The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback because the future isn’t on their roster. It’s also not in the NFL yet.
On Monday night, the Browns lost to the Denver Broncos, 41–32, despite Jameis Winston throwing for nearly 500 yards. Part of the reason was Winston throwing a pair of back-breaking pick-sixes, and then another interception for good measure in the game’s waning seconds.
Of course, Winston is replacing Deshaun Watson, he of the torn Achilles tendon and a $230 million, fully guaranteed contract that hangs like an Albatross around Cleveland’s neck.
Moving forward, general manager Andrew Berry can’t fool himself. He can’t re-sign Winston as the presumptive starter and believe the Browns are going to have a magical playoff run as they did a year ago with Joe Flacco (that run also went splat in the wild-card round). Berry also can’t lie to himself thinking Watson, whenever he returns next year, will ever look like the player whom Cleveland traded three first-round selections to acquire.
For the Browns, who are now 3–9 and play the Pittsburgh Steelers next weekend before hosting the Kansas City Chiefs, the next meaningful moment regarding their quarterback dilemma is the NFL draft.
And that’s where Berry has to be aggressive in finding the franchise quarterback the Browns have lacked since the halcyon days of Bernie Kosar in the 1980s.
While the draft is more than four months away, there are going to be options for a team almost certainly picking in the top 10. Currently, the Browns are slated to pick eighth, but are also just one win better than the Jacksonville Jaguars, who own the No. 1 slot headed into Week 14.
Of the projected 2025 class, Cam Ward of Miami (FL) looks like a potential star. As does Shedeur Sanders of Colorado. Then there’s Jalen Milroe of Alabama, who could fall or rise up draft boards depending on how he finishes with the Crimson Tide, along with the pre-draft process.
This year, Ward has been dynamic for the Hurricanes after transferring to the ACC following his time with the Washington State Cougars, throwing for 4,123 yards and a nation-high 36 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Sanders has also been tremendous playing for his father, Deion, leading the Big 12 with 3,926 passing yards and 35 touchdowns. Both should go off the board early, especially with quarterback-needy teams at the top, including the New York Giants, Las Vegas Raiders and others.
The smart play moving forward for Berry?
Sign Winston to a one-year, incentive-laden deal which allows him to compete for the starting job. Meanwhile, move up in the draft if necessary for Ward or Sanders and bring in someone capable of winning the AFC North who can outduel Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow in the future.
From there, tell Watson to stay home. Pay his money for the upcoming season and 2026 (cap hits of $72.9 million each year), then allow him to disappear into the ether, long remembered as one of the worst transactions, both in the trade and contract, in North American sports history.
Once OTAs and training camp hit, allow Winston and the rookie to compete before ultimately handing the first-year man the keys, and let Winston be a smart, experienced caddy. He has the right demeanor, someone who has played the roles of both No. 1 pick and backup.
If the Browns are ever going to be truly relevant, something they have not been since those aforementioned Kosar days when the losses to Denver were far more painful and far deeper into the NFL calendar, they have to find their answer under center.
And while Watson is expensive and Winston is exciting at times, neither are the true choice of a team serious on getting to the Super Bowl in the coming years.
It’s time for Cleveland to take stock of what it has, and most importantly, what it doesn’t.
