Browns restructure Deshaun Watson’s deal

Cleveland’s restructure creates some much needed cap room.

With the tampering period about to begin the Cleveland Browns did some financial maneuvering to get under the cap. The team has restructured the contract of quarterback Deshaun Watson which creates some much needed cap room in order to improve the team.

Deshaun Watson was due to a cap hit of around $55 million which has now been lowered to just over $19.1 million per Spotrac. The restructured money has been spread over the next three years of the deal resulting in Watson having a near $64 million cap hit over that span with a void year tacked on at the end of just under $9 million.

Creating cap room was a necessity when considering the current state of the Browns roster. Paying Deshaun Watson the money he was set to make was simply not an option for this team. There are simply too many needs at the moment to allocate this type of money currently. Looking ahead, Cleveland will surely duplicate this series of events over the life of Watson’s contract. The unfortunate news is that the kicking the can down the road strategy will eventually come back to bite them. On a positive note it shows a sense of urgency to not stand pat and run it back as is. Recognizing the finite window this team has while adding to it is a step in the right direction.