The rumors are beginning to heat up as the NFL trade deadline approaches. One of the surprise teams in the mix to be buyers this year is the Cleveland Browns. Them leading the AFC North through seven weeks has caught most analysts by surprise.

You could say that the Browns are currently ahead of schedule and still have a few holes on their young and rebuilding roster. Adding young players who need a fresh start makes sense. The goal is both winning now and continuing to build the core of the future.

However, I’m not sure the latest article from Sports Illustrated is what I had in mind with that. Conor Orr put out an article of Ten 2026 NFL Trade Deadline Deals We’d Love To See. In this piece, one of those deals was the Browns trading for New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Here’s what he had to say about Cleveland's current quarterback situation.

“The Browns are in first place in the division despite Deshaun Watson hanging around the mid-to-late-20s in EPA per play. Watson is also near the top of the NFL in turnover-worthy plays.”

There is truth in this logic. The Browns have been led by their defense this year. And while Watson has given the team more than many expected this year, he is still far from having proven himself to be the long-term answer.

A new franchise quarterback could very well be in play down the road. But is Rattler really the guy who can be that franchise quarterback? Here’s what Orr had to say.

“I am one of NFL media’s largest Rattler apologists, but it’s impossible to argue that Rattler didn’t see major growth from Year 1 (2024) to last season in almost every metric you would care about from a quarterback (big-time throw percentage, pressure to sack rate and adjusted completion percentage all went up).”

This is where you lose me. If Rattler really was a budding young quarterback who can lead a franchise, then he probably wouldn’t be a backup on a 2-5 Saints team. He was benched in favor of rookie Tyler Shough, who is older than Rattler and has fewer physical gifts to develop.

Orr also talked about the backup quarterback situation in Cleveland and that Shedeur Sanders isn’t a legitimate option for the Browns. Even if that is true, there is also another young quarterback that the Browns drafted last year in Dillon Gabriel. It would make sense to see what they have in the player they invested a 3rd-round pick in before trading for someone else’s backup quarterback. 

Ultimately, Orr might be right that Watson isn’t the long-term answer. With that said, I don’t believe that Rattler does much to help the Browns solve that problem.