Cleveland Browns

Colorado star Travis Hunter's two-way skills make him the most interesting prospect in the 2025 NFL draft, and Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry said he feels Hunter is reminiscent of a three-time MVP MLB star.

"It’s a little bit like [Shohei] Ohtani," Berry told reporters on Thursday. "Pitcher or hitter, he’s an outstanding player. You get a unicorn if you use him both ways."

If prognosticators are correct and the Tennessee Titans select Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, the Browns will be in prime position to land Hunter at No. 2. In its latest mock draft, B/R's NFL Scouting Department predicted that Cleveland would do just that.

While many are wondering whether Hunter should primarily play wide receiver or cornerback in the NFL, Berry said he sees him as a wide receiver first, but wouldn't limit him to a single position.

"What he would attempt to do hasn't been done in our league, but we wouldn't put a cap on what he could do…be smart about where you start him out," Berry told reporters.

That approach would certainly appease Hunter, who recently said he'd rather quit playing football than commit to one side of the ball. Berry told reporters that those comments didn't impact his evaluation, adding that he's "great" at both positions.

Hunter won the 2024 Heisman Trophy after recording 92 catches for 1,258 yards and 16 touchdowns plus a rushing touchdown on offense while adding 36 total tackles, 11 passes defended, four interceptions and a forced fumble on defense. If Cleveland lands him with the No. 2 pick in next week's draft, he will inject new energy into a fanbase that is starving for some positivity after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

Joe Flacco's presence on the Cleveland Browns' roster isn't going to alter their plans at quarterback in the 2025 NFL draft.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said Flacco won't have "any real impact of how we would view" selecting a quarterback.

It speaks to the state of Cleveland's quarterback room that Berry would even have to answer the question about Flacco, who turned 40 on Jan. 16, potentially impacting the team's strategy.

Last week, the Browns signed Flacco to a one-year, $4 million deal that can max out at $13 million. He joins a quarterback room that also includes Kenny Pickett, who was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles on March 12.

These two offseason additions came after Deshaun Watson re-ruptured his Achilles in January, putting his status for the 2025 season in jeopardy.

Even with all of the questions at quarterback, the Browns haven't really been connected to anyone at the position with the No. 2 overall pick throughout the pre-draft process.

Shedeur Sanders was at one point being frequently mocked to Cleveland, but that chatter has faded away in recent weeks.

The Browns are mostly being linked to either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter, though Berry said Thursday they haven't made any firm decisions about what they will do with the second pick.

There does seem like a strong possibility that the Browns will take a quarterback early in the draft. They have 10 picks available, including two in the third round, to potentially move up if someone they like at the position starts to fall.

B/R's NFL scouting department is projecting the Browns will trade with the Minnesota Vikings to get back into the first round for the No. 24 pick to select Jaxson Dart. The trade costs them picks No. 33 and 67 this year, plus a conditional 2026 pick.

Flacco, who started five games for the Browns in 2023, gives them a potential bridge quarterback in the event they land a developmental player like Dart and don't feel comfortable starting a rookie right away.

This isn't necessarily a great formula for success in 2025, especially in a division with the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Browns' options were limited this offseason because they are still navigating around the limitations presented by Watson's contract still being on their books.

Joe Flacco wants to be the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback, but he doesn't expect it to be handed to him.

"I don't think there's any expectation of exactly who's gonna be the starting quarterback," Flacco said during a Wednesday interview on ESPN Cleveland (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). 

"So, you know, I'm excited to get in that room and go show that I have a lot of football ahead of me and kind of become part of the team and do my best to prove all those things. Just like you always would when you kind of come into a new situation and wanna be the guy."

At this point, the depth chart is Flacco and Kenny Pickett with Deshaun Watson sidelined by another ruptured Achilles.

Yet that could change if the Browns select a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick of the NFL draft. They have been linked to Shedeur Sanders at times in the predraft process, but momentum seems to be trending away from the signal-caller position as the draft approaches.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected Cleveland to take Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter at No. 2 in its latest mock draft.

The Browns could target a second-tier quarterback in the latter rounds to provide more depth, but there likely wouldn't be the same starting expectations as there would be if Sanders or someone else came in at No. 2.

