The Cleveland Browns made the inevitable, yet surprising move of activating Deshaun Watson’s 21-day practice window ahead of a Week 14 matchup against the 1-11 Tennessee Titans. Watson is working his way back from a twice-torn Achilles and has reportedly looked good in practice, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll see the field in 2025.
However, he’s still signed through 2026 even though owner Jimmy Haslam made it pretty clear earlier this year that the trade was a mistake. Now that the reality of his return is right around the corner, it doesn’t seem like there is a path for a breakup anytime soon.
Spotrac shared on X that there is one big reason why Watson will be a Brown in 2026.
That reason is the fact that if the Browns cut him, he’ll have a dead cap hit of over $131 million.
“Deshaun Watson will be a member of the Browns in 2026 for one reason: $131,163,378 of dead cap,” Ginnitti posted on X.
His dead cap is only $53 million if he is cut after June 1st, which is still tough to stomach. As it stands, because of the way the Browns restructured Watson’s deal, his contract will count for a ridiculous $80.7 million in 2026, which makes him impossible to trade and highly unlikely to be a cut candidate unless the Browns wait until June 1st.
Watson’s repulsive cap number will hamstring this franchise for at least two more years, which raises questions about how the front office is going to proceed in the offseason.
With a pair of rookie quarterbacks on rookie contracts, it’s possible the Browns don’t look for their next franchise QB until Watson is gone, unless Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders proves to be the answer in the meantime.
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