How? Cutting him isn't an option really.
I see no way that he just voluntarily leaves $100,000,000+ on the table. He'll be back next season.
Yeah, that seems highly unlikely. He's guaranteed through 2026. (salary: 2024 - 1,210,000; 2025 - 46,000,000; 2026 - 46,000,000) He has a full no-trade clause thru 2026. His signing bonus was $44.965 M, so even if he doesn't come back, or is cut, the cap hit on the Browns would be huge (combo of signing bonus and guaranteed salary). For example, in 2025, his cap hit would be $72,935,000, and the dead cap would be $172,770,000. In 2026, his cap hit would be $72,935,000, and the dead cap would be $99,835,000. FWIW, he's going to be a cap hit to the Browns in 2027, even though he'll be a FA. In 2027, his cap hit will be $26,900,000, and the dead cap will also be $26,900,000. The Browns structured things so that his contract is back loaded, so the worse years of the cap hit are in 2025 and 2026. His cap hit numbers and dead cap numbers this season are not nearly as bad as 2025 and 2026 (cap hit: $27,942678; dead cap: $200,712,678)