The Cleveland Browns quarterback situation heading into 2026 is about as unsettled as it has been in years. Shedeur Sanders is in the building, but nobody inside the organization is ready to stamp him as the definitive answer just yet. And according to CBS Sports NFL analyst JP Acosta, the Browns may not stop looking for solutions once the draft is over.
Acosta appeared on the BIGPLAY Cleveland Show and raised an intriguing possibility that most Browns fans probably have not spent much time considering.
“I think right now I would go with Shedeur Sanders as the starting quarterback. But I do think its wide open based on both what the Browns might do in this year’s draft but also post June 1st. I think there’s still an opportunity to go and trade for a quarterback, maybe a guy like Will Levis, who I think might be on his way out of Tennessee,” Acosta said.
Could the Browns attempt to solve their QB woes AFTER June 1st?@acosta32_jp could see the Browns targeting Will Levis this summer. 👀 pic.twitter.com/RBmIO1XNgu
— BIGPLAY Cleveland Show (@BIGPLAYCLEshow) April 12, 2026
Levis was a second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Kentucky, and his NFL career has been a complicated story so far. In two seasons with Tennessee, Levis has completed 61 percent of his passes for 3,899 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions across 21 games. The physical tools have never been in question. At 6’4 and 229 pounds with a strong arm, Levis fits the prototype teams covet at the position. The consistency, however, has been harder to find.
The June 1st reference from Acosta is significant from a roster and salary cap standpoint. That date is a key cutoff in the NFL calendar that affects how teams process cap charges when releasing or trading players.
The Browns are not in a position to simply hand Sanders the keys and hope for the best without exploring every available option. Andrew Berry has built his reputation on being thorough and creative, and if a quarterback with legitimate starting experience becomes available at a reasonable cost, it would be hard to imagine Berry not at least picking up the phone.
The Browns have bigger priorities to handle in the upcoming draft, but once the picks are in, the work does not stop. If Will Levis becomes available this summer, Cleveland could find itself right in the middle of that conversation.
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