During Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson ruptured his Achilles. Jameis Winston has been starting in Watson’s place ever since, and the Browns’ offense has significantly improved since the quarterback change. This has many wondering about Winston’s contract and what the future holds for the quarterback. Let’s examine his upcoming free agency.
Jameis Winston Is an Unrestricted Free Agent After the Season
Last offseason, Winston signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Browns. After this season, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, so he’s currently playing for a new deal.
In PFN’s backup quarterback rankings, Winston is ranked the fourth-best reserve QB in the league.
With Watson starting, Cleveland lost six of their first seven games, and the offense was sputtering. Under Winston, the Browns are 2-2 with impressive wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, and the offense looks much better.
Winston’s numbers are better than Watson’s across the board, but it remains to be seen what the Browns will do in 2025.
If the Browns cut Watson today, they would incur a 2024 dead-cap hit of $119.9 million (including $93.2 million cash) and a 2025 dead-cap hit of $80.7 million due to his fully guaranteed contract. This would be the largest dead-cap hit in NFL history, beating the $85 million dead-money hit (including $53 million in 2024) that the Denver Broncos absorbed when they released Russell Wilson last offseason.
For the "just cut Deshaun now" crowd:
2024 Dead Cap: $119,942,678 ($93.2M cash)
2025 Dead Cap: $80,770,000For the "cut Deshaun after 2024" crowd:
2025 Dead Cap: $118,935,000 ($92M cash)
2026 Dead Cap: $53,835,000For the "cut Deshaun after 2025" crowd:
2026 Dead Cap:…— Spotrac (@spotrac) September 9, 2024
If Cleveland cuts Watson this offseason, they would still have a 2025 dead-cap hit of $118.9 million (including $92 million cash) and a 2026 dead-cap hit of $53.8 million. Again, this would be the largest dead-cap hit of all time.
Let’s say the Browns hold onto Watson until after the 2025 season and then decide to cut him then. They would still get hit with a historic dead-cap hit of $72,935,000 (including $46 million cash) in 2026 and $26,900,000 in 2027.
Do the Browns start Watson again and hope he improves drastically (which seems very unlikely coming off of a ruptured Achilles)? Do they bench him despite his enormous salary? Or do they cut Watson and take the enormous dead-cap hit?
Even if the Browns want to re-sign Winston, Watson’s contract may prevent them from doing so, especially if Winston thrives down the stretch and plays himself into a lucrative payday.
Watson is currently the No. 39-ranked quarterback in PFN’s QB+ metric, receiving an F grade. Even before getting hurt, Watson was in the bottom five for nearly every metric, including third-down conversion rate, nYPA, passing from a clean pocket, and passing when under pressure.
Meanwhile, Winston ranks No. 20 in QB+ this season as he makes the most of his opportunity in Cleveland.