Despite authorizing a Deshaun Watson contract with guarantees well beyond uncharted NFL territory, the Browns still carry some of the most cap space in the league. They are prepared to use the additional funds to bring back familiar faces.
The Browns restructured Amari Cooper‘s contract Saturday, moving the bulk of his $20MM base salary into a signing bonus, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. This created $15MM in cap space for Cleveland, which sits second in the NFL with more than $36MM in available funds. This opens the door to both Jarvis Landry and Jadeveon Clowney coming back, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com notes.
Cleveland “would love” to bring back both players, Cabot adds, despite having cut Landry earlier this week. Having Landry back would give Watson an accomplished No. 2 receiver, with Cooper set to play the WR1 role for his third NFL team. Clowney said earlier this month he was planning to be patient, but Cabot adds the Browns have been in discussions with both he and Landry about coming back.
Cooper’s restructure balloons his 2023 and ’24 cap figures north of $23MM, and while Watson’s $230MM fully guaranteed resides in another stratosphere compared to the rest of the league, he is only set to count $10MM against Cleveland’s cap this year, Pelissero adds (on Twitter). By reducing Watson’s salary in 2022, the embattled quarterback stands to lose less money if/when he is suspended. While the Browns have been heavily criticized for the Watson addition and contract extension, they are preparing to be a Super Bowl contender. That status will naturally be a draw for veterans.
Clowney, 29, has famously never landed a long-term contract as a veteran, going from a 2018 fifth-year option to a 2019 franchise tag to one-year deals with the Titans and Browns in the following years. Playing opposite Myles Garrett, Clowney registered nine sacks last season. He played with Watson for two seasons in Houston.
Landry’s five-year Pro Bowl streak stopped after the 2019 season, and he finished with a career-low 570 receiving yards. But Baker Mayfield‘s shoulder injury limited the Browns’ passing game. When Watson is available in 2022, the Browns should feature superior aerial capabilities. Landry, 29, is not a lock to come back, however. The Falcons have him on their radar, joining other teams in that regard. The Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster signing may take them out of the Landry running, though.
god i hope they bring back landry
Browns have an interesting outlook/definition on the word “adult”. But we all knew Watson was going to be traded, (will be) suspended (4-6 games), and play again sometime this season. Never was a doubt in my mind.
They meant “adulterer”
You think only 4-6 game suspension? Antonio Brown got 8. The league is already under fire regarding racial hiring practices… how is 4-6 games going to go over when it comes to women’s groups post-MeToo? Don’t forget, they’ve got to also consider that nearly HALF (47%) of their fans are female.
You realize Watson did not play last year because he was suspended by Houston? I would say he gets 4 to 6 games by the league this year.
I don’t really think Houston’s “suspension” will satisfy. As I recall, he refused to play so that was more HIS decision than the club’s. I’m pretty sure the Texans would have had him under center if he’d have been willing. Regardless, the league isn’t going to simply complement the Texans lack of playing him – they’re going to impose their own punishment and not allow it to piggyback a team’s.
Watson was put on the commissioner’s exempt list last season, and received every penny as if he were playing. That’s not the same as a suspension, which not only features a player not playing but also not being paid for the missed games. Watson is still subject to punishment for his behavior, and the punishment will be a suspension, though for how long, remains to be seen.
Like our friend said, the league gave Brown 8 games. This isn’t one incident. It’s 22 that we know of.
I still think that treating the 22 separate accusations as 1 violation of the NFL policy is generous. The Browns must have talked to the NFL about what this suspension will look like for Watson before committing stupid money and picks for this creep, but It seems there are 22 Antonio Brown 8 game suspensions that we know of.
Thing is, the needle has moved more in Watson’s favor. The criminal charges have been dismissed, which is really the only legal indicator of guilt in this scenario. The civil cases may find him liable or negligent at a lower standard of proof, so the only way that the NFL can justify a punishment at all is to say that Watson violated its own standard for behavior, not a legal one (like they did for Ezekiel Elliott-no legal proof of guilt, but a claimed violation of the NFL standard).
Even then, while a suspension is more than likely, any sort of lengthy one would be challenged by Watson and could end up in court as a legal matter like Brady’s did or being arbitrated beforehand according to the league’s guidelines (the standard process for most fines and suspensions and what not). Even if the NFL imposed a longer suspension initially, I think that it would completely expect a shorter one to be ultimately be imposed by the league appeal before it reaches the actual courts. That’s better for them too, because they can say that they tried to be harsh with Watson but can ensure that the sentence will be reduced in house to placate concerns that Watson was never charged criminally. Playing both sides, really.
I certainly expect a suspension, but a shorter one. Four to six seems to be the standard, given the Elliott outcome. The reason that the league was waiting was the criminal inquiry, to determine its course of action.
I think the league was waiting for the “legal stuff” to play out because if he were in prison, then a suspension wouldn’t mean much. I am simply saying this isn’t “an” incident, it’s 22. He should face a suspension for each incident. This should not be a bundle your home and auto situation for Watson.
That may be fair, but “should” is a different place than “will”. I didn’t say that that wasn’t possible, but the grand jury deciding not to indict will limit the NFL’s options as a practical matter. The 22 lawsuits in a way do rear their heads in terms of weight-the number could possibly guarantee punishment in a way that one or two incidents would not in this situation.
Again, the determinant here is the fact that those cases are civil. It’s a much, much lower standard of proof and any suspension that Watson considers draconian is liable to be challenged, which will bring more attention to a situation that the NFL likely wants gone as is. Even if they legitimately want to punish him, Watson would stand a good chance of getting a lengthy sentence reduced.
Trade Hunt for Cooks, bring back Clowney, bring back Tretter and get a back up RB in the form of Phillip Lindsay.
Watson Chubb Lindsay Cooper Cooks Njoku and keep the strong o line
They already have Tretter’s replacement plus Tretter is going to get a stupidly expensive contract.
And Johnson can replace Hunt
Man, if this all works out, and we can bring back Clowney, Landry, and maybe even Julio and Will Fuller, which have both been linked to the Browns, Berry deserves executive of the year and then some.
By signing a rapist?
The Steelers did it with Rothelrapist what is the difference? The fans never left.
They should have. And this is a different time.
He is also 28-25 for his career, with one playoff win. And also a sexual predator. Berry deserves executive of the year “and then some”?? Maybe Browns fans are the perfect fit for Watson.
As some others pointed out, Watson faced a much higher body of accusers than Roethlisberger did, even though Roethlisberger was accused of a much worse crime individually. Perhaps not charge-wise-I’m not sure which degree of sexual assault Roethlisberger faced, but I’m sure that was the highest level of it involved penetration, which is a standard for rape in most states-but in the minds of the public, it was a worse crime on its own I would imagine.
I’m not saying this to justify, accuse, or defend either Roethlisberger or Watson. None of us know to what extent, if any, those accusations were accurate. But there certainly differences between the cases, and obviously some fans will not forget (I think Yep it is has proven that point ad nauseam).
Best Browns team since Bernie Kosar, but they still won’t make but a dent in the playoffs.
Watson quit on the Texans after signing a $151 M contract, demanding a trade cause he wasn’t consulted in their GM search?!! Then he proceeded to do “something” to 22 women – doubt they are all making this up. He should be suspended for a min 8 games – guy is cancer –
the Browns better buckle up.
I just don’t understand how the Texans got the three first round picks for him. I don’t care about the money it’s not my money.
Why do they even bother with contract terms? Just pay everyone in signing bonuses.