Browns Make Major Deshaun Watson Contract Move

Deshaun Watson's contract is perhaps one of the most polarizing talking points with the Cleveland Browns. The quarterback was given a massive $240 million fully-guaranteed contract when he was traded to the team.

Almost immediately after that extension was announced, fans were immediately concerned about the Browns' cap situation. Will Cleveland still have cap flexibility when they've given a large guaranteed contract to one player?

Well, Cleveland is still finding ways to clear cap space, and then some. One way they're doing that is by restructuring the very contract that fans feared would cause issues. On Thursday, the Browns restructured Watson's contract, per Field Yates.

"The Browns have restructured the contract of QB Deshaun Watson, converting $44.79M of his 2024 base salary into a signing bonus and creating $35.832M in cap space, per source," Yates said.

With that move, the Browns now have the most cap space in the NFL with $62 million.

This cap space will certainly be useful if the Browns decide to make any major trades this offseason. That extra cap space can be used to take on new contributors to a playoff run or to take on some contracts for draft picks if they struggle.

As for where that cap space will go, they will most likely be added to the cap hit Watson's contract will have for the next two seasons. The Browns are basically pushing back paying Watson's contract for more flexibility.

The hope is that Watson holds up his end of the deal and performs like the star they paid him to be. Because if he continues his struggles from the last two years... there will be a lot of talks about Deshaun and the Browns' decision to give him that contract.