BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam wants Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning playing in the team’s new stadium, a longtime NFL personnel executive who knows the Browns told Jason La Canfora for a column Casino.org published Wednesday.
La Canfora has covered the NFL full time since 2004, including 10 years as the NFL insider for CBS Sports. In the same column, he wrote that the league executives who told him Deshaun Watson would start Week 1 now believe Watson will be benched by the time Cleveland plays its home opener in Week 3.
On Sunday, Watson went 16-of-22 for 205 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception in a 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Jacksonville sacked him 5 times. His touchdown was a 46-yard throw to rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston with 2 minutes left.
Sunday was Watson’s first regular-season game since he tore his Achilles in Week 7 of the 2024 season. Cleveland acquired him from the Houston Texans in March 2022 for six draft picks, three of them first-rounders, and signed him to a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. The 2026 season is the last year of that deal.
In August, Browns coach Todd Monken named Watson the starter over Shedeur Sanders. La Canfora wrote that Monken gave in to ownership on that decision and did not fully commit to a Week 2 starter after the loss in Jacksonville.
One NFL general manager told La Canfora that Watson will keep playing poorly to see how quickly Cleveland pulls him.
“He doesn’t want to be there,” the general manager said. “He never wanted to be there.”
NFL Executive Says Jimmy Haslam Wants Arch Manning In New Browns Stadium
In May, the Browns broke ground on a $2.6 billion domed stadium in Brook Park, Ohio, about 15 miles south of downtown Cleveland. The 67,500-seat building is scheduled to open for the 2029 season.
The executive said Haslam has long admired Peyton Manning, Arch Manning’s uncle, who played quarterback at Tennessee from 1994 to 1997. Eli Manning, Arch Manning’s other uncle, was the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.
“Haslam wants [Texas QB] Arch Manning, that’s what this is really all about,” the executive told La Canfora.
“I’m not sure he’s coming out [for the draft],” the executive continued. “I know Jimmy, and I know how Jimmy thinks. He’s a huge booster for [the University of] Tennessee. … He wants Arch Manning playing in that new stadium.”
In 2025, his first season as the full-time starter in Austin, Manning started all 13 games and threw for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. He opened 2026 on Sept. 5 by going 20-of-27 for 305 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception in a 59-7 win over the Texas State Bobcats.
A week later, Manning went 23-of-37 for 196 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception as Texas scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to beat the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 24-23. Texas trailed 23-3 entering the final quarter. Manning went 8-of-11 for 83 yards and a touchdown in the fourth.
Andrew Berry Says Todd Monken Has Final Call On Browns Lineup
Browns general manager Andrew Berry, whose front office drafted Sanders and Dillon Gabriel in 2025, told Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com in a text this month that he and Monken serve as a sounding board for each other.
“Lineup decisions have always been under the head coach’s control,” Berry texted. “That is not different for Todd. We always discuss a range of things pertaining to the players on our roster or players we might potentially acquire.”
“Part of the head coach/GM relationship is to serve as a sounding board or counsel to one another,” Berry continued. “In terms of which players are on the field and how they are deployed, we have great faith in Todd to have the final call on those sorts of things as he brings our vision to life.”
Cleveland hired Monken after firing Kevin Stefanski at the end of a 5-12 season. Monken spent the previous three seasons as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator and was the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2019.
Sanders, the 144th overall pick in 2025, started 7 games as a rookie and threw for 1,400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He was born in Tyler, Texas, and played high school football at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill.
Gabriel, a third-round pick in the same draft, is on injured reserve. He started 6 games last season and threw for 937 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. The Browns added Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
La Canfora wrote that once Gabriel is healthy enough to come off injured reserve, the job will come down to Sanders and Gabriel as ownership works toward 2027.
Cleveland plays at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at noon CT on CBS. The Browns host the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 27 at noon CT.
