived his career in Cleveland enough to be a reliable player, so the team can get better value with his contract and compel him to sign on the dotted line now as opposed to risking getting much less in free agency.