That could clear the way for a competition between Pickett and Flacco.

The 40-year-old Flacco played for Cleveland during the 2023 season and helped lead it to the playoffs by going 4-1 as a starter down the stretch. While the Browns were blown out by the Houston Texans when they reached the postseason, it was still an impressive run for Flacco considering he wasn't even on the team at the start of the year.

Perhaps some lingering goodwill from that run will help him compete for a starting role this time around, but he knows he has to earn his spot.

Free-agent quarterback Joe Flacco is returning to the Cleveland Browns after spending the 2024 season with the Indianapolis Colts.

Flacco's agents told ESPN's Adam Schefter their client has agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with the Browns that can max out at $13 million.

The 40-year-old signed with the Colts last offseason on a one-year deal to back up Anthony Richardson. He was called into duty twice after a pair of injuries to the 2023 No. 4 overall pick (oblique injury, back spasms), who was also briefly benched for Flacco as well due to on-field struggles.

For the year, Flacco played eight games (six starts), completing 65.3 percent of his passes for 1,761 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

He was the Baltimore Ravens' full-time starter for 10-plus years (2008-2018), leading the team to a Super Bowl to cap the 2012 season. Baltimore later benched him for eventual two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who has been the team's starter since roughly halfway through the 2018 campaign.

Flacco landed with the Denver Broncos in 2019 to be their starting quarterback, but he was benched after eight games.

He then left to become the New York Jets' backup signal-caller for three seasons before being called up late in the 2023 campaign by the QB-needy Cleveland Browns.

Flacco then exploded over five games, guiding Cleveland to a 4-1 mark en route to the playoffs. He threw for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns (eight interceptions) and earned Comeback Player of the Year honors.

He remained productive with the Colts and mostly fared well when called upon. Now Flacco will play an 18th NFL season with the Browns, who are getting an experienced and successful backup easily capable of holding down the fort as he did for them two years ago.

The Browns have been mentioned as a potential destination for Shedeur Sanders and other top quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft class.

Signing Flacco doesn't necessarily change anything about Cleveland's approach in the draft. Kenny Pickett was the only healthy quarterback on the team's roster prior to this deal.

Deshaun Watson remains under contract, but his status for 2025 is uncertain after re-injuring his Achilles in January. It's also unclear if he will ever play for the Browns again after team owner Jimmy Haslam told reporters trading for the veteran quarterback was a "big swing-and-miss" for the organization.

If the Browns decide to bring in a rookie QB, they could turn to Flacco or Pickett as the starter at the beginning of the season if the coaching staff doesn't feel a first-year player is ready to go.

If the rookie is given the starting job right out of the gate, Flacco's familiarity with head coach Kevin Stefanski's system gives the offense a floor if he gets called into action in 2025.

If one assumes the Tennessee Titans will take Miami's Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NFL draft, all eyes will be on the Cleveland Browns at No. 2.

And that could mean plenty of smokescreens and noise with general manager Andrew Berry involved.

"He's known as a guy that you don't want to play poker with. He has fun with it almost," draft analyst Todd McShay said Thursday (nine-minute mark) when talking about Berry and some of the recent noise that Cleveland may select Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter at No. 2 overall.

This comes after McShay reported Saturday it is "all but official" the Titans will take Ward.

"And now I'm starting to hear more and more about Hunter to Cleveland at No. 2," he added.

It should be noted, especially given McShay's comments about Berry, that such speculation could be influenced by Browns sources hoping to increase interest or leverage in potential trade discussions. Perhaps there is another team that really wants Hunter and gets scared seeing so much smoke about him going to Cleveland.

That could inspire that team to give up more than it otherwise would have in a trade for that No. 2 pick.

Of course, a team like the Browns that has needs everywhere taking the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and making him into a franchise cornerstone for years to come is also an ideal option.

Hunter's ability to play both sides of the ball could help Cleveland fill multiple roster spots with one player, but he also has the ceiling to be a star at either position.

And other teams that know that and are talking with the Browns about a potential trade apparently might want to be careful when talking to Berry.

