The Cleveland Browns have agreed to a contract restructuring with their quarterback, Deshaun Watson. The move reportedly opened up close to $36 million in cap space for the franchise.
Watson has three years left on his five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract he signed with the franchise in 2022 following a trade from the Houston Texans. After the restructuring, he will receive $44.79 million of his $46 million salary for 2024 as a signing bonus.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the move gave the Browns $35.8 million in cap space, bringing their total to more than $62 million. Cleveland is now the team with the most free cap space in the league, although the expectation is that the franchise will set aside most of it for the next offseason.
This isn’t the first time that the Browns have adjusted Watson’s contract in order to get themselves some cap space. Ahead of the 2023 season, they added a void year to his deal and also converted much of his base salary into a signing bonus.
These moves indicate that the Browns believe they are in a position to be competitive in the next few years. But whether they will be depends most on Watson, who hasn’t shown much since joining the franchise.
Due to combinations of suspensions and injuries, Watson only played 12 games for Cleveland in the past two seasons. He went 8-4 but completed just 59.8% of his passes while throwing for 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns, and nine picks.
