As much as I would love to have DW be gone today (sounds like we’re on the same page there), the cap implications would be a huge problem in terms of fielding a competitive team this year. Overthecap.com has his cap hit at $80M this season (link below). My expectation is that they make him a post June 1 cut next year to spread his cap hit out. I’m not sure how they will stash him on the roster to make it happen, but I think we’re stuck hearing his name for another season.
Post june 1 cut is this year is what they should do. The cap is going up and we have seen other instances where dead cap doesn't really affect a turnaround (see the Broncos).
I neglected to account for the void years in his deal, that’s my mistake. The $80M cap hit this year is only part of what’s left on his deal. He’s at $131M in total dead money. I believe the post June 1 would help, but it’s still painful this year.
Again, I’d love to never hear about DW again, but I expect him to stick around through the 2026 season to make the cap hit more manageable.
As for the Broncos, they had a lot more of their top players on rookie deals this past season, which makes those cap hits a lot nicer. Surtain was at $8.4M, Nick Bonitto at $5.8M, Jonathon Cooper at $8.1M, Zach Allen at $14.4M, DJ Jones at $6.6M. Their O line was (and will be) more expensive (McGlinchey $23.7M, Ben Powers $17.4M). Quinn Meinerz jumps from $5.5M to $21.7M this year. Those 8 totaled a little under $90M last year.
Ward will likely get restructured this year, but as of now, his cap his is $32.9M. Bitonio and Garrett are both over $23M. Those three will total just under $80M. Throw in DW, you’re over half the base cap right there.
Maybe taking their medicine this year and cutting a few higher priced veterans in favor of cheap rookies makes cutting DW this year as a post June 1 palatable, but I’d be hesitant to go that route if I were Monken. He isn’t likely to get another chance as a HC if this goes poorly.
The only issue i have is if Watson is decidedly better then Gabriel and Sanders in camp how do you look your veteran defensive players in the eye if you don't start him? Those guys are sick of losing and they dont give a shit about a qb of the future they want the best guy on the field now to win. To me that is the problem with our qb room as it is set up.
The Houston days are physically behind Watson. Filter out all the other stuff. Physically, we will never see Pro Bowl level QB from him again. He is done.
I guess the Watson thing comes down to the notion that he would, presumably, beat Gabriel and Sanders in an outright competition. Even what we saw in Cleveland, he was better than those guys. That's a low bar though, considering they were basically the two worst QBs in the league, and whether or not Watson actually moves the needles is another question - he won't get us into playoff contention, and he would only take us out of top pick contention, plus what happens if he's mediocre, do you resign him? It all points to Watson being entirely useless to the organisation, and that's before you consider everything else that goes with it.
I want two OL and a WR in the first 3 picks and never want to see DW in a Browns uniform again, they really should cut him and eat the dead cap
I agree on your draft plan.
As much as I would love to have DW be gone today (sounds like we’re on the same page there), the cap implications would be a huge problem in terms of fielding a competitive team this year. Overthecap.com has his cap hit at $80M this season (link below). My expectation is that they make him a post June 1 cut next year to spread his cap hit out. I’m not sure how they will stash him on the roster to make it happen, but I think we’re stuck hearing his name for another season.
https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/cleveland-browns#google_vignette
Post june 1 cut is this year is what they should do. The cap is going up and we have seen other instances where dead cap doesn't really affect a turnaround (see the Broncos).
I neglected to account for the void years in his deal, that’s my mistake. The $80M cap hit this year is only part of what’s left on his deal. He’s at $131M in total dead money. I believe the post June 1 would help, but it’s still painful this year.
Again, I’d love to never hear about DW again, but I expect him to stick around through the 2026 season to make the cap hit more manageable.
As for the Broncos, they had a lot more of their top players on rookie deals this past season, which makes those cap hits a lot nicer. Surtain was at $8.4M, Nick Bonitto at $5.8M, Jonathon Cooper at $8.1M, Zach Allen at $14.4M, DJ Jones at $6.6M. Their O line was (and will be) more expensive (McGlinchey $23.7M, Ben Powers $17.4M). Quinn Meinerz jumps from $5.5M to $21.7M this year. Those 8 totaled a little under $90M last year.
Ward will likely get restructured this year, but as of now, his cap his is $32.9M. Bitonio and Garrett are both over $23M. Those three will total just under $80M. Throw in DW, you’re over half the base cap right there.
Maybe taking their medicine this year and cutting a few higher priced veterans in favor of cheap rookies makes cutting DW this year as a post June 1 palatable, but I’d be hesitant to go that route if I were Monken. He isn’t likely to get another chance as a HC if this goes poorly.
The only issue i have is if Watson is decidedly better then Gabriel and Sanders in camp how do you look your veteran defensive players in the eye if you don't start him? Those guys are sick of losing and they dont give a shit about a qb of the future they want the best guy on the field now to win. To me that is the problem with our qb room as it is set up.
The Houston days are physically behind Watson. Filter out all the other stuff. Physically, we will never see Pro Bowl level QB from him again. He is done.
I guess the Watson thing comes down to the notion that he would, presumably, beat Gabriel and Sanders in an outright competition. Even what we saw in Cleveland, he was better than those guys. That's a low bar though, considering they were basically the two worst QBs in the league, and whether or not Watson actually moves the needles is another question - he won't get us into playoff contention, and he would only take us out of top pick contention, plus what happens if he's mediocre, do you resign him? It all points to Watson being entirely useless to the organisation, and that's before you consider everything else that goes with it.
Agree with everything said... but so, so tempting to take Downs. :)