Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson has been on the field for only 19 games through three seasons of his $230 million contract. With training camp soon, at least one opposing scout is urging the organization to recoup some of that investment in his final year.

Competing ahead of training camp, one opposing scout made their contribution in the Athlon Sports 2026 NFL Preview magazine and appears to have strong opinions.

"It's time for the Browns to get a return on their $230 million investment in Deshaun Watson. Watson has the talent as a former Pro Bowl selection...but it doesn't take a genius to see that," the scout told Athlon Sports in the 2026 NFL Preview magazine.

The evaluator backing Watson thinks his potential is high and is likely attributing this to Watson’s performance in Houston. In 2020, Watson led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns with 4,823 yards and 33 touchdowns.

In his four seasons in Houston, Watson had a 67.8% completion percentage with 14,539 yards and 104 touchdowns.

Compared to that, his performance for Cleveland has been significantly less impressive, with 19 touchdowns and only 3,365 yards in 19 games, with a 61.2% completion percentage.

That gap makes the scout's "better than Sanders" claim on Athlon's 2026 preview report hard to argue against on paper. 

Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders had a decent performance in his 3-4 record as a starter in 2025. He completed 56.6% of his passes, resulting in 1,400 yards. He threw 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Watson, who will turn 31 years old in September, has the biggest training camp of his career coming up. The Browns now have two first-round picks for the 2027 draft after the Myles Garrett trade with the Los Angeles Rams.

Some of the increased financial pressures on Watson have been offset by a small but helpful detail. The

Browns recoup $88 million in cap credits from Watson's insurance 

Pro Football Talk obtained NFLPA records stating that the Browns received more than $88 million in cap credits connected to Watson's injuries. This information is from Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk, July 6, 2026.

These cap credits are due to a restructuring from March 2023, adding an insurance policy for Watson's injuries for the 2023, 2024, and 2025 seasons.

Watson missed 11 games due to injury in the 2023 season, 10 in the 2024 season, and played all 17 games in 2025 after rupturing his Achilles in October 2024.

Per Mike Florio (Pro Football Talk, July 6, 2026), multiple renegotiations will afford the largest single-year cap credit in 2026 at a combined total of $21.724 million, with the timeline of the cap credits from 2024 to 2029.

The Browns did not comment. The $88.781 million total reimbursement significantly offset a contract with little return for Cleveland on the field.

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Written by

Abhay Bharti

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote