Texas QB Arch Manning keeps the possibility alive of entering the 2026 NFL Draft and landing with the Cleveland Browns
Manning to Cleveland? It is still a possibility at this point.
The Cleveland Browns will open the season with Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback when they face the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. How long Flacco holds onto the job will depend on his health, performance, and the overall state of the team.
At some point this season, Cleveland is likely to get a look at its two rookies, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Both quarterbacks have impressed in limited preseason action, with Sanders in particular drawing significant media attention.
Looking ahead, the Browns hold two first-round picks in next year’s draft after trading back from No. 2 to No. 5 this past April, where they selected former Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham. Unless one of the current quarterbacks plays well enough to change their plans, Cleveland seems likely to target a quarterback early. The possibility of Arch Manning entering that conversation, which had quieted down in recent weeks, may now be heating up again.
Arch Manning keeps the door open to the NFL, possibly with Cleveland
“He isn’t going to do that. He’ll be at Texas [next season too],” Archie Manning said a couple of weeks ago.
That may not be the case after all. On Tuesday, Arch was asked about his grandfather’s comment and gave a very different answer.
“Yeah, I don’t know where he got that from. He texted me and apologized about that. I’m really just taking it day by day right now,” Manning told local Texas media, via CJ Vogel of On Texas Football.
Manning has just a couple of career starts, filling in when Quinn Ewers was injured last season. Over the past two years, he’s appeared in 12 games and attempted only 95 passes. Still, with the starting job in his hands, he could be in for a breakout season with the Longhorns. Texas opens on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes in what will be a major early test.
If Manning delivers a strong year, his last name alone could help sway decision-makers to look past his limited starting experience. Cleveland, projected to pick high again in 2025 — and possibly twice if the Jaguars struggle — will almost certainly be in the quarterback market unless a surprise happens.
Don’t count out the idea of Arch Manning landing in Cleveland just yet. The Haslam family already has close ties to the Mannings, and Arch himself isn’t shutting down the possibility of leaving Texas after one season as the full-time starter.
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