I’ve written before, here and elsewhere, that having four quarterbacks on an NFL depth chart isn’t the same as having four on a 53-man roster. And we’ve already addressed how the Browns could manage their crowded room. Now we’ll see what that looks like financially.

In April, Joe Flacco signed a contract with Cleveland technically worth more than $11 million potentially. The Dawgs would need to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl with General Joe driving the tank the entire year and be an All Pro — which he obviously would be if it happened — while doing so.

That of course isn’t the expectation for the money or for the season. Flacco’s guaranteed money for the one-year deal is $3 million. The total value of his “likely to be earned” incentives (meaning those conditions were met last season) is $1.25 million.

So his cap hit is the combined total of those figures: $4.25 million. This is the relative expectation for the front office (and the agent) to consider in the short term.

The current structure of the contract contains many incentives relating to playing time, wins and roster status. Many are termed “not likely to be earned” (meaning those conditions weren’t met last season) which is a way to avoid those bonuses counting toward this year’s salary cap.

Per-game roster bonuses count at the time they’re earned if NLTBE. Other NLTBE bonuses are paid when/if earned but are applied via an adjustment to the cap sheet for the following league year.

So what is the impact on Flacco’s money and Cleveland’s cap table if he’s released? We’re headed there now in the conclusion: Part 4.

—@PoisonPill4