There is no doubt about it that the decision made by the Cleveland Browns to trade for and extend quarterback Deshaun Watson blew up in their face.
Not only did they guarantee him $230 million over five years, but they traded more than three first round picks to acquire him. Now on the tail end of the Watson era in Cleveland after he re-ruptured his Achilles, the Browns have to dig themselves out of the grave they willingly jumped into.
One analyst, however, thinks they’ve got the assets to do so.
PFF’s Timo Riske has outlined where all 32 teams sit in the amount of assets they have this offseason, and the Browns are nowhere near the bottom of the list. In fact, they sit in the top half of the league in assets at their disposal.
Riske divides assets into three categories: draft picks, effective salary cap space, and restructure potential.
While the Browns have the least amount of effective cap space in the entire NFL, they do have near the top in restructure potential. This will elevate their effective cap space to work with this offseason when the new league year begins in March. The Browns also have the most draft capital of any NFL team this season with 11 picks thus far.
They could potentially land a new quarterback, Colorado’s Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, or Penn State’s lethal pass rusher Abdul Carter with that pick. They could even trade down and land even more draft capital in both 2025 and beyond.
While the Watson era certainly made life difficult for the Browns, it will not bury them.
