QB Deshaun Watson, CLE (5 Viewers)

[menobrown]

He’ll never play another snap in the league again. Good riddance.

I don't think we've seen the last of him.

I’d agree if we are speaking of any form of accusations against him, regardless if they’re valid or not. But no chance of him as any form of QB in the NFL. The baggage combined with his terrible play…..not to mention as second Achilles rupture means he’s done.

He had teams lining up to trade for him when all of those accusations were known. Cleveland gets pillorised for doing the trade but they were far from alone, they were just the one team willing to give him a fully guaranteed contract.

So we should be able to agree that teams are willing to look past the accusations or what he did.

Now how much teams are willing to look past accusations depends on how good you are and how much you cost. Browns were willing to pay the moon for him when they thought he was still elite, accusations be damned. His play has been mainly terrible but now he'll be close to free. It's like a pendulum of risk/reward, cost that all goes into this equation. Maybe he won't want to play anymore or work hard on his rehab to try and return. But if he does, even if he sits all of next year as expected, he'll be 31 years old in 2026. I think someone will want to kick the tires on a 31 year old QB who used to be great and is now close to free and see if they can fix him. I will be shocked if wants to return and works diligently to do it, if no doors open up for him to at least try.

 

[TheAristocrat]

He’ll never play another snap in the league again. Good riddance.

I don't think we've seen the last of him.

He’s more done than anybody has ever been done.

"He's more done to me than his done mother!"


Guy was cooked a year ago. The off field stuff and the missed season already had him looking like a different player. 2nd injury just cements it. He's extra crispy now instead of original recipe, but was already fried.

I will continue to say this will be proven incorrect.

Thanks for your service?

 

[kface]

can i officially drop this guy in dynasty?

 

[Buckna]

He’ll never play another snap in the league again. Good riddance.

I don't think we've seen the last of him.

I’d agree if we are speaking of any form of accusations against him, regardless if they’re valid or not. But no chance of him as any form of QB in the NFL. The baggage combined with his terrible play…..not to mention as second Achilles rupture means he’s done.

He had teams lining up to trade for him when all of those accusations were known. Cleveland gets pillorised for doing the trade but they were far from alone, they were just the one team willing to give him a fully guaranteed contract.

So we should be able to agree that teams are willing to look past the accusations or what he did.

Now how much teams are willing to look past accusations depends on how good you are and how much you cost. Browns were willing to pay the moon for him when they thought he was still elite, accusations be damned. His play has been mainly terrible but now he'll be close to free. It's like a pendulum of risk/reward, cost that all goes into this equation. Maybe he won't want to play anymore or work hard on his rehab to try and return. But if he does, even if he sits all of next year as expected, he'll be 31 years old in 2026. I think someone will want to kick the tires on a 31 year old QB who used to be great and is now close to free and see if they can fix him. I will be shocked if wants to return and works diligently to do it, if no doors open up for him to at least try.

All comes down to if he wants to continue playing himself. As you said he'll be early 30's still. Guys like Josh Johnson, Andy Dalton, Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum, Blaine Gabbert, Jimmy G, Carson Wentz and more are still kicking around as backups getting paid by various teams. If he's still interested or wanting to get a few more $'s in the kitty (I'm sure he owes a lot in lawsuit $) someone will kick the tires once Cleveland cuts him in a year or two.

 

[-OZ-]

Cleveland gets pillorised for doing the trade

Yes, but mostly due to the contract. Which was completely bat#### crazy.

 

[5-ish Finkle]

can i officially drop this guy in dynasty?

Best case scenario you're talking about a 31-year-old QB with a twice popped tendon holding on his foot?


Unless you'd also roster someone like The Red Rifle or Bridgewater, then prolly.

 

[JoeJoe88]

can i officially drop this guy in dynasty?

I’m not sure I’d drop him unless I absolutely had to but I’d also likely accept the 5.10 rookie pick for him.

He looked atrocious even before the latest catastrophic injury.

 

[Shawnky]

He’ll never play another snap in the league again. Good riddance.

