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Browns' $62.2M extension for five-time Pro Bowl CB called 'unforced error' by ESPN originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Browns traded away Myles Garrett this offseason in a blockbuster move, and after such a stunning deal, a few of their other veterans could've been on the move.
But, just as the Browns signed Grant Delpit to a contract extension, five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward also got a massive new contract extension.
However, ESPN's Seth Walder was clearly not a fan, calling this $62.2 million extension for the five-time Pro Bowler an "unforced error," as he believes the Browns should not have made such a massive deal for Ward.
Browns' Denzel Ward extension called 'unforced error' by ESPN
"The Browns handed Ward, one of their defensive pillars, a two-year extension worth $31.1 million per year to keep him in Cleveland through 2029. But it's not a deal I would have made," Walder writes. "... But even if 2024 was a blip, Ward's age and the team's contractual control make this deal an unforced error."
Cleveland lost Garrett, but decided to extend Ward to a big new extension that runs through the 2029 season.
It's a big new deal, and one that Walder would not have made if he had been the one in charge. He explained why, and it's an understandable gripe for why he was not a big fan of the deal.
"Ward is 29 years old and, critically, had two years left on his contract (at a reasonable $20.25 million per year)," Walder writes. I would not have been in a rush to add more money to secure his rights in his age-31 and age-32 seasons."
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As good as Ward has been in his career, the 29-year-old cornerback hasn't been as good as he once was. Even though 2025 was his third-straight season with a Pro Bowl nod, and he allowed a solid 88.1 passer rating, compared to his previous career marks, it wasn't great.
In 2024, Ward allowed a 92.8 passer rating, the worst of his career. It was an alarming jump, as he had a 56.2 passer rating allowed in 2023, preceded by a 76.4 in 2022, a 76.6 in 2021, a 78.3 in 2020, a 62.2 in 2019, and a 72.8 in his rookie 2018 season.
Ward has gotten worse in recent seasons, and the Browns just paid him top-of-the-market money for a cornerback. He's a good player still, but not at the elite level he was playing at during the first six seasons of his career.
Walder is concerned that the Browns paid Ward more than they had to, though, with the star cornerback holding out of practice, and the fanbase still reeling from the Garrett trade, it put Andrew Berry in a bit of a tough spot for what to do.
Still, this is a major risk for the Browns, and could come back to haunt them if Ward can't get back on track in 2026 as one of the NFL's elite cornerbacks. If he regresses further or doesn't improve significantly, this $62.2 million extension will look a lot worse.
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