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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 16: Dillon Gabriel #5 of the Cleveland Browns walks on the field before the NFL Preseason 2025 game between Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on August 16, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The Cleveland Browns are in the mix for quarterback Malik Willis in free agency and the trade conversations swirling around Mac Jones, but the team might be able to do better.
Cleveland’s hunt for a franchise QB under general manager Andrew Berry has included perhaps the worst trade/contract combination in the history of the NFL, which brought in Deshaun Watson ahead of the 2022 campaign. Last season, the search netted a pair of rookies in Dillon Gabriel (third round) and Shedeur Sanders (fifth round), neither of whom blew anyone away.
Willis and Jones both have nice upside, but neither has been able to win and/or hold a starting job through four and five years in the league, respectively. The Browns are never going to be able to lure high-end free agents to Cleveland absent the kind of franchise-wrecking trade/contract the team gave Watson, so a trade or the draft are the only paths forward for new head coach Todd Monken.
The team owns pick Nos. 6 and 24 in the upcoming draft, but the 2026 QB class is headlined by Fernando Mendoza who is liable to go No. 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders. After Mendoza, with the possible exception of Ty Simpson, no QB has better than a second-round grade based on the assessments of any draft analysts of whom the average sports fan might have heard.
Next year could be a different story in the draft, but that shouldn’t stop the Browns from actively pursuing a trade for CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans, whom Todd McShay of The Ringer recently reported might be on the block.
Browns Can Center Offer for CJ Stroud Around No. 24 Pick in Upcoming NFL Draft
GettyQuarterback CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans.
The Browns can’t move Watson and should probably hold onto Sanders after he showed a few flashes of high-ceiling potential across his seven starts in 2025.
But Cleveland could send the Texans the No. 24 pick and toss in Gabriel as a viable backup QB for good measure in a play for Stroud, whose trade value is probably at an all-time low after his playoff struggles in January.
“CJ Stroud is a name, does he need a new scenery?” McShay said, citing sources who believe big-name QBs could be on the move, even some not yet on the radar. “Clearly something is going on. I don’t know if it’s Houston-related or personal-related or whatever it is. Stroud hasn’t been the guy the last two years in Houston that he was in his rookie year.”
“I’d give up [pick No.] 24 in a heartbeat for CJ Stroud,” Jeff Phelps of 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland said Wednesday, February 18.
CJ Stroud Has Too Much Upside for Browns to Ignore if Texans Put QB on Trade Block
GettyQuarterback CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans.
Stroud plays for the Texans, just like Watson did. He has first-round pedigree, just like Watson did. He’s got a Pro Bowl-level skill set, earning those honors in his first season, just as Watson did in Year 2.
Stop me when this starts to get scary.
But the fact of the matter is, the Browns are going to have to take more risks if they hope to ever find a high-level quarterback who can/will lead the team to success for 10-plus years — certainly more risks than the average franchise given their circumstances in a cold-weather, small-market city coupled with a history of ineptitude.
Stroud is 28-18 as a starter with a completion rate near 64 percent. He has thrown for almost 11,000 yards, 62 TDs and 25 INTs. He was the Rookie of the Year and the No. 2 overall pick in 2023.
Houston has won the AFC South Division twice in Stroud’s three seasons, made the playoffs every year and won a postseason game in each of the past three Januaries.
Yes, Stroud’s production has gone down in each of the last two regular seasons. And yes, he accounted for seven total turnovers in the Texans’ two playoff games in 2026. He also had the benefit of one of the top defenses in the NFL at his disposal last year.
Even despite those disconcerting facts, and some others, the Browns would be foolish not to come with a strong offer if the Texans are irresponsible enough to make Stroud available heading into the fourth year of his $36 million rookie contract.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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