It feels like it's been ages since the last time the Cleveland Browns played a regular-season game. The team's latest decisions haven't done much to lift fans' spirits, either.
Cleveland's well-documented quarterback issues will be a lingering concern through Week 18. But as much as fans and analysts expect that to be the only issue with this team, it won't be.
While the team's collection of young talent provides a beacon of hope, several concerns still linger.
5 lingering problems the Browns will be powerless to fix in 2026
The quarterback saga
Deshaun Watson will start Week 1, but does anyone really think he'll be the starter come Week 18? The Browns' quarterback dilemma is far from over, and it'll remain a constant narrative regardless of who's under center.
Even if (and when) Shedeur Sanders takes the field, the discourse will revolve around whether he's overrated, the second coming of Tom Brady, or if the Browns should take a quarterback in the 2027 draft. This nagging situation simply won't go away, and it may not for another couple of years.
Lack of depth on defense
The Browns' defense is elite on paper, but once you take a closer look at the depth chart, some questions start to pop. This team might be an injury away from an actual crisis at linebacker, cornerback, and along the defensive line.
General manager Andrew Berry will obviously address these needs in some capacity through the course of the season. But unless he strikes gold multiple times, which seems unlikely, defensive depth will remain a concern until proven otherwise.
Myles Garrett's shadow
There's no hiding from the blockbuster trade that sent Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams on June 1. For better or worse, most of the discourse will revolve around how the Browns let their generational edge defender go.
To be fair, losing a player of Garrett's caliber is well worth the attention. But as soon as the Browns' defense begins to struggle, or if newcomer Jared Verse goes on a heater, there will be no stopping the national media from linking everything back to Garrett until Cleveland proves otherwise on the field.
Confidence in Todd Monken
Todd Monken arrived in Berea looking like an old-school football coach who would tell it like it is and wouldn't allow anyone to undermine him. That changed, at least in the eyes of many fans, when he named Deshaun Watson his QB1.
Whether that was Monken's decision or not, he was the one who made the announcement. There's no taking that back, and Browns fans will second-guess every single thing he does from now on, regardless of whether it's minor or major.
Jimmy Haslam
Many fans believe the decision to start Watson has ownership's fingerprints all over it. And if you've followed this team long enough, you know Haslam will always find a way to meddle and set the franchise back.
This may be a new era of Browns football, but there's little reason to expect anything different. Haslam will keep writing the checks and micromanaging, and that could be this team's biggest problem for the foreseeable future.
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