It looks like 2026 is the more likely year for Watson to be cut. The Browns would absorb $73 million in dead money but would avoid losing cap space. Regardless, though, it’s going to cost the Browns when they finally do dump Watson.

The Cleveland Browns will be without quarterback Deshaun Watson for the foreseeable future, including significant time in the 2025 season. The controversial Watson suffered a second rupture of his right Achilles tendon and had surgery to fix the issue.

The Browns have $44.3 million of Watson’s $46 million base salary covered by insurance. Yes, this means that the Browns will see $44.3 million put back into their cap space. However, this policy would not be cashed out until after the 2025 season, so the Browns would see that total recouped in their 2026 cap space.

Deshaun Watson’s Cleveland Browns career is officially over after another injury that will most likely keep him out of 2025. Last week, during Brown’s general manager Andrew Beryy’s postseason presser,

The Cleveland Browns will likely be without quarterback Deshaun Watson for all of the 2025 season and he may have played his last down of football in the brown and orange. However, that could be the least of Watson's worries as his re-ruptured Achilles