I don't think we've seen the last of him.

I’d agree if we are speaking of any form of accusations against him, regardless if they’re valid or not. But no chance of him as any form of QB in the NFL. The baggage combined with his terrible play…..not to mention as second Achilles rupture means he’s done.

He had teams lining up to trade for him when all of those accusations were known. Cleveland gets pillorised for doing the trade but they were far from alone, they were just the one team willing to give him a fully guaranteed contract.

So we should be able to agree that teams are willing to look past the accusations or what he did.

Now how much teams are willing to look past accusations depends on how good you are and how much you cost. Browns were willing to pay the moon for him when they thought he was still elite, accusations be damned. His play has been mainly terrible but now he'll be close to free. It's like a pendulum of risk/reward, cost that all goes into this equation. Maybe he won't want to play anymore or work hard on his rehab to try and return. But if he does, even if he sits all of next year as expected, he'll be 31 years old in 2026. I think someone will want to kick the tires on a 31 year old QB who used to be great and is now close to free and see if they can fix him. I will be shocked if wants to return and works diligently to do it, if no doors open up for him to at least try.

I don’t think you comprehend what I was trying to convey. I don’t see teams lining up for a QB who has no desire or for in him anymore. He’s barely serviceable at this point and just had a second Achilles tear. Who actually would want him based on that? My comment on accusations was only to show that’s the only way we ever see him again dealing with anything worth reporting on.

 

[menobrown]

I don’t think you comprehend what I was trying to convey.

I would say the same thing

 

[MAC_32]

can i officially drop this guy in dynasty?

I’m not sure I’d drop him unless I absolutely had to but I’d also likely accept the 5.10 rookie pick for him.

He looked atrocious even before the latest catastrophic injury.

I dropped him months ago, it was therapeutic

 

[Faust]

NFL insider details Cleveland Browns path to get nearly $100 million back from Deshaun Watson’s awful contract

 

[Faust]

Disturbing Deshaun Watson Details Emerge From Huge Browns Report

 

[-OZ-]

Disturbing Deshaun Watson Details Emerge From Huge Browns Report

This whole thing is weird. Like having dirt on the whole staff weird.

 

[MAC_32]

Disturbing Deshaun Watson Details Emerge From Huge Browns Report

This whole thing is weird. Like having dirt on the whole staff weird.

This is a coordinated leak. None of this surprises me, just confirms a lot of things I've thought since the team fired Van Pelt. Lloyd's probably never written it, but he's absolutely said there are lots of things he knows but doesn't write, otherwise those sources now are no longer sources in the future. He received enough blessings before releasing this article.

There's good reason no one at the top of the food chain was whacked. Something stinks and Jimmy's fingerprints are all over it.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Disturbing Deshaun Watson Details Emerge From Huge Browns Report

Click bait.

 

[Faust]

Browns get nearly $36 million in cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract

 

[Major]

Browns get nearly $36 million in cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract

I feel for Browns fans being stuck with this guy. It's a shame you can't just throw in the towel.

 

[Ray_T]

Now how much teams are willing to look past accusations depends on how good you are and how much you cost.

sadly, this is the world we live in. teams are willing to put up with a Diva WR until they can no longer perform. Then they promptly get kicked to the curb once their performance drops to a level where its not worth the headache.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Disturbing Deshaun Watson Details Emerge From Huge Browns Report

This is where Head Coaches lose the locker room
I would assume at least some of those players will remember no matter who the QB is this season

 

[MAC_32]

Browns get nearly $36 million in cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract

I feel for Browns fans being stuck with this guy. It's a shame you can't just throw in the towel.

Fiscally, it's the right move.

 

[JoeJoe88]

Now how much teams are willing to look past accusations depends on how good you are and how much you cost.

sadly, this is the world we live in. teams are willing to put up with a Diva WR until they can no longer perform. Then they promptly get kicked to the curb once their performance drops to a level where its not worth the headache.

