How do the Browns overcome the $230,000,000 Deshaun Watson problem?Here’s a list of all the exit plans Cleveland could explore:
Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns lead a messy life. The situation between the quarterback and the franchise was strange.
Watson has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, but was benched by Kevin Stefanski when he returned from a head injury in Week 7.
Obviously, the Browns won’t get the desired return from the deal with the Houston Texans because they signed him to a fully guaranteed contract. With Deshaun Watson struggling to regain his former glory and the team at 4-2, could Cleveland try to get rid of him?
Let’s look at some possibilities.
Can the Browns get rid of Deshaun Watson?
In theory, this was impossible.
Make no mistake: The Browns absolutely ripped the bag when they offered him a five-year fully guaranteed contract worth $230. He was suspended after a full season, and an impending suspension could keep him out even longer.
They had to get creative with the salary cap to sign such a deal. His cap hit for the 2022 season is low at just under $10 million, but he still needs to take $64 million of the salary cap from 2024 through 2026, which is his cap hit.
It applies to every player in league history for one year.
If the Cleveland Browns release Deshaun Watson after the 2023 season, they will have $200 million in dead cap space through the 2024 season.
This is literally impossible, so don’t waste your time on an opportunity that will never happen .
If the Cleveland Browns trade Deshaun Watson after the 2023 season, they will have to pay him $63 million in the 2024 season, but there is no penalty after that.
If you trade him after Season 1, you’ll have to pay $18 million in the 2024 season and $45 million in the 2025 season.
But that won’t happen either.
Not even a quarterback-starved team like the Atlanta Falcons would sign such a contract with Watson’s current production.
If the Cleveland Browns restructure Deshaun Watson’s contract after the 2023 season, they can be as creative as they want.
Moving the base salary to a signing bonus may make things easier in 2024, but the cap will be much higher in 2025 and 2026.
One possible option is to restructure the contract and add a gap year, spreading the signing bonus over multiple years, allowing the team to explore a variety of trade options while freeing up less cap space in future years.
But this is a risky strategy.
The New Orleans Saints have overused this cap manipulation for a long time.
The situation may seem a little confusing, but there is no easy way for the Cleveland Browns to waive Deshaun Watson. They got into this mess with a fully guaranteed contract and now they have to deal with the consequences.
