[McShay] The Logic Behind Shedeur to the Browns at pick No. 2.

I am posting this because this is PEAK offseason material. But I was talking about this on Friday... it does make a lot of sense and is a whole bunch of smoke. Could mean absolutely nothing, but maybe?

Why Shedeur to the Browns makes sense

Last week, during an interview with Browns play-by-play broadcaster Andrew Siciliano, franchise cornerstone Myles Garrett hinted that he knows Cleveland’s future plans at quarterback. When Siciliano asked whether Garrett liked the idea, he responded by saying, “I like it enough to be here smiling in front of you, because I think we have a good chance of that happening and making the most of it.”

Many fans thought those comments pointed to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, whom the Browns have a clear path to drafting with the no. 2 pick. And more smoke supporting that theory arrived over the weekend, after Sanders exchanged pleasantries with Cleveland Guardians top prospect Travis Bazzana on Instagram.

While I don’t typically peddle in this type of rumor mongering and the above examples are far from hard evidence, I think the conspiracy theorists may be onto something. For starters, it's apparent that Cleveland is on the list of acceptable spots for Shedeur to land, which isn’t the case for every team in the NFL draft QB market. And while I’ve reported that two teams (both of which need a QB) who interviewed Sanders at the scouting combine weren’t overly impressed by him, it’s worth noting that Cleveland wasn’t one of those teams.

Maybe there’s fire to the smoke, maybe there isn’t. Either way, I want to advance the narrative. Over the weekend, I took some time to re-familiarize myself with Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski’s history and did some serious thinking about what general manager Andrew Berry, Stefanski, and the organization are up against because of the Deshaun Watson contract mess. I also made some calls to people I trust—who are or have been in that GM seat—for their perspective on the situation.

From an organizational standpoint, Cleveland’s only way out of salary cap purgatory is to land their guy at QB on a rookie contract. They can’t expect to be drafting again this high for a while, and because of Watson’s deal also don’t have the cap space to make a big-ticket signing at QB, which is why they were never in the Matthew Stafford or Sam Darnold sweepstakes.

For Berry and Stefanski specifically, it’s all about winning now. If Cleveland is drafting this high again next year, there’s a good chance both guys are out of a job. If they think they have a roster good enough to win a lot of games in 2025—and probably for the next two years—they need solid (not elite, just solid to above-average) QB play as soon as possible. They also know that they won’t have the money to sign a top-tier starter at QB next year, so the situation isn’t changing during the 2026 offseason.

This is all to say that Cleveland’s best chance at winning short and long term is to strike gold with the no. 2 pick. Is Shedeur an elite prospect? No. Would he have been one of the top four or five QBs taken last year? No. But if I’m Berry, I understand putting my trust in my head coach, who has a proven track record of getting the most out of pocket-passing quarterbacks that lack elite arm strength and mobility. Sound familiar?

Shedeur’s skill set is strikingly similar to the handful of QBs that Stefanski has won a lot of games with in the past, including Case Keenum (who won 11 games for the Vikings with Stefanski as QB coach in 2017), Kirk Cousins (whose Vikings team won 10 games under Stefanski as offensive coordinator in 2019), and most recently, a late-career Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as the Browns starter in 2023.

Sanders also seemingly wants to be a Brown despite Cleveland’s track record at QB, and he’s the best pure pocket passer in this year’s class when he’s protected and playing on schedule. If he isn’t ready for Week 1, Stefanski and Co. should still be able to win a few games with Kenny Pickett. And if the front office can get Russell Wilson on the cheap, great. Let all three guys battle it out in camp, with the best man winning the job come late August.