Andrew Berry covered a wide range of topics during his near 15-minute press conference with members of the local and national media on Tuesday, and Deshaun Watson was unsurprisingly among the prominent topics.
For the most part, Berry did his best PR work with his answers on Watson, notably refusing to rule anything out in regard to his potential 2026 playing time coming off a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon. Browns fans are eager to move on from what has been a frustrating, four-plus year disaster, but the harsh reality is that Watson will remain on Cleveland’s roster until March of 2027.
Watson’s fully-guaranteed contract is often referred to as the worst in NFL history, and for good reason. The dead-cap hits due to past restructures in 2024 and 2025 make him almost impossible to cut this offseason. Ditto for a potential trade, though, Watson’s no-trade clause takes that option off the table anyway.
As it stands, Watson is set to earn $46 million in cash while carrying an $80.7 million cap hit in 2026. That number would take up about 26 percent of the Browns’ total salary cap, and would be the most in the NFL by a wide margin.
The Browns’ best option to reduce that cap number is to restructure Watson’s contract for the third straight year. While not ideal, the move could open up between $35 million and $40 million of immediate cap space while setting up a post-June 1 release in 2027. That’s been the team’s plan since Watson’s contract was adjusted with added void years in December of 2024.
The Kansas City Chiefs just pulled that same lever with Patrick Mahomes, whose cap hit would’ve been $78.2 million this year. They restructured his contract last week to create $43.5 million in 2026 cap space.
Cleveland’s pending move has felt like a formality since ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed that Watson would remain on the roster in 2026 due to the complicated state of his contract.
Berry was surprisingly noncommittal when asked about the situation in Indianapolis, though, as Zac Jackson pointed out in his latest for The Athletic.
“Berry said he’d categorize the team’s salary-cap situation as ‘good,’ though he didn’t provide an answer when asked if Cleveland will restructure Watson’s contract. That move seems a given, as it would open around $40 million in 2026 cap space. The Browns simply can’t afford to have Watson stay at his current cap number of $80.7 million.”
Browns can’t hide from Deshaun Watson reality after Chiefs’ move
It’s painful to compare the Browns’ situation with Watson to the Chiefs and Mahomes, or even the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott, whose cap hit is scheduled to be $74 million this year. Those players are face-of-the-franchise guys. The Browns are just trying to get to the finish line with theirs.
But Berry’s non-answer on Watson’s looming contract restructure is still surprising. He was forthcoming on other topics, openly discussing status updates on players like Dawand Jones, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Joel Bitonio, and David Njoku. There’s obviously a level of PR needed on Watson because, again, the team has little choice but to carry him on the roster until 2027, but the state of his contract is hardly a secret at this point; it’s been a major topic of discussion since 2022.
The Browns' only option to move on from Watson in 2026 would be via a post-June 1 designation, as a straight release would come with an accelerated dead-cap hit of $131.1 million, per Spotrac. NFL teams only get two such designations per year, however, and Cleveland may need to use theirs for guys like Njoku or Wyatt Teller.
Cleveland could, of course, wait until June 2 to release Watson this year, but that would require them carrying his $80.7 million cap number through the full league year, with an additional charge of around $50.4 million for 2027. Is it possible to go super young, take all of that medicine, and be financially free from Watson in 2028? The short answer is yes, but it’s not feasible for the team's chances of being competitive in the interim.
Berry and the Browns are obviously going to cave and restructure Watson’s contract prior to the NFL’s March 9 free agent tampering window. In the meantime, Browns fans should be ready for whatever company line Berry and the team comes up with on Watson, whenever we hear from him next after the first wave of free agency next month.