Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson recently re-tore his Achilles while rehabbing his original torn Achilles, which has put his status for the entire 2025 season in jeopardy and clouded an already murky future for this team at the quarterback position.
Not only are his chances of playing in 2025 in jeopardy but according to one insider, so is the $92 million owed to him over the final two years of his contract.
Mike Florio of NBC Sports recently wrote an article detailing how Watson’s new injury could exempt the Browns from paying him the rest of the money owed to him if he, in fact, re-tore his Achilles by doing something his contract prevents him from doing.
“The primary question is whether he re-tore the tendon doing something that his contract specifically prevents him from doing, under the clauses that guarantee his $46 million salary in 2025 and his $46 million salary in 2026,” Florio said.
The initial report was that Watson rolled his ankle while in Miami.
However, when he interviewed with the team for his exit interview, it was discovered that his Achilles had been re-torn.
It would be tough to prove exactly how he rolled his ankle, but there are a number of things he could have done that would negate the rest of his contract.
If he was playing basketball, jet-skiing, riding a motorcycle, skydiving, or participating in any of a number of other activities, the Browns have an out.
Those seem like outlandish activities to do just a couple of months after a torn Achilles tendon.
The most likely scenario is that he simply rolled his ankle for no reason, but there will surely be plenty more to come in this story.
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