Matt Johnson
After being selected with the 144th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft last year, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders eventually earned the starting job and wound up getting selected to the Pro Bowl. However, recent comments by the front office suggest there could be an uphill battle to reclaim the starting job in 2026.
Speaking to reporters, including Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said that it’s “wholly realistic” the club will spend one of its picks in the 2026 NFL Draft on a quarterback.
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“Our lean would be if we do add someone to the quarterback room, it would be someone who’s a younger player most likely. But I can’t state that definitively because I don’t know what the next couple of weeks will hold.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry on potentially adding a QB
He also acknowled that he’s met with former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson and he’ll spent more time meeting with who many view as the second-best passer in the class.
Some believe that Simpson will be a first-round pick in April. There’s a chance that he could be available to Cleveland with the 24th overall pick, which they acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars, or they could move up from Round 2 (39th overall) toward the end of Round 1 to try and land Simpson.
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One thing Berry made very clear is that any young quarterback whom Cleveland brings in will be “competing” for the starting job. If the Browns see someone whose skill set they believe translates immediately to playing in Todd Monken’s offense, they’re ready to draft them and allow them to compete to be the starting quarterback in 2026.
That’s not the only bad sign for Sanders’ hopes of becoming the Browns starting quarterback this season. Berry wouldn’t even rule out signing Deshaun Watson to a new deal, if he proves himself on a performance basis and outperforms Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
While Sanders finished ahead of Gabriel on the Browns’ depth chart at the end of the season, a changing of the guard seems to be very much on the table. Watson will be given a real chance to earn the job, and it now seems plausible that another young quarterback could be added via the 2026 NFL Draft.
Just two months after Sanders was named to the Pro Bowl and a few weeks after he seemed to be bonding with Monken, there appears to be a possibility that the second-year quarterback may not see the field much this fall.
