Russell Wilson will be leaving the Broncos with the largest cap hit ever, but could this open the door for Deshaun Watson to be released by the Browns?
On Monday, there was some very significant NFL news. This has nothing to do with the rumors circulating that Justin Fields would be of interest to the Cleveland Browns. Rather, it was the Denver Broncos declaring that, after just two seasons with the organization, Russell Wilson would be released.
The quantity of dead money is shocking, even though the breakup isn’t a huge surprise. Wilson will hold the record for the most dead money in league history after agreeing to a five-year, $245 million contract in 2022. In essence, the Broncos will use up $85 million in cap space in order to get rid of Russ’s cooking.
Wilson is free to sign with any team, although it seems unlikely that his market will be very robust at this time. His stats were decent overall in Denver, but as a leader, he was just not accepted by the club.
Does Russell Wilson release mean anything for Deshaun Watson and the Browns?
Fans in Cleveland naturally began to question if the Broncos, who are clearly the least popular club in the NFL, would be prepared to take a blow in order to move on from Deshaun Watson, given that they were willing to take on $85 million in dead money.
In 2022, Watson was also added, following Cleveland’s loss of Wilson. Their initial goal was the former Seahawk, but it is said that he turned down the team’s offer. Subsequently, they focused on Watson and managed to execute an unforeseen sensational deal. The fully guaranteed $235 million, five-year contract came next.
Watson’s contracts were mocked from the beginning, and despite the fact that players like Wilson got more money, Watson is untouchable because of his pledges. Given what would happen to the Browns if Watson was cut, even Wilson’s $85 million in dead money seems like a good deal.
Spotrac claims that the following impacts to the cap space would result from his release as a Post-June 1 cut: