Predicting When Browns Quarterback Changes Could Happen on 2026 Schedule

The Cleveland Browns are notorious for having a continuous quarterback carousel each and every season. Even when fans think it’s over, the ‘fun’ just never seems to end.

One thing can be said about their quarterback situation heading into this season, and that is that while veteran Deshaun Watson is their starter for week one, that might not be concrete.

Next year’s draft class has a plethora of quarterback prospects that could be worth selecting as Cleveland’s quarterback of the future, but they’ll have to assess their current quarterback room to see if any of them are worth keeping as competition next season.

The Browns have three quarterbacks that have all seen regular season playing time, and with both Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel still learning the ways of the NFL, they could be in line to see more starting time this season if things go south with Watson at the helm.

With one of the easiest schedules in the NFL this season, this should give the Browns the best opportunity to try out their quarterbacks. Here’s when fans could expect to see a quarterback change or two during the course of the 2026 season.

Home opener against the Carolina Panthers

The Browns won’t play their first game of the season at home until week three, as they’ll spend the first two weeks of the season down in Florida taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Deshaun Watson is the veteran in the quarterback room, and head coach Todd Monken shared that he feels Watson gives the team their best chance of winning on the road. It can be assumed that if Watson doesn’t play admirably well, the Browns might think about making a quick change.

Any time the Browns have played at home, the reception from fans for Watson has been very negative to say the least. Whether they cheer when he’s injured or boo him after every poor play, it’s never a warm welcome for Watson in his team's home stadium.

It doesn’t seem like the reaction from Browns fans bothers their front office, otherwise Watson probably wouldn’t be starting. Again, if he plays poorly the first two weeks, it might make sense to start the fan favorite in Sanders to open up the season in front of their home crowd.

Week seven on the road against the Tennessee Titans

If Watson can somehow stay as the starting quarterback for the Browns until week seven, it’ll be a miracle, especially if he plays well. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if they're sitting close to .500 around this time in the season and make a change heading into a three-week road trip.

That would be a true best-case scenario for the Browns if they are still in the hunt for the playoffs come week seven. Even if Watson is playing okay, they may need to make a drastic decision if they want to keep winning on their road trip. That’s where Sanders may hear his name called.

Cleveland will travel to Tennessee, then Pittsburgh, then New Orleans before returning home to face Baltimore, so they’ll need their best team and leader on the field for this stretch of games. That would get them to their bye week, which could also be a prime week to make a switch.

Week 12 at home against the Las Vegas Raiders and beyond

Knowing the Browns and how they typically operate around the months of November and December, the wheels could have already fallen off the track when they meet the Raiders in week 12.

This might end up being a time in the season when it really doesn’t matter in terms of competing for a spot in the playoffs. It might be a good time to see what they have in the rest of their rostered quarterbacks before starting their offseason draft analysis.

The Browns have two first round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, and it’s more than likely one of their picks will be a quarterback, presumably one of the future. Why not try out the rest of their quarterbacks to see who could be worth keeping as competition for next season.

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