Report: Deshaun Watson Restructures Contract; Browns Open $36M in Salary Cap Space

For the second time in less than four months, the Cleveland Browns have adjusted Deshaun Watson's contract.

Per ESPN's Field Yates, the Browns cleared $36 million in cap space after Watson agreed to restructure his deal.

Watson previously restructured his contract in December to ease some of the future burden on the Browns' cap by adding two void years that allows them to push his dead money out to 2030.

The minimum base salary for a player with at least seven years of service time in the NFL in 2025 is $1.26 million.

Restructuring the contract for Watson makes the Browns cap-compliant before the start of the new league year on March 12. They entered the offseason $29.9 million over the $279.2 million cap.

Per Spotrac, the Browns now have $12.9 million in cap room.

There's a possibility that Watson never plays in another game for the Browns, despite being under contract through 2026. He may not be able to play in 2025 after re-rupturing his Achilles in January, two months after suffering the same injury in a Week 7 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cleveland is among the teams most often connected to a quarterback in the draft. It owns the No. 2 overall pick in the first round, potentially giving the organization a choice between any of the top signal-callers depending on what the Tennessee Titans do with the top pick.

Watson's on-field performance for the Browns over the past three seasons has been extremely disappointing. He has thrown for 3,365 yards with 19 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 61.2 completion percentage in 19 games.

The Browns are coming off their worst season since the winless 2017 campaign. Their 3-14 record was tied for the worst mark in the league.