Second thoughts: Deshaun Watson contract restructuring means one more year on roster, three years on the books

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Second thoughts on Browns’ 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins …

1. The nuances of the Browns’ restructuring of Deshaun Watson’s contract are confusing and mostly misunderstood. The best attempt at simplifying what it all means comes from Mike Ginnitti, founder and managing editor of Spotrac. A few things to note: Watson will be paid the remaining $92 million of his $230 million contract over the next two years. Because of converting base salaries to cash bonuses the past three years, the Browns will have to account for approximately $172.5 million in dead cap money on Watson’s deal starting in 2025. In his weekly podcast, Ginnitti speculates that Watson will stay on the Browns roster in 2025 at a salary cap cost of $37 million (as a result of a fourth conversion of salary to cash bonus). Ginnitti expects Watson to be designated a post-June 1 cut in March of 2026, after which he would be off the roster but count $46 million on the 2026 cap and an NFL-record $89.5 million in 2027. All of which points to why it is essential for the Browns to have their next franchise quarterback hopeful under a rookie contract as soon as possible.

2. Mike Vrabel’s time as a Browns personnel and coaching consultant has ended, freeing him to participate in the next NFL hiring cycle. Vrabel undoubtedly will be a deserving, prime candidate for any head coach opening. There are three points to be made about Vrabel’s season-long stay with the Browns: 1. While much has been said and written about Vrabel’s fabulous contributions and his role as an invaluable resource to those in the organization, the fact is he is stained by the team’s 3-13 record. I mean, what did he contribute to this 3-13 debacle? 2. I will always maintain that the best possible Browns coaching staff would be one with  Vrabel as head coach, Kevin Stefanski as offensive coordinator, and Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator. I understand it would be unprecedented for a head coach to step down and accept a lesser role in the same organization. But don’t the Browns pride themselves in going “outside the box”? Facilitating that deserved a try. 3. If Vrabel goes on to have instant and lasting success with another team, Jimmy Haslam will live to regret letting Vrabel exit the organization without considering him as Browns head coach. Haslam failed to land Jim Harbaugh as coach in 2014 when Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers presented the opportunity to him.

3. The big mystery of the Browns’ final game in Baltimore is whether Dorian Thompson-Robinson will receive a third start at quarterback or Bailey Zappe will etch his name in Browns history with his first start and become QB40 in the expansion era. Jameis Winston doesn’t seem to be a consideration. I would give DTR the start with the understanding that Zappe would take over in the second half, no matter the score. In any case, the Ravens, who need a win to clinch the AFC North title, are unfazed by the uncertainty of the Browns’ quarterback plans. At his press availability on Monday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said, “We’ll have to build some tape on the guy that we don’t have tape on right now – Zappe. We’ll go back and pull some tape from New England and different places, but we won’t probably go back to Western Kentucky on him. We won’t go back quite that far. But Winston we know, DTR we know, and then [Zappe] we’ll have to prepare for. I do think we’ll probably know tomorrow or the next day – I would think – but we’ll see. Maybe they’ll try to keep it under wraps, but whichever way it goes, we’re playing the Browns, the Browns are playing the Ravens, and we’ll be ready to go.” 

4. The commitment to target Jerry Jeudy 18 times in the Miami game has taken the receiver to the doorstep of a Browns record. Jeudy now has 84 receptions for 1,166 yards. He needs six receptions in the final game in Baltimore to break the single-season franchise record of 89 held by Ozzie Newsome (twice) and Kellen Winslow Jr. Both were tight ends. Josh Gordon’s 87 receptions are the most for a Browns wide receiver. Jeudy can’t catch Gordon for the single-season yardage record of 1,646. But he can take a run at No. 2 on the list, held by Braylon Edwards, with 1,289 yards. Currently, Jeudy’s 84 receptions rank him fifth on the Browns’ all-time list and his 1,166 yards are sixth.

5. One of the few bright notes in the last month of the season has been the steady improvement of second-year defensive end Isaiah McGuire. McGuire’s play time increased as a result of the trade of Za’Darius Smith and more recently the injury to Ogbo Okoronkwo. McGuire had a career-high 54 snaps against Miami and was credited with a sack, three tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. For the season, McGuire now is fifth on the team in sacks (2.5), third in TFLs (8), and third in quarterback hits (9). And yet he ranks 12^th on the defense in snap counts. “He has just sort of a knack for being around the ball, and he’s got long arms,” said defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. “Some guys have a knack for it. Hopefully, that’s one of the things that he can bring to us.” McGuire figures to be a candidate next year to start at left defensive end, along with Alex Wright, whose season was cut short after four games with a torn triceps muscle. McGuire’s recent resurgence may cause the Browns to look to defensive tackle as a higher priority in the 2025 draft than defensive end.