Things are a bit cloudy moving forward for the Cleveland Browns at the most important position in football. After having Deshaun Watson suffer a season-ending injury for the second season in a row, it is unclear which direction the Browns will go in.

Cleveland owes Watson north of $90 million guaranteed still, so there is a very legit chance he sticks around for at least one more year. The Browns have to pay that money out and they’re unlikely to get out of it. That does not mean that Cleveland has to play him though, and they shouldn’t since he has proven he isn’t the long-term answer. He can’t be.

The Browns need to keep an open mind about what they’re going to do at the quarterback position. Cleveland has a strong roster in key points, so a full rebuild is not necessary.

Trading for a player like Anthony Richardson from the Indianapolis Colts could make sense

Cleveland is heading toward a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Jameis Winston is the guy for the rest of the season, or at least he is for now. After that Winston is a free agent and Browns’ quarterback position is cloudy. The draft isn’t looking to be all that strong when it comes to the quarterbacks available. As of right now, there is one quarterback I would take in the top 10, and that is Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. Sanders may be in play for the Browns, but it is probably going to take a top-five pick.

Cleveland is stuck paying Watson for the next two seasons as mentioned, so they aren’t going to sign a free agent or trade for a high-dollar quarterback. One option that should be on the table for the Browns is making a move for Anthony Richardson from the Colts.

Richardson is in the second year of his rookie contract which totals $33 million over four seasons. The Colts benched Richardson recently to start former Browns quarterback Joe Flacco. After this season, a team would take on about $20 million in dues to Richardson in a trade.

The Browns playing veteran quarterback Jameis Winston over second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson should tell you everything you need to know about their future plans for him. So, why not bring in another young quarterback with better tools?

Richardson is a bit reckless at times and he has major accuracy issues. Him sitting and the game slowing down for him could probably do some good. Perhaps that is the plan for the Colts and he turns things around there, it just doesn't happen often with the same team.

The career outlook for Richardson has been 10 starts over the last two years and he has completed just 50 percent of his passes. The big-armed quarterback has thrown for seven touchdowns and gave up eight interceptions. He brings dual-threat ability with 378 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the 10 games.

If the Colts eventually do move off of Richardson, it wouldn’t come at a huge cost. They would have signaled they give up on him and I’d be surprised if they received more than a third-round pick. For Cleveland, it could be worth it because they finally have a first-round pick again and their middle-round picks are easier to give up.

Watson is surely going to be around next year, he has millions of reasons why he will be. It is a dead cost at this point and the Browns will have limited options to upgrade quarterback outside of being in a position to take the first quarterback in April. Taking a shot on a quarterback with a rocket for an arm and great athletic ability might be worth a shot.

Kevin Stefanski has operated an offense successfully at multiple points with bad quarterback play. There is potential there and it is worth seeing if the coaching staff can get it out.

Of course, this is all hypothetical thinking, but Andrew Berry has been aggressive as a general manager when it comes to trades and it could make sense on a surface level. 

Browns’ Jameis Winston has the perfect message for his teammates that could potentially be traded by Tuesday

A time of uncertainty.