BEREA – The Browns have restructured quarterback Deshaun Watson’s contract again.
The team converted $44.79 million of Watson’s base salary into a signing bonus, a league source confirmed to the Beacon Journal. ESPN’s Field Yates was the first to report the news.
The move, the third time the Browns have restructured Watson’s contract since acquiring him from the Houston Texans in March 2022, creates $35.832 million in salary cap space. That gives Cleveland more than $62 million in salary cap space, a league high.
The restructuring means Watson’s cap number for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, the final two of his current five-year, $230 million contract, would be $72.935 million. The dead cap number would be $172 million in 2025, $99 million in 2026, and $26.9 million in voidable dead cap, according to Spotrac.
For this season, Watson’s base salary is now $1.21 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $27,942,678, while the dead cap hit would be $200,712,678, according to Spotrac.
This restructuring is similar to what the Browns did previously with Watson’s contract. They made almost the same move just before the start of free agency in March 2023, when they converted $44.835 million of Watson’s salary into a signing bonus while adding a vacancy year in 2027 to free up $35.868 million in salary cap space.
The Browns gave Watson the fully guaranteed contract when he was acquired in a trade from the Texans. The deal was structured similarly to most long-term deals negotiated by Browns general manager Andrew Berry, with an extremely team-friendly first year — a base salary of $1.035 million and a cap hit of $9,395,500 — before increasing in the second year.
Watson played 12 games with the Browns in his first two seasons, but lost 11 games in 2022 due to his suspension for personal conduct related to more than two dozen allegations from women of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct during massage appointments.
Shoulder injuries, including season-ending shoulder surgery on Nov. 21, cost Watson 11 games last season. He suffered a fractured hip socket in a Nov. 12 game at the Baltimore Ravens, a game in which he completed 14 of 14 passes in the second half to lead Cleveland to a 33-31 victory.
Post-surgery rehab led to a lengthy warmup process for Watson’s throwing program, which began on March 18. He only threw every other day in individual drills during most OTAs before adding 7-on-7 drills during minicamp in June.
Watson was a full participant in training camp, missing only one full day on August 2. On August 21, he stopped throwing during practice due to “general soreness in the arm,” but resumed the next day.
Despite participating in the entire training camp, Watson did not play in any of the Browns’ three preseason games. Head coach Kevin Stefanski had planned to use him in the finale against the Seattle Seahawks, but announced on the morning of the game that he had changed his mind due to several factors.
Reach Chris Easterling at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