#HeyTony: Why is staying with the current quarterback room the best option for the Browns?

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Hey Tony: Do you think staying with our quarterback room that we have is best option for now till the Deshaun Watson situation is over?

-- Bob, Wooster, OH

Hey Bob: I do, for multiple reasons. 1. Like a year ago, there is only one QB in the draft worthy of committing to as a franchise quarterback. That is Fernando Mendoza and the Raiders aren’t likely to bypass him with the No. 1 pick. 2. Watson should be healthy for the start of his final season with the Browns. Why not see if he can return something – one decent season -- for the enormous investment they’ve made in him? 3. Shedeur Sanders deserves a fair chance to compete for the starting job under a new coach and new offensive system. 4. After 2026, Watson will be gone (but not off the books until 2029) and the Browns should know if Sanders is their permanent QB. If not, the search continues in the 2027 draft.

Hey Tony: Do the Browns trade back at this point? Do you think they should (accumulate more draft capital)? I know a lot depends on who is there but if you had to make a decision now what would it be?

-- Chris, Seven Hills, OH

Hey Chris: I’d try to acquire an extra No. 1 in 2027. That won’t be as easy as it was last year because the Browns sit at sixth overall instead of second in the 2025 draft. But if there’s an opportunity to slide down in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick, I would seriously consider it.

Hey Tony: Is there a breaking point where ownership realizes the loss of top coaches cost us game and players? We seem more willing to let player production fall off and let them walk in free agency & be replaced with lesser talent than keep a coach who can get the most out of them.

-- Steve, Dayton, OH

Hey Steve: At the risk of belaboring this point, the Browns in the last 12 years have allowed the following coaches to leave their building – Kyle Shanahan, Bill Callahan, Mike Vrabel and Jim Schwartz. Each left for his own reasons, of course. An organization that can’t identify its best coaches and keep them is an organization that needs to look itself in the mirror.

Hey Tony: What percent chance do you think Joel Bitonio comes back?

-- Josh, Ooltewah, TN

Hey Josh: At the end of the 2025 season, I would have answered 5 percent. After the recent joint decision to move the void date of Bitonio’s contract to March 10, I would raise that to 50 percent. Otherwise, Bitonio would have said, “Naw, I’m good. I’m done.”

Hey Tony: With all the annual restructurings of the Watson contract and other highly paid players is Andrew Berry brilliant when it comes to the cap and cap management or is he really just creating a problem that is going to blow up on us at one point? 

-- Mike, North Olmsted, OH

Hey Mike: Berry did a lot of restructuring and kicking the can of cap charges down the road because the organization thought it had a window to compete for a Super Bowl. Now that it has closed, it would be wise for Berry to slow down the practice of rolling cap charges into the future. Rather, it would be wise for ownership to stop it because future cap charges conceivably could make it harder to recruit a quality successor to the GM job.

Hey Tony: If you were the Bengals & Raiders would you make this trade? The Raiders first pick in this year/s draft and their first pick in 2027 to the Bengals for Joe Burrow?

-- Bobby, San Diego, CA

Hey Bobby: Are you kidding? The Raiders would make that trade in a heartbeat. The Bengals – nor any NFL team with half a brain – would trade Burrow for two No. 1s.

Hey Tony: What do you think will happen to Dillion Gabriel this year? 1. Gets cut. 2. Gets traded. 3. Gets the starting QB position. 4. Gets it together.

-- Tim, Amherst, OH

Hey Tim: You left out my answer. 5. Competes with Watson and Sanders for the starting job and if he doesn’t win it remains on roster as a backup.

Hey Tony: I am about 9 years older than you. Like every other Browns fan, I watch every game hoping for a win.  At this point the SB is too far off. I will settle for an AFC North title. How soon will we see one?

-- Sam, Strongsville, OH

Hey Sam: Honestly, I have no clue anymore.

Hey Tony: How much do you think Wyatt Teller’s wife contributed to his decision to not return to the Browns / mid season drama?

-- Chris, Chicago, IL

Hey Chris: Teller always wanted to stay with the Browns. He told me in November that he wanted to end his career with them. The decision to part ways is totally on the Browns. They wanted to get younger and cheaper at the guard positions. That is also the reason behind the ‘mid-season drama.’ They wanted to audition possible replacements at right guard.