Lacking an answer at the game’s most important position, the Browns stood out as potential suitors for quarterback Malik Willis before free agency opened. The former Tennessee and Green Bay backup ultimately landed in Miami on a three-year, $67.5MM deal. Cleveland had interest, but not at that price, Daniel Oyefusi and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN report.
For the Browns, signing the unproven Willis would have meant adding another expensive QB contract, albeit a far more affordable one than they gave Deshaun Watson in 2022. The fully guaranteed five-year, $230MM pact they handed Watson after acquiring him from the Texans has been a crippling mistake, as has the decision to part with a package headlined by three first-round picks. Watson has started just 19 games as a member of the Browns, who have restructured his onerous deal on a handful of occasions.
Watson’s contract is down to its final season, but he will continue to significantly impact their books for two more years after that. He will count a combined $86.2MM in dead money against their cap from 2027-28. There is a strong chance Watson will be off the Browns’ roster a year from now, though a source close to the three-time Pro Bowler told Oyefusi and Fowler “he would be open to” staying in Cleveland if the upcoming season goes well.
It is very much up in the air if the Browns will get anything from the soon-to-be 31-year-old Watson in 2026. He will first have to outperform second-year man Shedeur Sanders in the Browns’ starting competition this summer. That may not be an especially tall order, as Sanders is far from a lock to develop into a legitimate No. 1 option, but Watson is coming off a severe injury. Watson last took the field on Oct. 20, 2024, when he ruptured his right Achilles. While rehabbing in January 2025, Watson ruptured it again. He spent all of last season on the PUP list as a result, leaving the Browns to divide 17 starts among Sanders, Joe Flacco (traded to the Bengals in October) and Dillon Gabriel during a 5-12 campaign.
The Browns spent a third-rounder on Gabriel last year and used a sixth-rounder on Taylen Green last month, but those two do not appear to be in the running for the No. 1 job in 2026. New head coach Todd Monken will decide between Watson and Sanders. The hope is Watson will perform better in Monken’s system than he did under previous head coach Kevin Stefanski.
“The way [Stefanski] wanted him to play didn’t fit his style,” the source close to Watson told Oyefusi and Fowler.
As Oyefusi and Fowler note, Monken runs more of a spread-oriented scheme. Maybe the coaching change and a return to health will revive Watson, but skepticism is warranted for a QB whose stock has plummeted over the past few years.