The Cleveland Browns have the No. 2 overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft and could wait until the latter rounds to select a quarterback if they want to go with Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter.

That means it would make plenty of sense to do their homework on some of the secondary signal-callers behind Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders as the draft approaches, and they reportedly did Tuesday.

According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the AFC North team hosted Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Louisville's Tyler Shough on top-30 visits Tuesday.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked Dart as the third-best quarterback in its latest big board of prospects behind only Ward and Sanders. The Ole Miss product is someone who could sneak into the latter half of the first round, although B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected only Ward (No. 1) and Sanders (No. 9) as first-round picks at the position in its most recent mock draft.

That could set the Browns up to take Dart with the first pick of the second round should they choose to target a quarterback with that selection.

They could also wait until the third or fourth rounds and hope Milroe (B/R's fifth-best quarterback) or Shough (B/R's seventh-best quarterback) are still available. Tankathon projected that exact scenario with Cleveland selecting Shough in the fourth round in its most recent mock draft.

Given the various approaches the front office can take, it follows that it would use top-30 visits on all three signal-callers.

Cleveland needs quality depth at the position since Deshaun Watson could miss the entire 2025 campaign after suffering a second Achilles tendon rupture. Kenny Pickett is the only healthy quarterback on the roster at this point, so it would be rather shocking if the AFC North team doesn't leave the draft with at least one signal-caller.

It may even take two given that reality, which could put in play for anyone from the group of Dart, Milroe, Shough, Will Howard or Quinn Ewers. 

That means plenty of pre-draft homework, and it seems like the Browns are doing just that.

While many have projected that the Cleveland Browns would use the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL draft to select a top skill-position player like Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, there's reportedly still a chance that the team tries to land a franchise quarterback.

ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi explained that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam's recent public acknowledgement that the acquisition of quarterback Deshaun Watson was a failure could indicate that the franchise will look to rectify the situation in the draft.

"The Browns are mulling the decision to take one of the top quarterbacks in the class -- a move that, if successful, could rescue them from the Watson trade, or return them to their decades-long search for an answer at the position; the franchise has cycled through 40 different starting quarterbacks since its return to the NFL in 1999," Oyefusi wrote.

The Browns sent three first-round picks to the Houston Texans in 2022 to acquire Watson and signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. In three years, he's played in just 19 games for the team, and his status for 2025 is in question after he tore his Achilles midway through the 2024 season and re-ruptured it in January.

Despite Cleveland's uncertainty at the quarterback position, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on this week's episode of The Adam Schefter Podcast, "The latest intel now is that I believe Travis Hunter is the more likely pick at [No.] 2."

It's clear that the Browns will have a tough decision to make, as Hunter is a can't-miss prospect. However, it could be a wise choice to use the No. 2 pick to select the top quarterback available between Miami's Cam Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, as Cleveland desperately needs a change if it wants to return to playoff contention soon.

The turning point in the early picks of the 2025 NFL draft may come with the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 overall, as there is reportedly still plenty of uncertainty regarding what the AFC North team will do later this month.

"The Browns have been very mysterious throughout this entire process," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said during a Sunday appearance on SportsCenter. "I do believe GM Andrew Berry is liking that, you know, that sort of mystery here around the Browns and what they could do because they looked at a bevy of options. 

"So, I do know this, they've spent a lot of time with Abdul Carter, the pass rusher out of Penn State. They've gotten to know him very well. He has definitely felt the love from the Browns at every level of the organization getting to know a lot of those people. So, I do believe he's in strong consideration. There also is some buzz of late about Travis Hunter and that dynamic with him being so good and showing himself as a receiver at his pro day. 

"The Browns are one of the teams that look at him as a wide receiver. So those two players are under consideration, they're on the short list, as is Shedeur Sanders. I'm told they are still considering him, even though there isn't a lot of momentum for him to go No. 2 overall right now, at least talking to people around the league."

That Cleveland would at least be looking at Sanders comes as no surprise, as it is among the most unsettled teams in the league at the quarterback position given Deshaun Watson's poor play and injury status.

Watson ruptured his Achilles again, which leaves his status for 2025 very much up in the air. While Cleveland traded for Kenny Pickett this offseason, that doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in a division that also features Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.

