After six games into the regular season, the Browns are banking on life support to keep their season alive. And their problems at quarterback don’t seem to offer any respite whatsoever. With a $230 million problem hovering above Cleveland, the Browns need to take a stance, or else they can kiss their season goodbye.

Although there aren’t many escape plans, considering the contract Deshaun Watson was given in 2022. Former defensive lineman Chris Canty shared his thoughts about a possible scenario that the Browns could utilize, “They are gonna have to cut Deshaun Watson after this season and eat up $100 million go on next year’s cap and draft a rookie QB with second overall pick. Take your medicine now and deal with it for one year rather than dealing with it for the next three or four. That’s the only way to do it.”

Well, removing Watson from his record-breaking contract that has $46 million guaranteed for each year would be a disaster for the Browns (financially). If they were to cut him from their roster after this year, it would instantly mean a $99.8 million cap hit. In other words, the Browns would have to wash off 36% of their next year’s salary cap by removing the 29-year-old from their chequebook.

Even if they stick with Deshaun after this season, getting rid of him later wouldn’t do any good. As cutting Watson from their squad post-2025 season means they would have to take a salary hit of $72.9 million. However, if they do so, it would mean the Broncos scrapping Russell Wilson from their roster in 2024 would continue to hold the unwanted record of $85 million cap hit.

But considering the way Deshaun has been performing this season, it doesn’t look like the Browns would be going anywhere close to the playoffs. Over the six games he has played for Cleveland this year, Watson has recorded just 1,050 passing yards, five TDs and three interceptions. And to add more misery to those numbers, he still hasn’t thrown more than 200 yards for a single game this year.

So Canty asking the Browns to follow the lead of the Broncos wasn’t really surprising to us. “They are gonna have to take the approach that the Denver Broncos did with Russell Wilson and do it to a greater degree.” Although it remains to be seen whether the Browns are willing to take huge losses after this season. The former Cowboys DL also named a player that the Browns could bring on board if they were to remove Watson from their payload.

Browns bringing Shedeur Sanders as Deshaun Watson’s replacement 

It’s still too early for us to have any sort of idea where Buffaloes QB Shedeur Sanders will land next season. However, the problems going on in the Browns have got everyone thinking about whether he can slot in to replace Watson next year. Sanders has been sensational this year with the Buffaloes as the Colorado QB completed 72.6 percent of his passes for 2,018 yards. He has even added a mammoth 17 TDs over the six games he has played in college football this season.

Giving us an insight into his abilities, NFL Scout Dame Parson shared, “Overall, Sanders’ natural and pure passing abilities are the strength of his game. He is capable of winning from clean pockets and out of structure. Sanders will pick defenses apart with his quick release and accuracy, especially if he’s kept clean.” Well, those are capabilities that Cleveland fans dream about every day to have on their team. But seeing Watson perform, it seems like the Browns have forgotten what it means to have someone like Sanders on their roster.

The Browns QB currently finds himself holding the 28th rank among all the signal callers in the NFL this season. While his 21.7 QBR ranks dead last in the league this year. Will the Browns pull the plug on Watson’s horrid time in Cleveland by taking a record-breaking cap hit next year? Or are they willing to continue with him while struggling to put smiles on the faces of their fans week in and week out? Guess we will find out soon as the season approaches week 7.