Cleveland Browns Have 2 Interesting QBs On Their Radar To Replace Shedeur Sanders
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
The Cleveland Browns are reportedly targeting two big-name quarterbacks to compete with Shedeur Sanders for the starting job in 2026.
Sanders had an inconsistent rookie season after replacing Dillon Gabriel as the starting quarterback. He went 3-4-0 as a starter, completing just 56.7 percent of pass attempts for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Despite the lackluster production, Shedeur Sanders was curiously named to the Pro Bowl. The Colorado product replaced New England Patriots star Drake Maye, who was unable to compete thanks to the Super Bowl.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns are eyeing pending Green Bay Packers free agent Malik Willis and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson to compete for the QB1 job under new head coach Todd Monken:
“Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis and Alabama’s Ty Simpson are among the external quarterbacks on the Browns’ radar with the NFL Combine kicking off Tuesday and free agency starting in two weeks…
If the Browns determine that Watson or Sanders can win for them in 2026 with a bolstered supporting cast and new head coach in Todd Monken, they’ll compete for the job beginning in the offseason program in April, with one of them emerging as QB1. But Browns GM Andrew Berry and Monken have both stated that they’ll look outside the building for quality starters in the draft, free agency and the trade market.”
𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗦: The Browns have QBs Malik Willis and Ty Simpson on their radar, according to @MaryKayCabot pic.twitter.com/uQ78JzFMhz
— JPA (@jasrifootball) February 23, 2026
Malik made three starts for the Packers over the 2024 and 2025 seasons in place of an injured Jordan Love. He had six passing touchdowns, no picks and three rushing scores in Matt LaFleur’s offense.
Simpson is the consensus No. 2 quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft behind likely No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza. In his final college season, the Alabama star completed 64.5 percent of pass attempts for 3,567 yards. He had 28 touchdowns against only five interceptions.
Shedeur Sanders Will Have To Earn It
Sanders had to wait patiently for his first opportunity in the NFL. After Joe Flacco was traded to the Cincinnati Bengals, Gabriel made six starts for Cleveland before then-head coach Kevin Stefanski turned to Sanders.
If Stefanski were still the head coach, maybe Sanders would be locked in as the QB1 for 2026. But new head coach Todd Monken will certainly want to open up competition for Sanders, who still has plenty of room for improvement.
This doesn’t mean Sanders’ time in Cleveland is up. But, Deion Sanders’ son have to put in the work and focus on cleaning up several glaring weaknesses to retain the QB1 job for 2026.
With free agency quickly approaching, it will surely be interesting to see how Cleveland goes about improving its QB room.
