The Cleveland Browns’ preseason game against the Buffalo Bills was supposed to bring clarity to the starting quarterback competition. It did the opposite. Cleveland came away from the home loss no closer to naming a starter than it was a week ago, and the question of who will take snaps in Week 1 remains wide open.

Shedeur Sanders played fine against the Bills. Deshaun Watson played terrible. Watson entered the third quarter appearance as the clear leader for the starting job and had a potential chance to solidify it against Buffalo’s backups. He was unable to do so, going 5-of-12 passing for 36 yards and one interception. It was a bad pick and an overall sloppy day for Watson, and it leaves questions about whether he can be the veteran quarterback for the Browns to start the season.

Sanders has shown moments, but his play has been inconsistent at best early on. If Cleveland really wants to win games this year, the best option could be trading for a quarterback not currently on the roster. At the very least, taking another shot at the position before the Browns draft one in the 2027 NFL Draft makes sense, and all signs point to them doing exactly that.

Following the loss to the Bills, here are four potential trade options for the Browns at quarterback.

Davis Mills, Houston Texans

Mills is in his sixth season with Houston and has started two seasons for the Texans. He’s been an average quarterback to this point in his career, with 40 touchdowns to 26 interceptions over the course of 29 games started and 7,882 passing yards. Mills is the backup to CJ Stroud, and Stroud is in a big contract year for the Texans. Houston may want to keep Mills, but offloading him for a draft pick could make sense. The Browns should at least pick up the phone and see what’s there.

Will Levis, Tennessee Titans

Levis is behind starting quarterback Cam Ward in Tennessee and is likely on the outside looking in, trending toward getting cut with Mitch Trubisky ahead of him for the Titans’ backup job. Levis was a former second-round pick of Tennessee in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Kentucky. He started 12 games for the Titans in 2024 with 13 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and 2,091 passing yards.

Levis adds a factor with his legs, but he’s been sloppy with the ball and turning it over to the other team has been his biggest downfall in Tennessee. He’s a player the Browns could potentially get for a seventh-round pick if he’s truly on the outside looking in. It’s another shot at the starting quarterback position that Cleveland doesn’t have on the roster if the team would like to go that avenue.

J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

McCarthy lost his starting job to Kyler Murray and is now Minnesota’s backup quarterback. The Vikings could capitalize on McCarthy while he’s still a recent first-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft and get some draft capital back for him. In his only season as a starter in 2025, McCarthy threw 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 starts where the team went 6-4.

McCarthy has struggled to stay healthy, and that’s been the biggest downfall to his career. When he was on the field, he was not a good quarterback either. This would be more of a resurrection-type move for the Browns, with offensive coordinator Todd Monken trying to get something out of McCarthy that Minnesota was unable to.

Mac Jones, San Francisco 49ers

Jones is the backup to Brock Purdy, and Purdy has had injury issues with San Francisco. Jones is a high-quality backup at this point in his career, and the 49ers would probably not move off of him unless it’s for a high Day 2 pick, at least in that range. In 2025, Jones had to start eight games for San Francisco and went 5-3 with a 13-6 touchdown-interception ratio, passing for 2,151 yards.

He’d be the starter in Cleveland if he were here and could be a player to get the ball to the Browns’ young playmakers. This is likely the least realistic of the four options. San Francisco would probably not give him up easily, but the Browns should give it a try.