On Thursday, news broke that the Cleveland Browns restructured Deshaun Watson's contract. Per Field Yates and his sources, "The Browns have restructured the contract of QB Deshaun Watson, converting $44.79M of his 2024 base salary into a signing bonus and creating $35.832M in cap space."
This was not a surprising move. Many expected this would happen before Week 1.
The more significant part of the story is that the Browns now have over $62 million available in cap space, the most in the NFL.
Does the team have plans for this money? They did not extend stalwart Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper beyond 2024, and they made an aggressive pitch for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk made it clear that he did not want to play for the Browns three weeks ago. Since then, everything has stalled. Aiyuk is not practicing, and no trade has been made. Could Bengals superstar Ja'Marr Chase be on the team's radar? It is hard to say.
"The hold up with Cleveland all along has been Brandon Aiyuk's willingness to accept a trade to the Browns..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 29, 2024
The contract would've been done there if he wanted to go..
The compensation would've been done there if he wanted to go" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/MGpYYIvfes
Regardless, it is a good position to be in for the Browns front office. GM Andrew Berry's trademark is efficient money management unless it is necessary to go all-in for a big name. The Browns did it with Deshaun Watson in 2022. A wide receiver would make the most logical sense given the roster and the team's position with Cooper's contract.