Unfortunately for Deshaun, he’s been far from Antonio Brown or Tyreek-like on the field in a very long time lol

 

[Grahamburn]

Browns get nearly $36 million in cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract

I feel for Browns fans being stuck with this guy. It's a shame you can't just throw in the towel.

Fiscally, it's the right move.

You mean throwing in the towel, right? Re-structuring him just makes things worse. Bite the bullet and get him completely off your books and out of your building.

 

[Major]

Browns get nearly $36 million in cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract

I feel for Browns fans being stuck with this guy. It's a shame you can't just throw in the towel.

Fiscally, it's the right move.

You mean throwing in the towel, right? Re-structuring him just makes things worse. Bite the bullet and get him completely off your books and out of your building.

It was just a Watson massage reference but whatever makes more sense for you

 

[MAC_32]

Re-structuring him just makes things worse. Bite the bullet and get him completely off your books and out of your building.

The Browns were over the cap before this move and would've been in a worse position had they post June 1'd him. They'd need to cut / trade other players to get rid of him now while releasing him would be a silly thing anyway since they're positioned to cash in on insurance relief in 26. He now costs $37m against the cap this year and is penciled in for ~$45m in insurance relief next year.

Now, if you think the Browns should tank and cut / trade everyone, go with that opinion. It's much less that I disagree and much more that this wasn't ever going to happen once Haslam committed to bringing everyone back before last season ended. In no world does both trying to compete and getting rid of Watson now make any sense though.

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

Browns get nearly $36 million in cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract

I feel for Browns fans being stuck with this guy. It's a shame you can't just throw in the towel.

Fiscally, it's the right move.

You mean throwing in the towel, right? Re-structuring him just makes things worse. Bite the bullet and get him completely off your books and out of your building.

This. 100%. Take your medicine and get it over with

 

[Grahamburn]

Browns get nearly $36 million in cap space by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s contract

I feel for Browns fans being stuck with this guy. It's a shame you can't just throw in the towel.

Fiscally, it's the right move.

You mean throwing in the towel, right? Re-structuring him just makes things worse. Bite the bullet and get him completely off your books and out of your building.

It was just a Watson massage reference but whatever makes more sense for you

Damn. I’m sorry you had to explain it. Not bad.

 

[Grahamburn]

Re-structuring him just makes things worse. Bite the bullet and get him completely off your books and out of your building.

The Browns were over the cap before this move and would've been in a worse position had they post June 1'd him. They'd need to cut / trade other players to get rid of him now while releasing him would be a silly thing anyway since they're positioned to cash in on insurance relief in 26. He now costs $37m against the cap this year and is penciled in for ~$45m in insurance relief next year.

Now, if you think the Browns should tank and cut / trade everyone, go with that opinion. It's much less that I disagree and much more that this wasn't ever going to happen once Haslam committed to bringing everyone back before last season ended. In no world does both trying to compete and getting rid of Watson now make any sense though.

The longer he’s around and his money is around the worse it is for the Browns. Restructuring him so they can pretend to “compete” is silly. They’re just compounding the mistake.

I’d trade everyone of value for 2026 picks and embrace a full tank with Arch Manning in my crosshairs.

 

[menobrown]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

 

[Faust]

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam admits team 'took a big swing and miss' with Deshaun Watson

 

[ghostguy123]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

That's great. Kinda makes winning unpossible

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

 

[ghostguy123]

Yeah, restructuring Watson and not trading Myles pretty much locks us in to mediocrity or worse for a few extra years.

 

[JohnnyU]

Yeah, restructuring Watson and not trading Myles pretty much locks us in to mediocrity or worse for a few extra years.

 

[Penguin]

Re-structuring him just makes things worse. Bite the bullet and get him completely off your books and out of your building.

The Browns were over the cap before this move and would've been in a worse position had they post June 1'd him. They'd need to cut / trade other players to get rid of him now while releasing him would be a silly thing anyway since they're positioned to cash in on insurance relief in 26. He now costs $37m against the cap this year and is penciled in for ~$45m in insurance relief next year.

