Myles Garrett restructures contract to help Cleveland Browns open up more salary cap room

The Browns have yet again opened up cap space this season by restructuring the contract of one of their best players.

First it was All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio late last week. Now, a league source confirmed to the Beacon Journal the team and All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett have also restructured his deal.

ESPN's Field Yates was the first to report.

The restructuring frees up $12.868 million in cap space for the upcoming season. Bitonio's restructuring freed up nearly $7.9 million in cap room.

The Browns now have close to $34 million in cap space for this season. According to Yates, it's the most in the NFL.

The cap room allows the Browns to manage their cap better, the possibility to roll it over to handle the increasing cap hit of quarterback Deshaun Watson's salary. Watson is scheduled to be close to a $64 million cap hit next year, barring another contract restructuring as he went through just before free agency began in March.

Garrett originally signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension in 2020. He was originally slated to make a guaranteed salary of $17.25 million this season with a cap hit of $29,176,120, according to OverTheCap.com.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett restructures contract to help Browns open up cap room