Despite salary cap constraints and big contracts, Kevin Stefanski says Browns in "good spot" to keep Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry

The Browns are in an unfamiliar position … and not just because they reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 26 years. For the first time in recent memory, they are forced to deal with salary cap constraints. That's created speculation they won't keep both receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry for 2021, as Beckham is due $15.75 million and Landry $13.25 million. The Browns have given no indication they want to move on from either, and coach Kevin Stefanski said Thursday they can afford both, even though they could take up about 16 percent of the cap. "I think we can, yeah," Stefanski said on ESPN Radio's "Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin" show. "I think you don't want to be so dogmatic about it and say, 'All right, we have to have this number of receivers and this number of tight ends and this running back.' I think you go with what you have and you make sure that you're putting yourself in position to field a competitive roster for a bunch of years moving forward. "So, yeah, I think we're in a good spot. The easy part to say is, 'Hey, just give us more players. Give us three more great players on the offensive side, and give us three players on the defensive side, and we're going to spend this amount on each guy.' I think we have a plan. We'll follow through with that plan." GM Andrew Berry grateful for Baker Mayfield, expects him to have "fantastic" 2021 The biggest factor in the cap crunch is its reduction due to the shortfall in revenues from playing a season in the pandemic. The official cap number hasn't been set, but the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed it can't go below $180 million. It's not expected to be above $185. That's about $25 million below the forecast for 2021 from a year ago. The steep decline will affect every team, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said Wednesday. "Everybody across the league is going to feel that squeeze," he said. "We are not excluded from feeling that effect. Now that all being said, I do think that we are in a healthy position where we can adapt, adjust and continue to improve the team and retain more talent." The Browns will have about $25 million available if the cap comes in at $185 million, ranking 15th in the league, according to spotrac.com. They have room to make a splash in free agency, which begins March 17, but don't have the flexibility of years past. Beckham is always a lightning rod for speculation, and discussion of him being traded won't stop until the trading deadline passes in the fall — and that would only cause a pause. His expensive contract — $12.79 million becomes guaranteed March 19, and the Browns can't cut him because he's rehabbing a torn anterior cruciate suffered Oct. 25 — is reason to consider a trade, if a team wanted him and made a worthy offer, but Berry has been adamant he wants him back. "He is a dynamic player who can be incredibly productive in this system so we are looking forward to getting him back healthy," he said Wednesday. Beckham missed the final nine games after getting hurt early vs. the Bengals and finished with 23 catches for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He's on track to be ready for the season. "He's doing great," Stefanski told Johnson. "He's working really hard. He attacks rehab like I've never seen people do it. Last year, he was rehabbing from a core muscle injury, so this is a totally different injury, but just to see the way he went about it, he exhausts every avenue to get his body right. "And he's just such a freak athlete. It's just amazing to me the process he goes through. So he's working really, really hard, which should surprise no one. I think he's in a great spot, and I'm excited to get him back here." Landry has been to two Pro Bowls in three years with the Browns and established himself as a reliable target and emotional leader. He caught 72 passes for 840 yards and three touchdowns in 2020. Like Beckham, he's 28 years old. Unlike Beckham, he could be cut with the Browns taking only a $3 million cap hit. "He played really well for us last year. He is one of our team leaders. Unfortunately, I do not follow him on Twitter," Berry said, referring to a recent Landry tweet about a door closing and another opening. "We like Jarvis a lot." So the Browns believe they can succeed by bringing back the starting wideouts and best friends for a second season in Stefanski's system and with an improving Baker Mayfield at quarterback. The Browns don't want to shed talent as they try to reach the franchise's first Super Bowl. "Ultimately as coaches, we'll make it work with whatever we go to," Stefanski said. "And I say that because sometimes you have a season, I've been a part of some teams in the past where you had four great receivers, so you molded your offense to that, or you had three great tight ends, and you molded your offense to that. So that's our job as coaches to take what we have on our roster and make sure we're maximizing everybody's talents." The receiver money discussion doesn't end with the starters. Rashard Higgins is set to become a free agent March 17 and could command $6 million a year on the open market after re-signing a year ago for the veteran minimum of $910,000. The Browns might not be willing to go that high, especially for a third receiver, but both sides want to work out a deal. Higgins told "The Next Level" on ESPN Cleveland WKNR (850-AM) on Feb. 26 he had been waiting for a contract offer. "Tell Andrew to send the papers, and I'm signing wherever I've got to sign," he said. "That's all I've got to say." Berry appeared on "The Next Level" on Friday and was asked about Higgins' remark. "My reaction to that is, look, we really love Rashard," Berry said. "I know he knows that. I've said it before, and everybody knows that publicly. I think we all know that he's a great individual. He's a good player. "We'd love to have him back. I won't go into any specifics regarding discussions or anything along those lines. But free agency, it can be difficult. We'll work through that with him and his reps. But, look, there are a ton of Rashard Higgins fans in this building, and I'm certainly one of them."