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The Browns made history when they acquired Deshaun Watson prior to the 2022 season. Not only did Cleveland trade three first-round picks to add the quarterback, but they immediately signed him to an unprecedented fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
Two years later, the partnership hasn’t exactly gone as planned.
Watson’s 2022 debut was always going to have an asterisk after the veteran missed the first 11 games due to suspension for an alleged pattern of sexual misconduct. But he had career-worst production in the games that followed, completing just 58% of his throws in a six-game stretch. Things have only gotten muddier since, with Watson sandwiching sloppy performances between injury-related absences; he barely stayed on the field for six games in 2023, and just opened 2024 with another mercurial effort in defeat.
The Watson who once looked like a long-term face of the NFL has been mostly invisible. Only 10 quarterbacks currently make more money per year, and three of them have either won NFL MVP or appeared in a Super Bowl. It’s only fair if Browns fans are wondering: Is it possible to get out of Watson’s controversial contract? Is it even feasible for Cleveland to look ahead at quarterback?
Impact of cutting Watson before deal expires
The short answer is: Not yet. If the Browns were to outright release Watson after 2024, per Over the Cap, they’d instantly lose $99.8 million, or roughly 36% of the entire projected 2025 salary cap. That cannot and will not happen. Even if they were to designate him a post-June 1 cut, the net loss would be $46 million — also unfathomable. Barring a complete and total restructure on Watson’s end (which seems highly unlikely, considering his representation specifically negotiated a fully guaranteed deal that even included workarounds for his 2022 suspension), the soonest the Browns could cut Watson without losing tens of millions is 2026, the…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/deshaun-watson-contract-can-browns-get-out-of-struggling-quarterbacks-record-deal-exploring-the-options/
Author : Cody Benjamin
Publish date : 2024-09-11 14:42:29
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