BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Safety Grant Delpit signed his three-year, $48 million extension with the Cleveland Browns on Thursday.
The two sides agreed to the extension on Wednesday right before the first practice of training camp. General manager Andrew Berry told Delpit that everything was completed right as individual drills were about to start.
“It says a lot to make it to this third contract and to be locked in for the long haul,” Delpit said before Thursday's
practice. “I knew it could probably happen at any moment, but AB came jogging on the field and told me it was done and that if I wanted to practice, they’d honor my deal since I had not signed yet.”
The 27-year old Delpit is going into his seventh season in Cleveland after being a second-round draft pick in 2020. He had 80 tackles, three sacks and an interception last season. Delpit had a career-high 108 tackles in 2024, which led the Browns defense.
“It’s a young team, man. And I feel like I’m not old. I’ve just been here for a little while,” he said.
Delpit's extension includes $35 million guaranteed and followed cornerback Denzel Ward signing a two-year extension worth $62.2 million — including $52.3 million guaranteed — on Wednesday.
Both Ward and Delpit will be under contract through the 2029 season.
They will be part of a new-look defense after the departure of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and the trade of AP Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams.
“Those guys are still really good players, playing at a high level, and like I said yesterday, the money isn’t for what they’ve done, it’s for what we anticipate. We still anticipate them playing at a very high level, or you don’t give them extensions,” coach Todd Monken said.
Defensive end Jared Verse, whom the Browns got for Garrett, continues to make an early impact. There could be more upgrades coming to the defensive line after free agent Jadeveon Clowney visited on Wednesday. Clowney played for the Browns in 2021 and ’22 and had 8 1/2 sacks for Dallas last season.
“Watching his film from college and everything like that, that’s one of the biggest reasons I even wanted to play on the defensive line,” Verse said. "So having that dude in the room would be monumental for me. But I will say having that vet presence is probably even bigger than just my personal honor of him. Having that vet presence, someone that’s been around the game, someone that can teach you things like that. That’s why I went to the Sack Summit (earlier this month in Las Vegas) to be around Von Miller, Max Crosby, all these high-end rushers because you can learn so much from them."
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