The Cleveland Browns are not expected to trade for Anthony Richardson.
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The Cleveland Browns are not expected to trade for Anthony Richardson.
Anthony Richardson will likely have a new team next season but it won’t be the Cleveland Browns.
Despite a wave of rumors connecting the Browns to the Indianapolis Colts quarterback, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot has poured cold water on the speculation.
“As for the Browns, they’re not trading for Richardson, despite widespread rumors during the first week of free agency that they’d pursue him, sources say,” Cabot said. “It’s never been a serious consideration for them, although they usually do their due diligence on available veterans to see if it’s a fit. But Richardson was never in their plans, and the rumors were unfounded.”
Richardson, 23, was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and possesses the kind of rare physical tools that keep teams dreaming. At 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds with a massive arm and elite athleticism, he checks every box — on paper.
The problem is that it has rarely translated to the field. Over 17 games across three seasons, Richardson has completed just 50.6 percent of his passes for 2,400 yards with an 11-to-13 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
He lost his starting job to Daniel Jones last summer, appeared in just two games in 2025, and was placed on IR after suffering an orbital bone fracture in pregame warmups in Week 6. The Colts have since granted him permission to seek a trade.
Browns Content to Let Competition Play Out
Cleveland has yet to make a significant move at quarterback this offseason. The roster currently includes Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. New head coach Todd Monken appears comfortable letting them fight it out.
“I don’t know why it wouldn’t be an open competition,” Monken said. “I don’t mean that harshly, but I don’t think there’s enough on film over the last couple years, one way or the other, to say, ‘Boy, we have a starter at quarterback’ yet.”
Both Monken and general manager Andrew Berry have left the door open to adding another arm — via free agency, the draft, or a trade.
“I think there’s always the possibility,” Berry said. “But we have a long way to go before we get to that point. So, we expect to have a competitive room, like that’s going to be important to us, but what that looks like, I can’t exactly define that as we sit here today.”
Browns See ‘Elite’ Traits in Shedeur Sanders
Sanders went 3-4 in seven starts as a rookie, throwing for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The numbers were uneven, but the flashes were there.
“I think what you see is elite playmaking ability,” Monken said at the combine. “That’s in him. You’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. You saw it in college. You saw it on tape last year. Sure, there’s a ways to go. But what first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go?”
Beyond the ability, the economics also matter. Sanders is under contract on a fifth-round rookie deal, giving Cleveland a cost-controlled quarterback they can develop without the cap burden. For a franchise still reeling from the Watson disaster — $230 million fully guaranteed — that kind of flexibility is invaluable moving forward.