Immediately signing Deshaun Watson to one of the most significant contracts in NFL history always seemed like it would be a massive mistake for the Browns.
Today, there’s no doubt about it.
Watson has reportedly ruptured his Achilles again, according to The Athletic’s Diana Russini. He’ll have to have another surgery to repair it and start his rehab process all over again. That’s after he ruptured it initially in October.
So, now, Watson will likely have another year of rehab ahead of him. Expectations were already going to be low for his return. But now that he’s torn his Achilles a second time? We’re talking rock bottom.
The best solution for the Browns would be to get off of his contract. But, at this point, that’s nearly impossible. Let’s go over the options.
Why a trade won’t work
This one feels pretty obvious, guys. Nobody is trading for this contract.
Even before you talk about the money, you’ve got the off-the-field issues with Watson that will be nothing but a distraction for whatever team he’s on.
But it becomes more impossible when you talk about the money. Watson is owed $46 million in guaranteed money in his deal this season. Whatever team trades for him would likely have to pay most of that. On top of that, the Browns would probably have to sweeten the pot a bit with first-round picks to even get a team to bite.
That’s not happening. No team is willing to pay that much for a broken QB and the Browns are probably not willing to pay anybody anything to ship him out.
Why the Browns can’t cut him
Well, technically, Cleveland could cut Watson. But they won’t do it. It’ll be way too expensive.
Here’s our Christian D’Andrea breaking down why it costs too much for the Browns to make a move now:
“Cutting Watson next spring would eat up 63 percent of 2025’s estimated salary cap for a player who wouldn’t play a snap for the team. It would leave an average of $1.88 million in salary for the 53 players who remained. The league’s minimum is currently a shade under $800,000. Designating him a post-June 1 release knocks that number down to $119.9 million, which is better but still very, very bad.”
It looks like 2026 is the more likely year for Watson to be cut. The Browns would absorb $73 million in dead money but would avoid losing cap space. Regardless, though, it’s going to cost the Browns when they finally do dump Watson.
The real solution
The Browns are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Either you keep a washed quarterback around on your roster and pay him to do nothing or you get rid of him…while paying him to do nothing.
You’re cooked either way if you’re the Browns. There’s no way to mitigate the damage done. Your franchise has lost momentum because you chose to chase a quarterback with too many red flags to count. The damage is done.
The real solution here was to never make the move in the first place. So, since time machines don’t exist, the only thing left to do is wallow around in mediocrity.
Let’s be honest — the Browns are used to it.
