For those long-suffering Browns fans seeking more specifics than their team playing hard and being fun, Haslam delivered a prediction.
Haslam has seen the Browns tabbed by some with a win expectation of 5.5 heading into the season, and he’s confident regarding which side of the line he falls.
“I would say this, and we never do this, but I think the odds are for us to win five and half games. I’ll take the over,” he said.
There are still many things to figure out before the Browns start stacking any wins, of course.
First and foremost is the quarterback position, a near-annual Cleveland conundrum that this training camp features a competition between Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, seeming third in the running.
All three have started games for the Browns. Watson, the most experienced, sports a 9-10 record with Cleveland and is fully healthy from the Achilles injury that kept him out all of last season as he heads into the final year of his contract. Sanders went 3-4 in 2025 as a rookie, while Gabriel finished 1-5.
Rather than answer any hypotheticals about the distant future, Haslam pinpointed figuring out the Week 1 starter as the main priority. How that first, crucial step plays out will inevitably clear up more farsighted concerns.
“We’ll know by the first game who the starter’s gonna be,” Haslam said. “Listen, somebody might have a great year and they’re our quarterback forever. Or neither of them might. I think it’s way, way, way early to be talking about who’s going to be our quarterback next year. We have to figure out who’s going to start the first game.”
Cleveland’s defense has similarly undertaken a massive training camp. It’s been a decade since the Browns entered camp without rostering Garrett, the single-season sack king, and first-time defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg has the unenviable task of reshaping the unit in the franchise legend’s absence.
He’ll be helped by Pro Bowl pass rusher Jared Verse, who came over in the Garrett trade along with three draft picks. The Browns also have a cornerstone piece like linebacker Carson Schwesinger and recently extended cornerback Denzel Ward.
Haslam addressed trading Garrett on Friday, in some ways closing the book on the blockbuster as he looks ahead to what the daring move could mean to Cleveland’s future.
“Myles is an unbelievable player,” Haslam said. “I mean I was thinking the other night, you take Jim Brown, Joe Thomas, Myles Garrett, you know, they are first-ballot Hall of Famers, world-class people. So, it was not an easy decision, but we’ve made it, we’re moving on. We’re excited about Jared and excited about those three draft picks.”
The pieces are there to build. So, too, is the motivation after too many years left disappointed. Execution and results must now follow.
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