Cleveland Browns sign CB DeCarlos Nicholson

DeCarlos Nicholson's three-year, $3.1M deal earns a C+ Contract Value Index (CVI) — a fair market signing that lands firmly in the realm of minimum-range depth rather than meaningful investment. At a $1.04M AAV with just $40K guaranteed, this is essentially a roster-filler contract, the kind Cleveland routinely cycles through at the bottom of a cornerback depth chart to fill out a 53-man roster and provide special teams bodies. There is no production data in hand to suggest Nicholson profiles as anything more than a replacement-level contributor at this stage of his career, and at this price point, the Browns aren't betting the farm — they're adding a warm body with positional flexibility and a pulse. The near-zero guaranteed money is the loudest signal here: the front office can walk away from this deal at virtually no cost, which makes the CVI a wash in either direction — there's no downside if he doesn't stick, and modest upside if he outperforms his price tag. For a Browns team sitting at 5-12 and navigating an offseason with 109 days until the regular season kicks off, moves like this are infrastructure maintenance, not franchise-shaping transactions. The sentiment around Cleveland has trended upward from D- to C- over the past 30 days, and while Nicholson's signing won't move that needle, it reflects a front office methodically filling depth at a position of need without burning cap space. Reasonable, low-risk, and appropriately priced — nothing more.