Deshaun Watson hasn't been back for more than a week and he's already put the Browns in a tough spot. Although the Browns activated his 21-day practice window, it doesn't look likely he'll return in time. But if he's not going to be useful for the Browns, why aren't they releasing him? Well, Sportrac Co-founder and Editor Michael Ginnitti has an answer.

Ginnitti thinks it's in the Browns' best interest to keep Deshaun Watson on the team. Ginnitti explained the same in a post on X.

“Deshaun Watson will be a member of the #Browns in 2026 for one reason: $131,163,378 of dead cap.”

Let's understand what Ginnitti was referring to. Deshaun Watson signed with the Browns on a fully guaranteed 5-year, $230 million contract. Because the team restructured it and spread his bonus money over multiple years, cutting him before 2026 would make all the remaining guaranteed and prorated amounts count immediately on their salary cap, over $130 million. 

If they cut him off after June, that would still cost $53 million. The contract is constructed in such a way that it counts ridiculous $80.7 million in 2026, which makes Watson impossible to trade and highly unlikely to be a cut candidate unless the Browns wait until June 1st. Perhaps it's no surprise when Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was not happy with Watson back in March.

"We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun. We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t, and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole. … "

Perhaps there is one way out, and it might come from a rookie QB.

Shedeur Sanders Might Be the Answer to the Deshaun Watson Problem

The Cleveland Browns have had a QB problem for a while now, and it reared its head this season too. However, Shedeur Sanders could help them out of it. In just four games so far, he's at 769 passing yards and 5 touchdowns. If the Titans game was anything to go on, Sanders can beat Watson's best season at Cleveland so far (7 TDs, 1,115 yards). But that's not all.

Despite the loss against the Titans, Shedeur Sanders had a statement performance. 4 touchdowns in total and 364 passing yards! That's a rookie feat we haven't seen since Joe Burrow last went beyond 350 yards with a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. There is clearly some potential.

With the Browns getting a decent rookie class with Harold Fannin Jr., Quinshon Judkins and Isaiah Bond, developing a superstar QB in Sanders rather than getting another rookie in might be the way to go.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Written by

Reyansh Dubey

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar