The Cleveland Browns have a chance to make the best out of one of the organization’s worst seasons in recent memory.
Cleveland dropped to 3-14 on the year on Saturday, January 4, after losing its final contest of the season in blowout fashion to the AFC North Division champion Baltimore Ravens. The defeat marked the Browns’ sixth consecutive loss and eighth in nine games, which dropped the team all the way to the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft after the New England Patriots won on Sunday in Buffalo.
The front office has already announced its intention to rework the contract of Deshaun Watson, which means the quarterback will almost certainly be on the roster in 2025. However, most analysts have projected for months that the Browns will do whatever they can to bring in a replacement for Watson in the starting lineup.
Before the wild shuffling atop the draft order over the past three weeks, most pundits assumed that would mean a free agent value play for someone like Kirk Cousins. The Atlanta Falcons are likely to release him ahead of a $10 million bonus due on March 17.
Now, however, Cleveland holds one of the two most valuable draft assets and the inside track to drafting one of the two QB prizes in this class: Shedeur Sanders of Colorado or Cam Ward of Miami.
Titans Like Cam Ward More Than Shedeur Sanders as No. 1 Pick
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Either player falling to the Browns represents potential salvation for the franchise after it doomed itself by trading six draft picks (including three first-rounders) for Watson and then paid him $230 million in fully guaranteed money for what has been 19 starts (9-10 record) over the first three seasons of his five-year deal.
The only way for Cleveland to salvage all of the money it has wasted/is going to waste on Watson and the pain that has caused all the other position groups across the roster (less money to spend on free agents, fewer players drafted on cheap deals to fill the ranks) is by landing a starting-caliber QB on an affordable rookie contract.
Who the Browns might prefer between Sanders and Ward is unclear, though it won’t be their decision as much as it will be the Tennessee Titans‘ choice, as they pick first overall. The Titans also need a starting quarterback and clearly have a preference, according to Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado.
“Titans are rumored to love Cam Ward,” Allbright posted to X Sunday. “Not all teams do.”
Shedeur Sanders Could Solve Browns’ Problems With Deshaun Watson, Myles Garrett
GettyColorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
As such, the Browns can draft Sanders as the answer to all of their quarterback problems.
Sanders finished this season at Colorado with 4,134 passing yards and 37 TDs through the air compared to 10 INTs. Both the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders would like to get their hands on Sanders in the draft, though the Giants are picking third overall while the Raiders will select sixth.
Cleveland could try and get crafty, potentially trading back with either team (or perhaps another suitor) for a massive haul of draft capital and/or young players. That, however, only makes sense if the team can ensure two things: first, that it can find a quality bridge QB option like Cousins in March and secondly, that it can guarantee a path to a quality long-term signal caller by 2026.
With all of the moving parts in the NFL from season to season, it simply feels like too much risk for the Browns to do anything other than draft Sanders at No. 2 — should the Titans, in fact, take Ward first as Allbright reported they are likely to do.
Cleveland should have a top-10 defense, or thereabouts, in the league next season. Also, star defensive end Myles Garrett has let the Browns know he wants a clear outline from them toward immediate contention this offseason or he may attempt to push his way out of town.
Sanders falling into the Browns’ lap at No. 2 is nothing short of a gift that can help them move on from the disastrous Watson era while avoiding an ugly breakup with the franchise’s best player in Garrett at the same time.
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Browns Poised to Acquire Star 4,100-Yard QB After New Development