Despite dealing with a season-ending injury to Nick Chubb and starting five different starting quarterbacks, the Cleveland Browns persevered, finishing 11-6 and earning a playoff berth for the first time since 2021 and just the second time in the last 22 seasons.

The good news for the franchise is that it does not face many major departures in the offseason. Unfortunately, Cleveland enters the offseason at $20.6 million over the salary cap for 2024 and it will take some serious cost-cutting to get below that line before the season begins. As the team faces some difficult decisions moving forward, here are four cut candidates for the Browns this offseason.

Elijah Moore (Wide Receiver)

Elijah Moore has an affordable $1.8 million salary for the 2024 NFL season, but his uncertain future in Cleveland could lead to a premature exit. Moore is in the final year of the rookie deal he signed with the New York Jets and will command a sizeable contract on the free-agent market next season. The Browns currently have the sixth-lowest cap space in the NFL for 2024, and if they believe that Moore is expendable, then he could be a cap casualty.

Moore had 59 catches for 640 yards in 2023, though his catch percentage of just 56.7% was among the worst in the league. That production is easily replaceable, making Elijah Moore a cut candidate this offseason.

Nick Chubb, Browns

Nick Chubb (Running Back)

Few rushers have been more effective in recent years than Nick Chubb. The Browns running back averaged better than 90 rushing yards per game between 2019 and 2022 before suffering a gruesome leg injury in Week 2 of the 2023 season. Chubb will reportedly be back at some point in 2024, but is Cleveland willing to take that risk?

Chubb is entering his seventh NFL season and is also in the final year of his contract. The Browns owe their star running back $15.8 million for 2024 but would eat just $4 million in dead cap should they choose to cut Chubb. This move would not make Browns fans happy, but given his injury and the team's salary cap situation, keeping Nick Chubb is a bigger risk than letting him go.

Amari Cooper (Wide Receiver)

If the Browns decide to keep Chubb, that means the team will need to find other ways to free up cap space. Unfortunately, that means a tradeoff between saving money and getting rid of talented players. Wide receiver Amari Cooper is coming off the most productive season of his career in 2024, catching 72 passes for 1,250 yards and five touchdowns — earning him his first Pro Bowl nod since 2019 and his seventh overall.

But, Cooper will be 30 years old when the 2024 season kicks off and carries a cap hit of more than $23 million, the second-highest on the team. Cutting Cooper after June 1 saves the team $20 million, leaving just over $3 million in dead cap this season. This move would certainly rub Browns fans the wrong way, which is why cutting Nick Chubb is the more likely outcome.

Joel Bitonio (Guard)

These cuts do not get any easier. Releasing Amari Cooper frees up almost every dollar of cap space currently keeping Cleveland in the red. Cutting Chubb still leaves the franchise in a shortfall of about $5 million. The Browns have several salaries exceeding that amount in 2024, with four of them being on the offensive line.

Cutting one of their veteran offensive lineman would get Cleveland under the cap but still leaves the team in solid position across the offensive front. Joel Bitinio is the oldest of the group at 32 but is also the most decorated with six straight Pro Bowls. The Browns would save $6.5 million by cutting Bitonio after June 1 and they would eat less than half of his $12.1 million cap hit in 2024. Again, this is a tough decision, but Cleveland has to find ways to get under the cap.