There is already a place in Berea where the Cleveland Browns fans can sit inside their future. The Browns opened their Experience Center last month, complete with a scale model of Huntington Bank Field, actual seats from the new stadium, and a 270-degree display designed to give fans a glimpse of what awaits in 2029. But one thing is missing from that future: a locked-in quarterback.

Right now, Cleveland is still trying to solve a problem that has followed the franchise into the opening weeks of 2026. Deshaun Watson remains QB1 despite a disastrous opener against Jacksonville, while Shedeur Sanders waits for his chance and Dillon Gabriel remains on injured reserve. The Browns can change the answer several times before 2029. But according to a longtime NFL personnel executive familiar with the team, Jimmy Haslam may already have a very different answer in mind: Arch Manning.

“[Jimmy] Haslam wants (Texas QB) Arch Manning, that’s what this is really all about,” said one longtime NFL personnel exec who knows the Browns well, reported Jason La Canfora.

“I’m not sure he’s coming out (entering the draft). I know Jimmy [Haslam], and I know how Jimmy thinks. He’s a huge booster for (University of) Tennessee. He has always had a hard-on for Peyton (Manning, uncle of the QB prospect). He wants Arch Manning playing in that new stadium.”
But this is not the first time Arch’s name has been tied to Cleveland and Haslam himself once gave a very different answer.

Haslam’s relationship with Peyton Manning goes back to the quarterback’s Tennessee days. Haslam has described the Manning family and the Haslams as close friends since Peyton arrived at Tennessee at 18, and he acknowledged in 2017 that he and Peyton spoke frequently, often about Tennessee football.

That relationship became part of the Browns’ story after Peyton retired. In 2017, La Canfora reported that Haslam had a strong interest in bringing Peyton into Cleveland in a football-operations role. Haslam later denied that he had tried to hire Manning, while acknowledging that the two remained close and spoke regularly.

So the Manning connection did not begin with Arch. Cleveland had already been linked to Peyton years before his nephew became one of the most closely watched quarterback prospects in college football.

The Tennessee connection is also deeper than the “huge booster” description in the latest report suggests. In June 2026, Jimmy and Dee Haslam announced a $130 million investment in the University of Tennessee, the largest single gift in the university’s history. The gift brought their lifetime giving to UT to more than $195 million and is largely directed toward the Haslam College of Business, scholarships, student success and faculty recruitment.

Peyton publicly praised that investment, too. In a statement released by Tennessee, he thanked the Haslams for helping create the kind of educational opportunities that had shaped his own time at the university.

That gives some context to the personnel executive’s reference to Haslam’s affinity for Peyton. The relationship is documented. The stronger characterization—that Haslam’s interest in Arch is driven by that relationship—is the executive’s claim, not something Haslam or the Manning family has publicly confirmed. In fact, when Cleveland’s Arch speculation surfaced in 2025, Haslam himself was asked about it. His answer was hardly a declaration of intent.

“I don’t know Arch at all,” Haslam said at the time. “I would bet he stays in college two years, so I don’t even really think that’s worth discussing.”

That makes the latest report more intriguing, but not definitive. A year ago, Haslam publicly downplayed the idea. Now, an unnamed NFL personnel executive familiar with the Browns is telling La Canfora that Haslam wants Manning. What changed, if anything, inside the organization is not known.

And although Todd Monken has already named Watson the starter, before joining Cleveland, Monken was part of Georgia’s recruitment of Arch when he was one of the nation’s most sought-after high school quarterbacks. 

Monken was Georgia’s offensive coordinator at the time, and the Manning family was impressed by the structure of his offense and the way the Bulldogs operated. Georgia ultimately lost the recruitment to Texas.

That makes Monken a particularly relevant figure if Cleveland ever does revisit Manning in the NFL. He is not a stranger to the quarterback or his family; he was involved in trying to bring Arch to Athens years before either was in Cleveland. But there is still one problem Cleveland cannot solve from Berea.

Manning does not have to enter the 2027 draft.

Todd McShay, who has spoken with members of the Manning family, said in August that the 2027 NFL Draft is “not, by any stretch, a guarantee” for Arch. Manning could remain at Texas beyond the 2026 season, particularly because his family has historically taken a patient approach to his development.

That means Cleveland could have the draft capital, the ownership interest reported by La Canfora, a long-standing Manning connection and even a new stadium waiting in 2029, and still have no path to Arch if he chooses to stay in college.

For now, the Browns’ actual quarterback decision remains much closer to home. Watson is still atop the depth chart, Sanders is waiting behind him, and Green remains in the room. Arch Manning is not part of that competition. He is a possible future target whose availability, draft position and development all have to line up first. And that is precisely where the report gets more complicated than the headline.