Contrary to popular belief, the buzz behind Todd Monken and the Cleveland Browns making a strong push for pending free agent quarterback Malik Willis is picking up steam.
On Monday, ESPN’s Ben Solak might’ve laid out the Browns’ main competition to land the ascending Green Bay Packers QB, and of the four teams he mentioned, Cleveland might actually offer Willis the best situation.
According to Solak, the Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins, and Jets are the teams expected to be most in on Willis when the NFL’s legal tampering window arrives on March 9. Consider this: Both the Cardinals and Dolphins have high-priced, former franchise QBs still under contract, and the Jets literally haven’t had a winning season in over a decade. The Browns, with their young roster and wide-open quarterback room, offer just as much opportunity and upside as that bunch — if not more.
The big hang-up, of course, is the financials. To seriously contend for Willis in free agency, the Browns will first have to restructure some contracts to create salary cap space. The most obvious option is veteran QB Deshaun Watson, who with a simple roster bonus conversion could net the Browns about $35 million in space with the snap of a finger.
Interestingly enough, $35 million per year is about what Spotrac projects Willis’ free agent deal to net in average annual value. That feels a little too rich for a developmental quarterback prospect with just six NFL starts to his credit, but Solak doesn’t agree with those projections.
If he’s right, the Browns could (and should) be very much in play for the 26-year-old.
Todd Monken might soon be chasing his perfect Browns QB
The Browns’ current QB room consists of Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel, but the team is expected to add to that group in some fashion after sporting some of the league's worst quarterback play in 2025.
To be clear, the Browns aren’t signing Willis without the intention of making him the starter. As Solak put it on The Rich Eisen Show on Monday, the fit with Monken’s system is too perfect, and the price shouldn’t be nearly as bad as fans originally feared.
“The Browns to me are a team where Todd Monken just worked with Lamar Jackson. That’s a very copy and paste offense in terms of stylistically how Willis plays and how Lamar plays. … I don’t think Willis is going to get insanely overpaid, but it is not a year to walk into the draft with a quarterback need. I can’t stress that enough. So I think Willis, there’s that Justin Fields day at $20 million per year, and then the next highest deal is Baker (Mayfield) at $33 million. There’s like a $10 million gap between those two deals. I think he’s going to land somewhere in there. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s somewhere near the Baker deal.”
Tampa Bay took a shot on Mayfield with a cleverly-structured, three-year, $100 million deal in 2024 that today looks like a massive bargain. The Seattle Seahawks replicated that contract for Sam Darnold this past year, and he ended up leading them to a Super Bowl.
Willis wouldn’t make the Browns a championship contender out of the chute, but even near the high end of Solak’s perceived range, he feels like a no-brainer. It’s worth noting, too, that Spotrac’s market projection is a bit out of whack due to the Las Vegas Raiders signing Geno Smith to a two-year, $75 million deal following their trade with Seattle last offseason.
Even with their tight cap situation, the Browns could offer Willis their version of the Mayfield/Darnold contract, with a team-friendly cap hit in Year 1, and a potential out after Year 2. The only thing stopping them would be owner Jimmy Haslam, who’s been writing plenty of checks lately for players no longer on the roster, and the next two years will be more of the same.
GM Andrew Berry could make all the salary cap numbers work blindfolded with a pen and a cocktail napkin. The only real hangup from a financial perspective would come from ownership, which could sour on paying real cash to another quarterback when the man originally signed, Watson, is due $46 million guaranteed in 2026 regardless of any procedural move (or if he even plays a snap this year).
The Browns should have some motivation this offseason, though, with some elite pieces in place on defense and some young building blocks on offense. They’ll need to overhaul the offensive line and add help at the skill positions in free agency and the draft, but an upgrade at quarterback could be the difference between staying “in the hunt” into December, and legitimately challenging for what could be a wide-open AFC North race this coming season.
The Willis buzz feels very real for Cleveland right now, and if Haslam gives the green light, the Browns could take a big swing at the best free agent QB available — who just so happens to fit Monken’s offense like a glove.