While Sanders could help provide stability and a bright future under center for the Browns, the front office may just believe in Carter or Hunter more as potential franchise building blocks for years to come.

Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as a two-way player who excelled as a wide receiver and cornerback, while the idea of Carter and Myles Garrett rushing the passer together is surely a terrifying one for opposing offensive lines.

Carter would likely see plenty of single blockers in front of him as a rookie given all the attention Garrett receives, which could set the stage for a double-digit sack season in his rookie campaign.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected Cleveland to select Carter with the No. 2 pick in its most recent mock draft with Miami's Cam Ward going No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans, Hunter going No. 3 to the New York Giants and Sanders going No. 9 to the New Orleans Saints.

For all of the pre-draft debates thus far about whether or not the Cleveland Browns will take Abdul Carter or Shedeur Sanders, it turns out they might have a different plan for the No. 2 overall pick.

Per The Athletic's Jeff Howe, there's a growing belief around the NFL that Travis Hunter is the "favorite" to be selected by the Browns with their first-round choice.

NFL draft expert Todd McShay also noted the possibility that Hunter goes No. 2 overall:

Todd McShay of The Ringer has stated that Sanders is "absolutely in play" for the Browns with the No. 2 pick. It makes sense because they do need a quarterback capable of starting in 2025.

There's also a strong possibility that Deshaun Watson, who could miss all of next season after re-rupturing his Achilles in January, doesn't play for the Browns again after owner Jimmy Haslam declared this week the 2022 trade for him was a "big swing-and-miss."

ESPN's Adam Schefter said last week things were "shaking out" in such a way that Carter was tracking to be selected by Cleveland. He did note things could change because there was still a lot of time before the draft.

The winds of change have been blowing regarding what the Browns want to do. They have frequently been linked to Kirk Cousins, reuniting him with his former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.

If the Browns can pull off a move for Cousins, they might feel comfortable passing on a quarterback at No. 2. This would leave Carter or Hunter as the most-likely draft options.

Even though pairing Carter with Myles Garrett on the defensive line sounds terrifying for opposing quarterbacks, they also have a need for another playmaker on offense to help whomever is throwing the football.

NFL insider Jason La Canfora, in an article for The Washington Post, cited two anonymous general managers who disputed the Browns having a strong interest in Carter because Stefanski didn't attend the dinner when the team hosted him on a visit on March 28.

Jerry Jeudy was the only Browns pass-catcher with at least 600 receiving yards in 2024. Hunter, who expects to play on both sides of the ball in the NFL, is regarded by some teams as the best receiver and cornerback in the 2025 draft class.

Given how rare Hunter's skill set is and all of the needs on Cleveland's roster at this time, taking him at No. 2 overall would make a ton of sense for a franchise that is looking to rebound after a 3-14 record in 2024.

It looks like Colorado head coach Deion Sanders approves the Cleveland Browns as a destination for some of his draft prospects.

Sanders, whose sons Shedeur and Shilo as well as 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter played for the Buffaloes, spoke at Colorado's pro day on Friday and expressed his appreciation for Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and believes it could be a destination for one of his players.

"It was charming, it was engaging and it was cool," Sanders said, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. "He's a good guy and I like him. I think one of those guys is going to be there."

The Browns went 3-14 in 2024 and hold the No. 2 pick in the 2025 Draft. Hunter is a two-way star who is rated as the No. 1 overall prospect by Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department.

Hunter made 96 catches for 1,258 yards with 15 touchdowns in 2024 while adding 36 total tackles, 11 pass deflections and four interceptions on defense. He could impact the Browns on both sides of the ball and be a playmaker for a team that had gone 11-6 and reached the postseason in 2023.

While Hunter is the top prospect available, Cleveland's struggles at quarterback could make taking Sanders intriguing. He is the No. 18 overall prospect and the No. 2 quarterback, per Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department, and was the Big-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2024.

He threw for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while sporting a 74 percent completion percentage.

If the Browns elect to take either player, it looks like the elder Sanders will approve and enjoy watching while he continues to build a program in Boulder.