With the Cleveland Browns owning the league’s third-worst mark heading into the second half of the 2024 NFL regular season, analysts have turned their attention to the next iteration of this franchise’s roster.
One of the Browns’ biggest lingering issues is what to do with quarterback Deshaun Watson.
After acquiring him via trade in 2022, Cleveland signed him to a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract, a pact the team has since restructured twice to push the salary cap hit into his final two seasons.
The quarterback’s health has yet again cost him playing time in Cleveland after he ruptured his Achilles in Week 7, ending his season prematurely for the second consecutive year.
Will Cleveland keep him around next season?
That’s a big question perplexing analysts and fans alike.
ESPN analyst Dan Graziano offered another solution for the Browns in his recent article, naming him as a surprising cut candidate after that date.
“Designating him as a post-June 1 cut would allow them to spread the dead-money hit out over two years, and that’s probably the best solution the Browns have right now,” Graziano wrote.
Graziano suggested that keeping Watson next season – with a reduced $72.9 million salary cap figure – would be the better course of action than cutting him.
Still, the analyst believes the Browns may have reached their breaking point with Watson as he has played in only 19 games during his three-year tenure.
NEXT: Analyst Says There Is 'No Hope' With 1 Browns QB“It will hurt,” Graziano surmised, adding, “It will set the franchise back years. It could cost people their jobs. But the mistake was made in 2022, and unfortunately, there’s just no clean way out of it.”