Now, if you think the Browns should tank and cut / trade everyone, go with that opinion. It's much less that I disagree and much more that this wasn't ever going to happen once Haslam committed to bringing everyone back before last season ended. In no world does both trying to compete and getting rid of Watson now make any sense though.

The longer he’s around and his money is around the worse it is for the Browns. Restructuring him so they can pretend to “compete” is silly. They’re just compounding the mistake.

I’d trade everyone of value for 2026 picks and embrace a full tank with Arch Manning in my crosshairs.

I'm of the mindset that Arch stays at Texas for 2026. He's only had a few starts, made like 8 million in NIL money. Peyton and Eli stayed for the senior year.

 

[MAC_32]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

What would've you done?

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

What would've you done?

Cut him and take the entire cap hit this year. Finish 0-17 and move on clean with some good young building blocks

 

[-OZ-]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

What would've you done?

In combat medical school they teach you to apply the tourniquet. It’s better to save the life and lose the appendage. Similar logic here, cut and lose the year, make other cap moves as needed.
Of course the real answer is to not give the stupid contract in the first place.

 

[MAC_32]

Cut him and take the entire cap hit this year. Finish 0-17 and move on clean with some good young building blocks

In theory, I understand, in practice, not so much.

 

[MAC_32]

In combat medical school they teach you to apply the tourniquet. It’s better to save the life and lose the appendage. Similar logic here, cut and lose the year, make other cap moves as needed.

What other cap moves would've you done?

 

[-OZ-]

In combat medical school they teach you to apply the tourniquet. It’s better to save the life and lose the appendage. Similar logic here, cut and lose the year, make other cap moves as needed.

What other cap moves would've you done?

Whatever it took. Including trading garrett. I don’t have the time or inclination to make it all work while I’m walking to my desk. But a GM certainly should be able to figure it out.

 

[MAC_32]

In combat medical school they teach you to apply the tourniquet. It’s better to save the life and lose the appendage. Similar logic here, cut and lose the year, make other cap moves as needed.

What other cap moves would've you done?

Whatever it took. Including trading garrett. I don’t have the time or inclination to make it all work while I’m walking to my desk. But a GM certainly should be able to figure it out.

To cut Watson and trade Garrett, they also would've needed to trade Newsome then post June 1 cut Njoku, Ward, Teller, Pocic, and Conklin, then convince Bitonio to retire. While they couldn't be traded until after June 1, I imagine Delpit and Jeudy would've forced their way out too. If they didn't then they'd play the role of disgruntled employee until they can get free. Then assuming re-signing Emerson after '25 was no longer realistic (why would he), he'd also have to go. All these post June 1 moves would not just eat up all their cap space in 25, but 26 as well, and the team would be 2 years out from starting to rebuild. When I said 'in theory, I understand, in practice, not so much' above this is what I was getting at. Cut Watson / Trade Garrett is a blow torch approach. If that's what you think is best, then so be it, but the point is this was not as simple as rip the bandaid off.

Now compare that to the scenario that plays out by keeping him. They're likely going to get $44m in cap relief in '26, cap relief they would not get if they cut him now. We'll see where their cap actually ends up, but on the current trajectory, I expect > $20m to roll over to '26. Whether it's > $30m or not depends on what happens with Cousins and Newsome. The roster is intact with a full arsenal of draft picks and ~$60-70m of cap space available in '26 rather than gutted and no money to spend until '27.

When I said upstream fiscally this is the right move, all this is why. He'll be post June 1 cut on the first day of the new league year in 2026 and only has reason to milk this in conjunction with the Browns and not set foot on the sideline between now and then. I'll be surprised if he ever steps foot on a field ever again.

 

[ghostguy123]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

What would've you done?

Take the hit ASAP, suck for 2-3 years, then have a chance

 

[ghostguy123]

In combat medical school they teach you to apply the tourniquet. It’s better to save the life and lose the appendage. Similar logic here, cut and lose the year, make other cap moves as needed.

