How the Browns Can Best Start the Rebuilding Process
The Browns cannot afford to kick the can down the road, particularly with DeShaun Watson.
Back in 2022, multiple teams made headlines with blockbuster trades, but it was two teams that made the biggest headlines: The Broncos' trade for quarterback Russell Wilson and the Browns' trade for quarterback DeShaun Watson.
Both trades proved to be disasters for the teams in question. The Broncos are currently digging their way out of the mess that came from the Wilson trade and subsequent extension they gave him. However, they have at least become a competitive team and can see a light at the end of the tunnel because they will not owe any more cash to Wilson after the 2024 season.
For the Browns, it's a different story. They gave Watson a five-year deal in which they guaranteed every dollar and, thus, have no way to get out of paying his salary for the next two seasons unless Watson retires.
Also, the Browns are running into multiple issues with the roster. They have two offensive tackles who have battled injuries, they lack a true No. 1 wide receiver and they are lacking a few players to complete the defense. They do have an elite pass rusher in Myles Garrett but he will be 30 years old next season.
On top of that, the Browns are projected to be nearly $12M over the cap, assuming a base cap of $272.5M. They have 42 players under contract and will need to sign some players to futures contracts to get to 51 players.
Though the Browns currently have more than $45M in cap space this year and can carry it over, it's not a given that it will resolve all their cap issues. Additionally, they are not expected to have much cap room for 2026, thanks largely to Watson's contract.
The Browns restructured a lot of contracts this year with the idea that they would accumulate more carryover into next year. However, that means they are not in position to do much restructuring in 2025. Furthermore, if they do that, they will run into problems in 2026, particularly as multiple players become free agents and will carry a lot of dead money charges because the Browns used void years in doing restructures.
Nonetheless, the Browns are going to have to ride it out with the majority of the players they have. Thanks to those restructures they did this year, they can't trade players away because the Browns won't get any cap benefit.
The Browns are a team that needs to be like the Saints, in that they will have to start the rebuilding process in 2025 and do what they can to stay cap compliant. They need to do so in a way that gives them flexibility in 2026 to accomplish a rebuild.
Let's look at what the Browns need to do in 2025 to set the stage while becoming cap compliant.
Do not touch DeShaun Watson's contract: As painful as it will be to deal with a cap charge of nearly $73M, the worst thing the Browns can do is restructure his contract again. That's just going to make it even more difficult for them to move on in 2026, in which it's currently doable even as it comes with pain like the Broncos had with Wilson this year.
The Browns could get some relief if Watson retires because then they would no longer ow him his $46M salary. I would be surprised if he retires, but if that were to happen, the Browns could keep him on the roster until June 1, then place him on the retired list so they can spread out the dead money from his signing bonus and previous restructure over two seasons.
If Watson comes back for 2025, the Browns would have an out in 2026 by using the post-June 1 release. They would still be on the hook for $46M in cash but could at least spread out the dead money over two seasons.
I would not count on Watson renegotiating his deal, so unless he retires, the Browns need to grin and bear it with him. But under no circumstance should they convert any salary into a signing bonus.
Extend or trade Greg Newsome II: Newsome enters the fifth-year option of his draft pick contract, which will pay him $13.4M in guaranteed salary. If the Browns want to keep him, they should extend him to lower his cap number.
If they aren't convinced he's part of their long-term plans, they need to trade him. Doing so would free $13.4M in cap space and cash. Restructuring his 2025 salary into a signing bonus with void years is a bad idea, because it will make things more painful in 2026. If the Browns don't see him as part of the long term, better to trade him for whatever they can get.
Decide between Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin: The Browns did a restructure with void years for the fifth-year option for Wills, which leaves them with an $11.8M cap charge if they don't retain him. Meanwhile, Conklin is due $14M in base salary with a cap charge of $19.4M.
If the Browns extend Wills, that eliminates the void years and allows the Browns to spread out the cap charges of the restructure of the fifth-year option. However, it would mean the Browns would need to cut Conklin to save some cap space. I'd just do a straight cut here, as with a post-June 1 cut, they would have to carry Conklin's full cap charge until June 1.
If the Browns decide to let Wills depart, they should renegotiate Conklin's 2025 salary. When I went with the option to let Wills walk and renegotiate Conklin's salary, I opted to reduce his base salary to $8M with the remaining $6M converted into incentives. This gets Conklin's cap charge reduced and still allows the Browns to move on from Conklin in 2026 without difficulty.
Cut LB Jordan Hicks: The Browns won't get a lot of cap relief by cutting players outright, but they could get a little relief by parting ways with Hicks, who will be 33 years old in 2025. The Browns will at least get a little wiggle room here.
Restructure a portion of CB Denzel Ward's contract: The only player who can be safely restructured is Ward, but the Browns should be careful how far they go with it. I did a small restructure in which I converted $6M of Ward's base salary into a signing bonus. That will give the Browns a little more wiggle room under the cap.
Figure out one player who can be cut with a post-June 1 designation: Teams are limited to two players who they can cut with a post-June 1 designation. I went with Davlin Tomlinson because that will help the Browns the most in getting some space to sign draft picks. A post-June 1 cut of Tomlinson would free $6.5M in cap space.
From there, the Browns need to sit out free agency for the most part and ride it out as best they can with the rest of the roster. That would allow them to have a better position in 2026, in which they can cut more players to gain cap space, use a post-June 1 move on Watson and do a better job of addressing the roster.
As with the Saints, the Browns cannot pretend they are just a few players away from the playoffs. They need to accept that things have not worked out with Watson and start going a different direction. They cannot afford to kick the can down the road for 2025, lest they wind up like the Saints and deal with a bigger cap nightmare down the road.