Cleveland’s quarterback future may already be taking shape around a name that doesn’t belong to the current roster.
A veteran NFL personnel executive told Jason La Canfora that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has his sights on Texas quarterback Arch Manning, a development that could spell bad news for Shedeur Sanders. The executive made it clear where he believes Haslam’s focus is headed.
“Haslam wants (Texas QB) Arch Manning, that’s what this is really all about,” the longtime NFL personnel executive, who is very familiar with the Browns, told LaCanfora.
“I’m not sure he’s coming out (entering the draft). I know Jimmy, and I know how Jimmy thinks.
He’s a huge booster for (University of) Tennessee. He has always had a hard-on for Peyton (Manning, uncle of the QB prospect).
He wants Arch Manning playing in that new stadium.”
That new stadium is a major part of the picture. The Browns are moving ahead with plans for a domed venue in Brook Park, Ohio, with an estimated price tag of around $2.4 billion.
Haslam Sports Group is expected to cover most of the private investment, and the opening is planned for 2029. The reported idea is to have Arch Manning in place when that building opens, not Shedeur Sanders.
For now, though, the Browns still have to sort out the present. La Canfora expects Deshaun Watson to lose the starting job by Week 3 after an underwhelming opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, with Sanders stepping in.
“The Dog Pound is contemplating what is to come, Haslam will recognize the optics of the situation and we strongly suspect it will be time for youngster Shedeur Sanders to take over,” LaCanfora wrote.
“More than anything else, Watson is committed to this bit, playing the role of game-killing heel. He seemed intent on trying to throw an early interception against the Jaguars, he never really looked fired up to be playing, he embodied the idea that he is just there for the paycheck and it shows in pretty much everything he does on the football field.”
Even if Sanders takes over the job, that does not appear to change the larger plan being discussed. The Browns’ reported long-term target remains Arch Manning, unless Sanders blows past expectations when he gets his chances. Sanders started the final seven games of the 2025 season, and the team apparently did not see enough to hand him the future outright.
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