With the 2024 Cleveland Browns season officially wrapped up, this marks the end to the worst Browns season in my lifetime.

Yes, I was around for 1-31 and the 0-16 season of 2017 but when you factor in the expectations, the record payroll and the way the media hyped up this team, the 3-14 record was an embarrassment and a disappointment.

So now if you’re a Browns fan and you’re asking what is coming next? Well here’s what to expect this coming offseason

Coaching Staff Changes

We know that Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry are likely safe barring Jimmy Haslam doing Jimmy Haslam-type things but it feels like the owner of the Browns is confident in the people he hired in 2020 and gave out contract extensions to last summer.

Changes to Coach Stefanski’s coaching staff should be coming and all eyes are on a select few:

• Offensive Coordinator Ken Dorsey
• Offensive Line Coach Andy Dickerson
• Special Teams Coordinator Bubba Ventrone (if Mike Vrabel gets a head coaching job)

The offensive staff and scheme changes from a year ago did not turn out the way the organization planned to help try and make things easier for Deshaun Watson and to help justify the controversial trade that hasn’t paid dividends.

Regardless of what you think of Stefanski after this season, everybody knows how successful his offense was prior to Watson’s arrival and at times when Watson has been sidelined due to injury or suspension with Jacoby Brissett, Joe Flacco, and Jameis Winston.

If they revert back to Stefanski‘s scheme, there’ll need to be some adjustments personnel wise on the roster including the offensive line and adding some depth at running back and tight end but the team has the resources in free agency and the draft to make that happen.

The Myles Garrett Situation

One of the biggest storylines this offseason will be the future of Myles Garrett.

He is eligible to sign an extension and should he remain with the Browns, there’s no doubt that he’ll be signing an extension making him the highest paid defensive player in the league.

The problem is whether or not the 2023-24 NFL Defensive Player of the Year will want to remain with the Cleveland Browns after he told the media that he was waiting to see and hear from the organization what their plan was moving forward and that he is focused on winning and not undergoing a rebuild.

My opinion is Garrett is more or less wanting to know what the team’s plan is at the quarterback position and more importantly what their plans are with Watson.

If the team remains committed to Watson to try and justify the trade or because they really think Watson still gives them the best chance to win, then it wouldn’t come as a surprise that Garrett requests a trade out of Cleveland. Now the Browns don’t have to accommodate him because he’s under contract but because of how they’ve treated situations like that in the past, the Browns would likely accommodate him and trade him for a haul of draft picks that would subsequently start a rebuild of the franchise.

Free Agency and The Draft

Despite what the national media says about how much of an albatross the Deshaun Watson contract is and yes, I understand the dead cap money that’s coming down the pipeline but as long as Jimmy Haslam is the owner and as long as there’s not another global pandemic, the Cleveland Browns will be okay when it comes to putting a competitive, talented roster.

The Browns currently sit $17.3 million over the cap for next season but will have $43.3 million worth of rollover cap that will go into that number so realistically, the team will start with at least $26 million in cap space.

Restructuring Watson’s contract along with Denzel Ward’s could create an additional $44.9 million in cap space. Making Jedrick Wills’ void year a Post June 1-designation would create an additional $8.7 million in space on June 2.

So the Browns will have cap flexibility once again and will be able to fill holes on the roster via free agency, who they can target in free agency will be much clearer in early March.

With the Browns’ loss on Saturday, their return to the first round of the draft officially clinched a spot in the Top 3.

If New England and/or Tennessee win on Sunday, the Browns will have a top 2 pick or potentially the first overall selection.

Should the Browns be enamored with Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, they can take either quarterback and begin the process of a post-Deshaun Watson era with their potential new franchise quarterback.

If they don’t like either option, there’s several potential blue chip prospects like Colorado’s Travis Hunter, Penn State’s Abdul Carter, or either of Michigan’s defensive threats, cornerback Will Johnson or defensive tackle Mason Graham.

And there’s always the possibility of the Browns trading the pick to a team like Las Vegas, either New York team or New Orleans who’d want to move up to secure a quarterback.

Needless to say it’s going to be an eventful offseason once again for the Cleveland Browns and it’s an offseason they can’t afford to screw up.