The Cleveland Browns are playing for the future as they limp into a tough matchup with the Chicago Bears on Sunday. They are looking to put a brutal loss to the lowly Tennessee Titans in the rearview mirror and re-establish some momentum over the final stretch of the season to carry into the offseason.
Rookie fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders has shown plenty of promise since taking over as the starter, and his performance in the final four games will go a long way toward helping this team figure out what its future is going to look like.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report agrees, as he recently wrote an article highlighting each team’s most important offseason issue to tackle.
For the Browns, he believes the biggest priority is settling on a plan for the quarterback position.
“Regardless of whether the Cleveland Browns retain head coach Kevin Stefanski in the offseason, Cleveland has to settle on a quarterback plan. Any coach is going to struggle in Cleveland without at least average quarterback play. Cleveland’s front office—whether new or not—must decide whether to build around Sanders or to go after a top draft prospect like Fernando Mendoza or Dante Moore. That choice will likely influence everything else the Browns do in 2026,” Knox wrote.
The Browns have a pair of first-round picks in the 2026 draft, so if they want to move up and snag another high-profile rookie, they’ll be in a great position to do so. The class doesn’t have the same level of hype it did prior to this season, but there are still a few big names that plenty of teams are going to be clamoring over, such as Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore, and Ty Simpson.
The harsh reality is that this was always going to be a rebuilding year, but next year doesn’t have to be if the quarterback position gets figured out, whether that’s Shedeur Sanders, a rookie, or somebody else. If he keeps playing the way he has, the job could be his.
The head coach has to be figured out first, as many are calling for Stefanski to be fired on the heels of some questionable decisions in the Titans game.
However, Knox is right, and there’s only so much he can do until this team finds the right quarterback.
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