It's no secret that the Cleveland Browns have a history of troubled quarterback play, and this season isn't expected to be any different... once the coaching staff picks one to be the starter.
Free agent additions Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett will square off with Day 3 NFL Draft picks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders for the right to start under center this season amid Deshaun Watson's Achilles recovery.
It is a safe assumption that Cleveland would prefer to start the season with one of the two veterans before turning to a rookie once something inevitably goes wrong. The Browns would be ecstatic if either Gabriel or Sanders turned out to be a reliable pro down the line to exceed their draft slot value.
Outside of Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart, the 2025 quarterback draft class was a relatively slim one, so some pundits believe the Browns' answer under center could still be in college.
Yes, despite them having five on the roster already...
NFL Spin Zone predicts the Browns to select LSU gunslinger Garrett Nussmeier with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 Draft.
Nussmeier is among the nation's top quarterbacks this upcoming college football season, joining the likes of Clemson's Cade Klubnik, Penn State's Drew Allar and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers.
Of course, we can't forget Texas' Arch Manning.
Flacco and Pickett are free agents again after this season. Gabriel and Sanders, however, are on four-year contracts. If the former two get let go next offseason, you're telling me Cleveland will already want to move on from the former two after just one season, also? We may not even get to see them both on the field enough to determine an outlook on their potential, so this seems premature.
The Browns have plenty of other needs outside of the quarterback, so it'd be wiser to use a high draft pick on someone who can be an immediate starter. Not someone who will be tossed into another headline-grabbing QB competition.
Also ... Deshaun Watson is still on the team, and very handsomely paid. If the Browns are paying him an average salary of $46 million, wouldn't you think he would be next year's starter when he is healthy again? If that's the case, why make a No. 2 overall pick an immediate backup? Watson's contract has multiple high-paying years left on it.
Oh, and one more thing...
The Sporting News is trying to generate buzz in an argument about why Cleveland is shockingly picking Nussmeier over Manning in this prediction.
That storyline is null and void because the Browns - or any team for that matter - most likely won't have the opportunity to pick between the two in the first place.
Arch is entering just his first season as a full-time starter after two long years as the Longhorns' backup. Last season was his first year off the redshirt label but he only got a small handful of starts.
Even he would say it ... he hasn't done much yet.
Manning is blessed with boatloads of wisdom about the best way to make it as an NFL quarterback. That ideal career path likely sees Arch stay at Texas for the next two college seasons to exhaust his eligibility (like Peyton and Eli did) to fully prepare to enter the 2027 Draft.
Even then ... Watson, Gabriel and Sanders will still be under contract in Cleveland, barring any buyout, cut, or trade scenarios.
General manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski already have a lot on their plate this season regarding the quarterback position, so they are better off going in a different direction in next year's first round and letting their current situation play out.
This is a messy situation, and there's no reason to make things messier if it's avoidable.