Cleveland’s quarterback future is already drawing a lot of attention, and according to one veteran NFL personnel executive, the Browns have their sights set much farther down the road than Shedeur Sanders.
The name at the center of it all is Arch Manning. Veteran NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that a longtime league personnel executive with knowledge of the Browns believes Jimmy Haslam’s real target is the Texas quarterback, with the 2027 NFL draft viewed as the potential landing point.
“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 the Browns’ planned domed venue in Brook Park, Ohio, which carries 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. In that vision, the Browns would ideally have Arch Manning leading the team when the building opens - not Sanders.
For now, though, the present is shaky too. Deshaun Watson’s uneven showing in the season-opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars has already ramped up pressure on the starting job, and La Canfora believes the change could come quickly.
“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.”
La Canfora projects Sanders to move into the starting role in Week 3, but that would not necessarily alter the bigger picture. The report makes clear the Browns’ long-term quarterback plan still points toward Manning, and Sanders would have to far exceed expectations in his chances to change that.
Sanders did start the final seven games of the 2025 season, but the Browns reportedly didn’t see enough to fully trust him.
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