Quarterback Deshaun Watson has been a polarising figure since he arrived in Cleveland two and a half years ago. Without spending a lot of time rehashing what pretty much any reader of this article already knows, the Browns expected Watson to be their franchise quarterback. That’s why they paid a king’s ransom for the signal-caller, which included three first-round picks sent to the Houston Texans. They also gave Watson the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history.
Purely based on Watson’s on-field statistics, the trade made sense at the time. However, Watson came with truckloads of baggage. He was amid over two dozen lawsuits for varying levels of sexual misconduct. Though all criminal charges were ultimately dropped in multiple jurisdictions, the vast majority of these lawsuits were settled.
Sunday was Watson’s time to step into the limelight and become the player everyone in northeast Ohio hoped he’d be. Instead, Cleveland got more questions than answers. Then, on Monday, things got even more muddled when yet another allegation came to light.
Can the Cleveland Browns Move On From Deshaun Watson?
First and foremost, the question is can the Browns move on from Deshaun Watson at this stage?
It’s possible, and it comes from the aforementioned guaranteed contract.
Deshaun Watson’s Contract
ProFootballTalk obtained a copy of Watson’s contract. It contains a very interesting provision in paragraph 42. It reads: “Player hereby represents and warrants (except as otherwise disclosed to the club in writing), as of the date hereof, that (1) Player has not been charged with, indicted for, convicted of or pled nolo contendre to any felony and/or misdemeanor involving fraud or moral turpitude, (ii) Player has not engaged in conduct which could subject him to a charge, indictment or conviction of any such offense, and (iii) no circumstances exist that would prevent Player’s continuing availability to the Club for duration of this Contract.”
What that says is that if Deshaun Watson didn’t inform the Cleveland Browns of this potential claim, then the team would have the ability to void his contract and release him.
Contract Cap Catastrophe
However, even if Deshaun Watson were no longer a Cleveland Brown, his presence would be felt on the salary cap for quite some time. The good news is that, if the team were to release him before the official start of the 2025 league year, the Browns would avoid $92 million of his contract.
But that savings also comes at a huge charge: nearly $81 million in dead cap space. Cleveland can forward around $54 million of that to 2026 by using a post-June 1 release.
One wrinkle in all of this is that the Cleveland Browns are currently $62 million under the salary cap. General Manager Andrew Berry can forward this space into 2025, which would go a long way to erasing the big cap hit. But all that does is get Cleveland back to zero. They’re still going to need a quarterback.
Who Replaces Deshaun Watson in Cleveland If He’s Released?
No matter when the team chose to take the salary cap hit, the only real way for the Cleveland Browns to effectively replace Deshaun Watson would be with a signal caller on a rookie contract. Second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a long way from showing that he’s ready for that mantle.
This means Cleveland is effectively rebuilding after Watson’s departure. Unless they happen into a C.J. Stroud-like situation with a rookie who so outplays expectations that they can lead the aging veteran team to the promised land right out of the gate. It’s possible but rare, and the Cleveland Browns have never had that kind of luck.
So while it can be done, it seems more likely that Cleveland will need to find a way to make it work with Watson, at least in the short term. More on this situation later this week.
Main Photo: Jeff Lange-USA TODAY NETWORK