What other cap moves would've you done?

Whatever it took. Including trading garrett. I don’t have the time or inclination to make it all work while I’m walking to my desk. But a GM certainly should be able to figure it out.

To cut Watson and trade Garrett, they also would've needed to trade Newsome then post June 1 cut Njoku, Ward, Teller, Pocic, and Conklin, then convince Bitonio to retire. While they couldn't be traded until after June 1, I imagine Delpit and Jeudy would've forced their way out too. If they didn't then they'd play the role of disgruntled employee until they can get free. Then assuming re-signing Emerson after '25 was no longer realistic (why would he), he'd also have to go. All these post June 1 moves would not just eat up all their cap space in 25, but 26 as well, and the team would be 2 years out from starting to rebuild. When I said 'in theory, I understand, in practice, not so much' above this is what I was getting at. Cut Watson / Trade Garrett is a blow torch approach. If that's what you think is best, then so be it, but the point is this was not as simple as rip the bandaid off.

Now compare that to the scenario that plays out by keeping him. They're likely going to get $44m in cap relief in '26, cap relief they would not get if they cut him now. We'll see where their cap actually ends up, but on the current trajectory, I expect > $20m to roll over to '26. Whether it's > $30m or not depends on what happens with Cousins and Newsome. The roster is intact with a full arsenal of draft picks and ~$60-70m of cap space available in '26 rather than gutted and no money to spend until '27.

When I said upstream fiscally this is the right move, all this is why. He'll be post June 1 cut on the first day of the new league year in 2026 and only has reason to milk this in conjunction with the Browns and not set foot on the sideline between now and then. I'll be surprised if he ever steps foot on a field ever again.

I wanted the blow torch approach.
I'm ok with an expansion team 2026. It's better than what's coming

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

What would've you done?

Take the hit ASAP, suck for 2-3 years, then have a chance

They're going on what, the 8th iteration of this strategy?

 

[menobrown]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

What would've you done?

Take the hit ASAP, suck for 2-3 years, then have a chance

Could the reluctance to this approach be at least somewhat tied into trying to get some public funding assistance for the new stadium?

 

[MAC_32]

Could the reluctance to this approach be at least somewhat tied into trying to get some public funding assistance for the new stadium?

Partially, but I think it's much more that this has been done many times before as Andy said, and to an unusually high degree less than a decade ago. The appetite is not there to do it again and the math not mathing justifies pivoting elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I have no confidence whatever this team does will work. This is the best leadership group that's ever been in place and it's still been rudderless. This experience killed whatever will I have left. I'm just saying I get why they're doing this and it's justifiable.

 

[ghostguy123]

Key numbers to know:

He has now been actually paid $182,775,000 of his $230M guaranteed contract with just his league minimum base due in 2025 and $46M in 2026 left from the original $230M left to be paid.

His cap number in 2026 is $81.6m.

I just don't understand why you don't take the hit this year instead. The restructure was dumb even for the Browns

What would've you done?

Take the hit ASAP, suck for 2-3 years, then have a chance

Could the reluctance to this approach be at least somewhat tied into trying to get some public funding assistance for the new stadium?

Who knows. We never know what's going on in the background. The owner wants to make as much money as possible, and all decisions are based on that. An owner will take a much bigger profit going 0-17 than lesser to make the playoffs.

 

[DocHolliday]

In combat medical school they teach you to apply the tourniquet. It’s better to save the life and lose the appendage. Similar logic here, cut and lose the year, make other cap moves as needed.

What other cap moves would've you done?

Whatever it took. Including trading garrett. I don’t have the time or inclination to make it all work while I’m walking to my desk. But a GM certainly should be able to figure it out.

