6 Offseason Moves the Browns Must Make to Reach the Super Bowl Next Season

The Cleveland Browns went on a pretty remarkable run during the 2023 season, all things considered. It certainly wasn't the way general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski drew things up as the Browns only got six games out of starting quarterback Deshaun Watson and a couple of games out of Nick Chubb, but the Browns assembled such a strong team from top to bottom that they were able to win 11 regular season games.

How do they get to the next level in 2024? Aside from staying healthy, there are moves to be made in the 2024 offseason. Sitting at nearly $21 million over the salary cap, what moves need to be made to help Cleveland reach the Super Bowl LIX?

Let's take a look at a handful.

1. Restructure QB Deshaun Watson's deal

One of the first orders of business to make sure the Browns are able to assemble a contending roster for the coming season is to restructure Deshaun Watson's deal. Part of the beauty of long-term contracts in the NFL is being able to lower base salaries by offering players a portion of their salary as a bonus of some sort, and the Browns will need to do that with Watson.

Currently, Watson is set to count almost $64 million against the team's overall salary cap pie. A base salary restructure for Watson could add about $30 million in cap space for the Browns this offseason, which would take them from being about $21 million over the cap to being about $9 million under the cap.

It's going to be essential that Watson play along and do whatever is necessary this offseason to help keep the Browns contenders. He's also got to start doing his part on the field, but that's another topic entirely.