The Deshaun Watson contract has unfortunately been the worst contract in the NFL for a few years and the Cleveland Browns have gotten next to nothing out of the investment thus far. To ease the damage, the Browns have been getting creative by restructuring the deal to ease the cap hit and kick the damage down the road as painlessly and consistently as possible.
Luckily, general manager Andrew Berry was able to restructure it again ahead of free agency to free up another $36 million in cap space and ease the brutal $81 million cap hit he had. Additionally, the Browns are now getting even more relief due to an interesting little wrinkle with the contract.
Spotrac recently shared their updated salary cap adjustments for each team around the league that includes insurance policies for injured players. The Browns are receiving the third-highest cap space gain in the league at $17.8 million, which can mostly be attributed to Watson’s torn Achilles.
“So Browns did get some cap relief for Watson insurance policy,” Tony Grossi wrote.
So Browns did get some cap relief for Watson insurance policy. https://t.co/nKkvFyaFBJ
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) March 13, 2026
As if the NFL’s salary cap wasn’t complex enough, right? Insurance policies add another wrinkle to the mix, but the Browns aren’t complaining.
The Browns opened up this possibility when they restructured Watson’s deal last year, and that move opened up the possibility to receive up to $60 million in relief this offseason. The Browns didn’t get all of that money because insurance policies rarely ever get paid out in full, but $17.8 million in space is nothing to sneeze at.
Now that Watson is healthy, the Browns won’t be able to pull a move like this next offseason. This contract has anchored him to this roster for the time being, and hopefully the front office can use the cap space and the draft to further upgrade the offense around him (a left tackle would be nice) and make it so that Watson can potentially deliver some return on this investment for once.
It’s unclear who the starter will be at quarterback, but all signs point to Watson being given another chance.
NEXT: Analyst Raves About New Browns Coach