To cut Watson and trade Garrett, they also would've needed to trade Newsome then post June 1 cut Njoku, Ward, Teller, Pocic, and Conklin, then convince Bitonio to retire. While they couldn't be traded until after June 1, I imagine Delpit and Jeudy would've forced their way out too. If they didn't then they'd play the role of disgruntled employee until they can get free. Then assuming re-signing Emerson after '25 was no longer realistic (why would he), he'd also have to go. All these post June 1 moves would not just eat up all their cap space in 25, but 26 as well, and the team would be 2 years out from starting to rebuild. When I said 'in theory, I understand, in practice, not so much' above this is what I was getting at. Cut Watson / Trade Garrett is a blow torch approach. If that's what you think is best, then so be it, but the point is this was not as simple as rip the bandaid off.

Now compare that to the scenario that plays out by keeping him. They're likely going to get $44m in cap relief in '26, cap relief they would not get if they cut him now. We'll see where their cap actually ends up, but on the current trajectory, I expect > $20m to roll over to '26. Whether it's > $30m or not depends on what happens with Cousins and Newsome. The roster is intact with a full arsenal of draft picks and ~$60-70m of cap space available in '26 rather than gutted and no money to spend until '27.

When I said upstream fiscally this is the right move, all this is why. He'll be post June 1 cut on the first day of the new league year in 2026 and only has reason to milk this in conjunction with the Browns and not set foot on the sideline between now and then. I'll be surprised if he ever steps foot on a field ever again.

Seems like keeping Watson on the team may create disgruntled employees. Cutting him may not seem as easy as it sounds but as long as Watson is

Could the reluctance to this approach be at least somewhat tied into trying to get some public funding assistance for the new stadium?

Partially, but I think it's much more that this has been done many times before as Andy said, and to an unusually high degree less than a decade ago. The appetite is not there to do it again and the math not mathing justifies pivoting elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I have no confidence whatever this team does will work. This is the best leadership group that's ever been in place and it's still been rudderless. This experience killed whatever will I have left. I'm just saying I get why they're doing this and it's justifiable.

I thought the current regime made pretty sound moves until Watson was brought in.

 

[Drunken Cowboy]

In combat medical school they teach you to apply the tourniquet. It’s better to save the life and lose the appendage. Similar logic here, cut and lose the year, make other cap moves as needed.

What other cap moves would've you done?

Whatever it took. Including trading garrett. I don’t have the time or inclination to make it all work while I’m walking to my desk. But a GM certainly should be able to figure it out.

To cut Watson and trade Garrett, they also would've needed to trade Newsome then post June 1 cut Njoku, Ward, Teller, Pocic, and Conklin, then convince Bitonio to retire. While they couldn't be traded until after June 1, I imagine Delpit and Jeudy would've forced their way out too. If they didn't then they'd play the role of disgruntled employee until they can get free. Then assuming re-signing Emerson after '25 was no longer realistic (why would he), he'd also have to go. All these post June 1 moves would not just eat up all their cap space in 25, but 26 as well, and the team would be 2 years out from starting to rebuild. When I said 'in theory, I understand, in practice, not so much' above this is what I was getting at. Cut Watson / Trade Garrett is a blow torch approach. If that's what you think is best, then so be it, but the point is this was not as simple as rip the bandaid off.

Now compare that to the scenario that plays out by keeping him. They're likely going to get $44m in cap relief in '26, cap relief they would not get if they cut him now. We'll see where their cap actually ends up, but on the current trajectory, I expect > $20m to roll over to '26. Whether it's > $30m or not depends on what happens with Cousins and Newsome. The roster is intact with a full arsenal of draft picks and ~$60-70m of cap space available in '26 rather than gutted and no money to spend until '27.

When I said upstream fiscally this is the right move, all this is why. He'll be post June 1 cut on the first day of the new league year in 2026 and only has reason to milk this in conjunction with the Browns and not set foot on the sideline between now and then. I'll be surprised if he ever steps foot on a field ever again.

There is also a pretty big draft pick haul that comes from this though

 

[MAC_32]

I thought the current regime made pretty sound moves until Watson was brought in.

There are good reasons this regime survived the Watson debacle, Jimmy orchestrated it. This group did great work before, have done great work amidst, and have built a roster that's not sunk despite this anchor dragging them down.