The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Per report, Browns to release TE Hooper
Tight end Austin Hooper will be released by the Browns after the June 1designation, per reports. Browns also cut WR Jarvis Landry on March 15 as part of their roster cuts.
Whack! Whack! Whack! The Browns’ plan to trim expendable players to save salary cap room has claimed another victim.
March 16, news broke of another player getting his walking papers.
Tight end Austin Hooper is being released with a June 1 designation. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN was first to report the move.
The Browns released wide receiver Jarvis Landry on March 14 and a day later sent starting center JC Tretter packing.
The June 1 designation is a method NFL teams use to spread out the salary cap hit of a player it releases. In Hooper’s case, the Browns carry a cap hit of $13.5 million until June 1. After June 1, they would free up $9.5 million of cap space, according to Spotrac.com.
For the Browns, an offseason decision at tight end came down to choosing between Hooper and David Njoku. General Manager Andrew Berry chose to go with Njoku when he gave the 2017 first-round draft pick the franchise tag of $10.931 million. Njoku caught 36 passes for 475 yards and four touchdowns last season. He started 11 games — five fewer than Hooper.
There was no way the Browns were going to tie up roughly $24.5 million of their salary cap on two tight ends, so Hooper was the odd man out.
The Browns signed Hooper to a four-year, $42 million contract in 2020 — the first year Berry was general manager and Kevin Stefanski head coach in the current regime.
Hooper caught 75 passes with the Falcons in 2019. Stefanski arrived in Cleveland with a reputation of featuring tight ends. Hooper seemed like a perfect fit, but it turned out not to be.
Hooper caught 46 passes for 435 yards and four touchdowns in 2020 and 38 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns last season. He dropped six passes in 2021 — 10% of the times he was targeted — which tied for most drops in the league by tight ends, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Browns saved $15 million on the cap when they released Landry. They saved an additional $8.235 million by releasing Tretter.
The Browns would trim $18,858,000 more off the cap if they trade quarterback Baker Mayfield.