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The Cleveland Browns have restructured controversial quarterback Deshaun Watson’s infamously awful contract. Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million deal after being trade to the team from the Houston Texans in 2022.
In 19 games as the Browns’ starting quarterback, Deshaun Watson has a passer rating of 80.7 with 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His record in those 19 games is 9-10. Earlier this season, before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury, Watson completed 63.4% of his passes for 1,148 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions in seven games.
Still, the Browns remain locked into his contract and are trying to find creative ways to work with it, according to The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini.
“The restructure gives the Browns a little breathing room by spreading potential dead money into additional void years. Instead of facing one massive cap hit in 2027 if Watson sticks through ’26, they’ve spread that cost over multiple years. It’s a smart move to manage the cap, but it doesn’t change their long-term commitment to the quarterback.
“That said, while the Browns are financially locked into Watson for the next few seasons, I’ve been told this move doesn’t rule out the possibility of adding competition to the QB room down the line.” [via The Athletic]
Watson’s fully-guaranteed contract means the Browns are on the hook for paying him $92 million for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
“The move signals that Watson is likely to return to Cleveland in 2025 despite his on-field struggles and back-to-back season-ending injuries. The reworked contract adds two void years to the deal, allowing the Browns to push out his dead salary cap into 2030,” reported ESPN.
While Watson, a Heisman trophy and national championship winner at Clemson University, began his career as a Pro Bowl, franchise player quarterback for the Houston Texans, a litany of sexual assault allegations derailed his career and reputation, resulting in his trade to the Browns.
Watson’s stats since joining the team don’t tell the full story, however, as the QB has looked a shell of the Pro Bowl player he was on the Houston Texans, let alone performing like a player worthy of the contract he was given.