Under owner Jimmy Haslam, the Browns’ solution was to throw money into the problem. Most recently, they threw money at Miles Garrett to make him happy after he requested a deal. But a few years ago, it was the most damaging incident of such practice. In 2022, in a QB Dehaun Watson deal, the Browns gave him a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million contract.
They still have two years left in that deal and there’s no way out of it. Haslam recently essentially admitted that the Browns made a horrible mistake in dealing with Watson. It still needs a quarterback for them and while holding the second pick.
But not everyone is sure the Browns will use that second pick at quarterback. Certainly, some people wonder if they’re planning on winning this season. Through the athletics, some executives around the league are turning their eyes to next year’s draft and questioning whether the tanks are ready. The biggest potential name to be announced next year at quarterback is Archmanning, but he may not declare it.
“This is a class of drafting and free agency for a very weak quarterback,” Mike Sand quotes one anonymous NFL executive. Telling athletics When discussing the predicament, the Browns are at the quarterback. “Are you tempted to smoke an archmanning?”
The 2025 NFL Draft is considered a weaker quarterback. This year’s crops aren’t that robust, especially when the team drafted six quarterbacks in the first 12 selections after last season. In fact, this year’s top quarterbacks suggest that they won’t rank in the top six of last year’s class. If the Browns share that sentiment, why would they want to draft the second draft of the quarterback overall?
It appears that Titan will likely use QB Camward’s first pick, but it’s still not guaranteed. But if they do, it leaves the Browns behind with Shedale Sanders and will definitely remain as the best quarterback left on the board. Still, there is a mock draft that suggests that Sanders can slide all the way to the Steelers. The Steelers haven’t picked up to 21, so the Browns are significantly overloaded in that scenario. So, of course, suppose you put all sorts of value on a mock draft.
Sand notes that feelings about the Browns are shared by multiple executives. “Are they drafting or tanking?” he quotes as saying something else. “If you’re tanking, you’ll be the year left in Desshaun. [Watson]. I’m sure they’re saying, “Hey, Joe Flaco takes us into the playoffs and we can do anything.”
The Browns didn’t go near the playoffs a year ago, but finished season 3-14. They managed to beat both the Steelers and Raven, but the game in the department is always funky. With the second pick, are they ready to draft another quarterback? Or are you sure you’ll be able to smoke badly in 2025?
