The Browns and veteran quarterback Deshaun Watson have agreed to recent terms on his fully guaranteed $230MM contract, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The brand new terms don’t affect the amount of cash Watson will receive over the ultimate two years of the deal but will impact Cleveland’s cap commitment over the subsequent several seasons.
In accordance with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Watson’s income won’t be affected. In signing the reworked deal, Watson just isn’t taking a pay cut from the remaining funds because of him. Over the subsequent two seasons, Watson is ready to earn $46MM per yr. What the brand new contract does do is move a few of the cap hit from the deal into recent voidable years. The deal before today already had two void years tacked on after the contract ends in 2027, and with today’s updates, the deal will now have a complete of 4 void years.
Seemingly, what this move indicates, is that Cleveland has not yet given up on Watson as their franchise quarterback. Despite how disastrous the contract has worked out towards this purpose to this point, the Browns appear to be saying that Watson should return next yr because the team’s starting quarterback. His contract has him set without spending a dime agency following the 2026 season, meaning he may very well be the Browns’ passer for each years.
4 years ago, this wouldn’t have gave the impression of a nasty deal. After a formidable rookie season, wherein Watson threw for 19 touchdowns in just six starts, was cut short because of injury, the young quarterback out of Clemson delivered three straight Pro Bowl seasons for the Texans, leading the league in passing yards in his final yr with the team.
His fifth-year option was exercised, but Watson became disgruntled with the front office and training staff, resulting in a trade request. In the course of the contract and trade negotiations, a variety of sexual harassment allegations emerged, draping Watson in controversy. Between the contract issues and allegations, Watson would sit out the complete 2021 season. Despite missing a yr and being plagued with potential for suspension, the Browns sent a large draft package in exchange for Watson and signed him to the most important, most-guaranteed contract in NFL history.
The allegations resulted in an 11-game suspension to start his Browns’ tenure. Within the two seasons since, Watson has missed a complete of 21 games with injury. His short healthy spurt in 2023 saw him go 5-1 in six starts, while a seven-game stretch this season saw him go 1-6. To this point, Cleveland’s massive investment has resulted in 19 starts and a 9-10 record. Luckily, as most teams are wont to do, the Browns insured Watson’s contract in order that they receive some cap relief for his missed time.
Together with spreading out a few of the cap impact, the Browns’ recent take care of Watson should make the impact of cutting him a bit easier, should they decide to achieve this. On his previous deal, Watson would’ve represented $119MM in dead money if cut as a post-June 1 release before the 2025 season. Similarly, the number would scale back only to $73MM before 2026. Theoretically, those numbers should reduce under the brand new terms.
Ensuring that Watson comes back next yr doesn’t mean the team won’t address the position within the offseason, though. The team is reportedly doing their research on secondary options to compete with Watson and fill in in case of further injury issues. There’s actually a likelihood that the secondary quarterback may very well be Jameis Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson, though Winston is ready to hit free agency, but a quarterback within the draft is actually an option, as well. For now, though, the adjusted contract sets the table for Watson to return because the 2025 starter.
