Deshaun Watson’s contract and injury could change everything for the Browns
When the Cleveland Browns traded for QB Deshaun Watson, it not only closed the door on QB Baker Mayfield but it put the team in a situation where only greatness would make it worth it. The Browns have gotten the opposite of greatness out of Watson including two season-ending injuries.
Due to the nature of NFL contracts, on-the-field injuries and approved training activity injuries are protected from being considered violations of contracts. Cleveland has benefitted from insuring Watson’s contract, including around $4 million in salary cap space last year and a much larger amount projected in 2025 and 2026.
The latest injury, however, has called into question whether the Browns would be able to void the guarantees in Watson’s contract and, soon, release him:
Regarding Watson, if the Achilles injury occurred under normal rehab directed by the team his contract would still be protected. If the injury was a result of something he was not supposed to be doing his guarantees would be at risk either now or by the summer.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) January 10, 2025
How Watson “rolled his ankle” and what could be proven might be different things. Much like a player getting injured playing basketball or skiing, NFL teams have the right to protect themselves from non-football-related injuries.
According to Jack Duffin of The OBR (an author and website you should be following), the savings would be massive. On top of $92 million in cash, Cleveland would see a change in their salary cap space as follows according to Duffin’s projections:
2025 – $10,204,000 saved
2026 – $7,711,000 more
2027 – $35,831,000 saved
2028 – $53,676,000 saved
That is a massive amount of cap space saved and would lead to Watson being released before the start of the Browns offseason activities.
At this point, it is rumor and speculation as there has not been a report that Watson was reinjured doing anything that would void the contract. However, the Browns would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t at least check in on this possibility.