Browns Restructure Deshaun Watson's Contract, Create Cap Space

Along with trimming the regular season roster down to the final 53, the Cleveland Browns have done some additional trimming.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson's contract has been restructured to create about $35 million in salary cap space. The deal also increases future cap commitments on the five-year contract he signed back in 2022.

The former Clemson Tiger and Houston Texan will now play at a cap number of $72.9 million in 2025 and 2026, while the deal also moves dead money in 2027 to about $27 million.

Watson's original $230 million deal had allowances in it for this, so it's nothing out of the ordinary or that wasn't planned two seasons ago.

The move gives the Browns a league-high $62 million in cap space, allowing for signings this season to improve the roster But for next season, the team is already listed by Spotrac.com at close to $62 million over the cap.

The Browns didn't just trim the quarterback salary for this season, they also trimmed the quarterback room.

Early on Thursday, the team announced the release of Tyler Huntley.

As the preseason came to a close, the backup quarterback position was pretty much locked down by former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and New Orleans Saint Jameis Winston.

Related: Browns Release QB, Trim Roster to 3

But these days - as Cleveland experienced last year - you need more than two. And behind Winston were Dorian Thompson-Robinson and former Baltimore Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley.

Winston was signed this offseason to a one-year, $4 million deal to sit on the bench and anticipate another Watson injury. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. But Winston, himself, has a slight injury history.

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