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Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is confident in the team’s direction and cap situation.
Deshaun Watson has full confidence in Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry when it comes to managing the cap and adding talent this offseason.
On paper, the Browns are in a precarious-looking situation. Over the Cap has the Browns in the red by $19.6 million. However, Cleveland is expected to make some moves this offseason with restructures and extensions that will give them some flexibility this offseason.
Watson has made it clear that he’d like the Browns to go big-game hunting for a top-tier wide receiver to pair with Amari Cooper. He made a public pitch to pending Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. Watson doubled down on his push for Higgins — and any high-caliber receiver — on the latest edition of his “QB Unplugged” show with Quincy Avery.
“Of course I want Tee. S**t, I want all the top receivers if I can,” Watson said on the show, which went live on February 2. “But at the end of the day, I’m just throwing a little nugget out there. Who knows what’s going to happen? I don’t control that or free agency, who we bring in.”
Shortly after making that statement, Watson expressed confidence in Berry’s long-term planning.
“All this is all planned. If you really listen to Andrew Berry, he’s telling you the gameplan, the blueprint,” Watson said. “We’re straight, we know exactly what we’re doing for the next five years.”
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The Browns Could Restructure Deshaun Watson’s Contract This Offseason
In a significant move this offseason, the Cleveland Browns are considering restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract. With Watson set to count $63.9 million against the cap in each of the next three seasons, the Browns have the opportunity to create around $33 million in cap space through this restructuring.
While the possibility is on the table, Browns General Manager Andrew Berry is not ready to discuss it just yet. “I’ll be honest, I’m not there yet,” Berry told Zac Jackson of The Athletic. “It’s not a necessity (to lower that), but it just kind of depends on how we put the plan together.”
Watson represents Berry’s biggest gamble since the Browns gave up three first-round picks to acquire him and handed him a $230 million fully guaranteed contract. However, Watson’s on-field performance has been inconsistent, having only played in 12 games over two seasons.
Despite this, Berry remains optimistic about Watson’s potential but emphasizes the importance of his health moving forward. “We feel good about Deshaun,” Berry said. “I think the biggest thing is just him staying on the field, keeping (him) on the field. Each year, we really do try and do as much self-assessment as possible on every area of the operation. So in good years and bad years, (we) will probably always tinker somewhere to some degree with what we think is best. But in terms of just Deshaun in particular, we’re excited. We just want to make sure he’s healthy.”
Watson’s injury history is a concern, as he played in only six games last season due to two separate shoulder injuries. He underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on November 21 and has been in the process of rehabbing ever since.
Despite the setbacks, Watson expects to be fully recovered and ready to participate in training camp and the Browns’ offseason workouts. “Probably another four to five weeks on the front end,” Watson said at the end of January. “And then for sure another three weeks after that. So between the three-to-four month range is where we start throwing… so I would say probably April. Hopefully, if everything goes well, I’ll be able to do spring. We’ll see when we get closer to that.”
Since joining the Browns, Watson has thrown for 2,217 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Lakers.
