BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are once again restructuring the contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson, this time with the intention of easing salary cap tensions in the coming years, a league source confirmed to News 5.
The Browns and Watson agreed to the terms of the restructuring, which will not impact his 2025 cap number at this time. The restructure will instead focus on the cap hit that is spread out over the years once Watson's contract is up, which is in 2026.
Watson's latest restructure may not be the last, with the $72.935 million cap hit set to occur in 2025 not addressed under this contract rework.
It also may not be the last restructure because this latest reworked deal indicates Watson will remain with the Browns for the next two years of his contract.
Watson, who was given a five-year $230 million deal after the Browns traded for him in 2021, sustained a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 7 this season. But before the injury, Watson and the Browns offense struggled greatly. Watson trailed the league in total quarterback rating (QBR) through the first six games, with the Browns ranked last in the NFL for total yards per game at that point of the year.
In the last three seasons, Watson has been widely unavailable. First, with an 11-game suspension stemming from violating the league's personal conduct policy after dozens of allegations of sexual misconduct were filed against him. Then, it was a season-ending shoulder injury that saw him miss 11 games last season. This year, the Achilles injury.
Following Watson's departure from game action this season, the Browns saw a momentary spark offensively, with backup Jameis Winston getting the start, but the magic was short-lived, and Winston was benched after throwing three interceptions in the Browns' loss to the Chiefs. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is currently the Browns starting quarterback as they close out their season, entering their Week 17 matchup with a disappointing 3-12 record.
Who will be in the quarterbacks room with Watson when he is able to return from the Achilles injury next season remains to be seen.
But all signs point to Watson being among them in 2025 at least.
