How Browns can pull a Russell Wilson on Deshaun Watson to get him out of Cleveland

Jarrett Bailey

•
How Browns can pull a Russell Wilson on Deshaun Watson to get him out of Cleveland image

The Cleveland Browns are expected to have Deshaun Watson on the roster in 2026, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"Though quarterback Deshaun Watson is unlikely to play this season, the Cleveland Browns are planning to have him on their roster next season, league sources told ESPN," Schefter writes. "The Browns opened the practice window on Watson on Wednesday, but they did so in order to give him his first practices this season so that he would not be away from football until next spring."

Schefter adds that money is a large factor for Watson likely being back in 2026.

"There are varied reasons the team expects Watson back next season, with money being a factor," Schefter writes. "Moving on from him would be costly, as the Browns would incur a dead salary cap charge of close to $135 million if they released him before June 1 and a $53 million cap charge if he were designated a post-June 1 cap casualty."

How Browns can get rid of Deshaun Watson

The Browns do have a way out of the Deshaun Watson saga. As Schefter points out, the Browns would eat a dead cap hit of $53 million should the designate Watson as a Post-June 1 cut. Oddly enough, that would tie the record for largest dead cap hit for a season. The Denver Broncos took on that amount of dead cap last season when they cut Russell Wilson.

Cleveland could take a play out of the Broncos' playbook. They can designate Watson as a post-June 1 cut, eat the dead cap hit, and finally rip the band-aid off. Considering the Browns could be the team in line to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, they may even find similar success to Denver in 2024 when they reached the postseason with a rookie Bo Nix.

Plus, outside of Watson and Myles Garrett, the next-leading player in terms of average salary is Denzel Ward at roughly $20.1 million. They don't have a ton of big-money contracts on their books, and their defense has proven to be one of the best in the NFL. If they can get a good quarterback in the draft, that could be their missing piece. It worked for the Broncos, and it could work for the Browns, as well.

More NFL news:

Staff Writer