Cleveland Browns

Deshaun Watson

QB

Haslam called this offseason a "fresh start" for Watson, who last saw NFL action October 2024 before suffering a torn Achilles tendon. The 30-year-old re-ruptured the same tendon in January 2025 and missed all of last season. Watson is heading into the final year of the five-year, $230 million deal he inked in 2022, and in early March he agreed to restructure his contract to clear roughly $35 million in cap space. Barring any additions to the QB room, Watson's main competition will be Shedeur Sanders, with Dillon Gabriel also on the depth chart. Watson is presumably now healthy, as the Browns opened his 21-day practice window in December and allowed him to practice in a limited capacity. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Haslam said Watson will be present for the start of voluntary workouts April 7.

Quinshon Judkins

RB

Judkins underwent successful surgery to address a dislocated right ankle in late December, and he's expected to be active for training camp in late July or early August. Berry's comment reaffirms this expectation for the 2025 second-round pick, who accrued 827 yards on 230 carries over 14 regular-season games last year. As one of the teams that hired a new head coach after the 2025 regular season, the Browns are eligible to begin offseason workouts April 6. Judkins is in line to be the lead rusher in a room that currently includes fellow second-year backs Dylan Sampson, Raheim Sanders and Ahmani Marshall.

Myles Garrett

DE

Schefter was told that the Browns are "100 percent not trading" the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. That won't necessarily stop other teams from calling, especially after Garrett's contract restructure fueled trade rumors. The restructure did a few different things with bonuses, including pushing back the dates for large option bonuses to be exercised in 2026-28 -- an adjustment that makes it easier to spread Garrett's dead-cap charge across two seasons in the event of a trade. The Browns reportedly plan to keep him for now, but perhaps with the knowledge that another losing season could lead to Garrett asking out. He publicly requested a trade less than 14 months ago, in February of 2025, before signing a four-year extension in March of 2025.

Blake Whiteheart

TE

Whiteheart wasn't tendered by Cleveland by the early March deadline, but he's now re-upped with the team. While suiting up for all 17 regular-season contests with the team in 2025, Whiteheart contributed on special teams and as a blocker on offense. He stands to reprise a similar depth role during the 2026 campaign.

Shedeur Sanders

QB

On that subject, Monken said, "I wouldn't say they're going to be evenly dispersed, but we'll definitely disperse them to give ourselves a chance to at least evaluate who we have on the roster, whoever that might be as we go through the offseason." When asked how he'll decide who takes the first starting reps once the team's on-field work commences, Monken indicated that it would be based on "what we've seen in the past and where the year ended last year." With that in mind, Zac Jackson of The Athletic suggests that Sanders seems most likely to work as the No. 1 QB in early spring workouts, but at this stage nothing is set in stone, with Watson -- who missed last season due to an Achilles' injury -- now healthy, per Oyefusi, and thus expected to compete with Sanders and Gabriel for the starting job.