CLEVELAND — Just prior to kickoff of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, news broke of the Browns locking up a key member of their secondary.
According to multiple reports, Cleveland and safety Grant Delpit are in agreement on a three-year contract extension through 2026. The Orange and Brown Report’s Brad Stainbrook was the first to report the news, adding that the deal is worth an estimated $36 million with just over $23 million guaranteed.
Delpit, currently in the fourth and final year of his rookie deal, has had a bit of an up-and-down career since being drafted in 2020. Notably, he missed what was supposed to be his first season with a torn Achilles, and when he returned in 2021 sometimes struggled to crack the starting lineup.
But since 2022, Delpit has not missed a game while starting all but one, and in 2022 emerged in an otherwise anemic Browns defense with a team-leading 105 tackles and four interceptions. Cleveland’s secondary has greatly improved this year under new coordinator Jim Schwartz, and Delpit has been in the center of it with 74 tackles and a pick along with half a sack and a forced fumble for good measure. Pro Football Focus currently ranks him in the upper half of NFL safeties.
Delpit’s extension means at least half of Cleveland’s starting secondary is locked up for the foreseeable future, with Pro Bowler Denzel Ward also under contract through 2027. Cornerback and former first-round pick Greg Newsome II is also under team control as late as 2025, along with fellow corner Martin Emerson Jr.