The Cleveland Browns were prepared to select Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 24th overall pick in last week’s NFL Draft, a revelation that has sent shockwaves through the franchise and fundamentally reshapes the narrative surrounding the team’s quarterback room. According to a bombshell report from Yahoo Sports reporter Jory Epstein, who was embedded in the Browns’ war room during the draft, the team had Simpson firmly in their sights before the Los Angeles Rams snatched him at No. 13 overall. This explosive detail, confirmed by multiple sources within the organization, exposes a level of desperation and strategic foresight that contradicts the public confidence the front office has projected regarding its current quarterback situation.
The confirmation came during a Tuesday episode of the Orange Brown Talk podcast, where veteran beat reporter Mary Kay Kitt revealed that she had known of the Browns’ interest in Simpson prior to the draft. “I know for a fact that’s true,” Kitt stated emphatically. “They would have considered him at number 24.” The revelation was initially reported in a story on cleveland.com, and while Browns general manager Andrew Barry later attempted to walk back the language during his radio tour, he ultimately confirmed that Simpson would have been part of the group of players under consideration at that pick. This is not a semantic distinction. In the high-stakes world of NFL roster construction, considering a quarterback in the first round is an explicit declaration of intent.
The implications are staggering. If the Rams had not intervened, the Browns would have been faced with a decision that would have fundamentally altered the trajectory of the franchise. Drafting Simpson at No. 24 would have meant throwing a first-round quarterback into a competition that currently features Shador Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dylan Gabriel. As the podcast panel discussed, a first-round quarterback does not sit on the bench indefinitely. “If you take a guy in the first round, you’re saying this is a guy who could be our guy,” one analyst noted. The Browns were willing to make that bet. They were willing to signal that the future of the position was not in the hands of anyone currently on the roster.
This revelation casts a harsh light on the Browns’ current quarterback room. Shador Sanders, who took over as the starter late last season and showed flashes of promise, now must understand that the organization was actively seeking to replace him before the draft even began. Deshaun Watson, whose massive guaranteed contract has been a millstone around the franchise’s neck, now faces the reality that the front office has zero faith in his ability to return to Pro Bowl form. The Browns were prepared to add a rookie to the mix, a move that would have signaled the beginning of the end for both veterans. The message is clear: the clock is ticking on everyone in that room.
The strategic calculus behind the Simpson pursuit is even more telling when viewed through the lens of the 2026 quarterback class. The Browns, by their own admission, have built a roster that should win games this season. They have a championship-caliber defense, a revamped offensive line, and a loaded skill position group. The fear, as articulated on the podcast, is that this success will price them out of the top of the 2026 draft, where quarterbacks like Arch Manning and Lenora Cers are projected to go. “What if this happens?” Kitt asked. “What if you get to next year’s draft and the same thing happened to all these big names?” The Browns were trying to hedge their bets, to secure a quarterback now before they are forced to watch the top prospects go to teams with worse records.
The decision to pivot away from Simpson after he was taken by the Rams reveals a philosophical shift within the organization. Instead of reaching for a quarterback they did not love, the Browns chose to double down on infrastructure. Andrew Barry has repeatedly emphasized the importance of building a “healthier ecosystem” for the quarterback position. This means focusing on the offensive line, the receiving corps, and the running game. The team used its remaining picks to add depth and talent across the board, essentially betting that a functional offense can elevate the play of whoever is under center. “We really focused on the infrastructure around it,” Barry said after the draft. This is a calculated gamble.
But it is a gamble that carries enormous risk. The podcast panel was unified in its assessment that the Browns cannot afford another losing season. “You’ve got to get over 500 this year,” Kitt insisted. The roster is too talented, the investment too great. If the quarterback play is subpar, there will be no one left to blame. The offensive coordinator has been changed. The head coach has been fired. The supporting cast has been overhauled. The only constant is the front office and the quarterbacks. If Shador Sanders or Deshaun Watson cannot deliver, the failure will rest squarely on Andrew Barry and the decision to leave the quarterback room as is.
The comparison to the Rams’ decision to draft Simpson at No. 13 is instructive. Los Angeles has a future Hall of Famer in Matthew Stafford and is trying to win a Super Bowl this season. Yet they still invested a first-round pick in a quarterback. This is the Jordan Love model, a long-term play for succession. The Browns, who have no such established star, were willing to do the same. This tells us that the front office views the current quarterback situation as untenable in the long term. They were looking for an escape hatch, a way to reset the clock without the baggage of Watson’s contract or the uncertainty of Sanders’ ceiling.
The podcast also raised the possibility that the Browns might have considered trading down from No. 6 to acquire additional picks and still land Simpson later in the first round. This would have been a masterful move, allowing them to address multiple needs while still securing their quarterback of the future. But the Rams’ aggressive move at No. 13 scuttled any such plans. The Browns were left to watch their target disappear, forced to pivot to a strategy of patience that they may come to regret. The question now is whether they will be proactive in the future or whether they will continue to play a dangerous game of waiting for the perfect opportunity.
The discussion also touched on the broader pattern of the Browns’ front office being too passive at critical positions. The team has repeatedly left itself short at receiver and offensive line, only to be burned by injuries and underperformance. The quarterback room now appears to be the latest example of this trend. “It feels a little bit like that’s what he’s doing with this quarterback room right now,” one analyst observed. The Browns are hoping that a functional offense will unlock the potential of Sanders or Watson, but hope is not a strategy. If the season goes sideways, the front office will have no one to blame but itself.
The timeline for this decision is brutally short. The Browns will not know what they have at quarterback until the first quarter of the season is over. Preseason games are meaningless. Training camp is an illusion. Real football starts when the lights come on and the hits start flying. By then, it may be too late to salvage the season. The team could find itself in a position where it is too good to draft a top quarterback but not good enough to win consistently. This is the nightmare scenario that the Browns were trying to avoid by pursuing Simpson. They saw the trap and tried to avoid it. They failed.
The reaction from the current quarterbacks should be one of urgency. Shador Sanders, who has shown leadership and resilience, must now understand that his job is not secure. Deshaun Watson, who has been a ghost of his former self, must realize that the organization has no loyalty to his contract. The Browns were willing to draft a rookie and start the clock on a new era. That threat has not disappeared. It has only been delayed. The pressure on every snap this season will be immense. Every interception, every missed read, every stalled drive will be viewed through the lens of what could have been if the Browns had landed their guy.
The broader NFL landscape will be watching closely. The Browns have made a bet that they can win now with a quarterback room that the rest of the league views with skepticism. If they succeed, Andrew Barry will be hailed as a genius. If they fail, the criticism will be relentless. The Simpson revelation ensures that the spotlight will be even brighter. Every decision, every move, every comment will be scrutinized for signs of panic or regret. The Browns have put themselves in a position where they must win, and they have done so without the quarterback they truly wanted.
The podcast concluded with a sobering thought. The Browns may look back on this draft and realize they missed their best chance to solve the quarterback problem. The 2026 class is strong, but the Browns may not be in a position to draft a top prospect. The free agent market is thin. Trade opportunities are rare. The team may be forced to watch from the sidelines as other franchises secure their franchise quarterbacks. This is the danger of being too passive, of waiting for the perfect moment that never arrives. The Browns had their chance with Ty Simpson. They were ready to take it. And now they must live with the consequences of a decision that was made for them.
