Cleveland Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam recently spoke to the media about Arch Manning rumors and the Shedeur Sanders draft pick.
Browns Owner Downplays Arch Manning Rumors
LIVE: Jimmy and Dee Haslam speak to the media https://t.co/1XpQrk9g22
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) July 29, 2025
Last week, The Herd’s Colin Cowherd posed a theory that Haslam would love to draft Manning and pair him with Nick Saban.
“Haslam, Jimmy, owner of the Browns, huge SEC Tennessee booster, leans heavily on the Manning family,” Cowherd said on his radio show. Cowherd called Haslam’s interest in Manning the “worst-kept secret in the South.”
Haslam is a Tennessee alumnus, from the same college that Peyton Manning attended.
Haslam and his wife and co-owner, Dee, addressed the media on Tuesday at Browns’ training camp. During the press conference, a reporter asked about Haslam’s ties to the Manning family and his opinion on the Texas quarterback. Haslam dismissed the question rather quickly.
“I think if you know the Manning family, I would bet that — and I don’t know Arch at all — I would bet he stays in college two years,” Haslam said via the Browns’ X account. “So, I don’t even really think that’s worth discussing.”
Because of a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars in April, the Browns will have two 2026 first-round picks. The Browns are projected to be the worst team in their division this year, which would increase their odds of getting a top pick.
That second pick from the Jaguars could be the ammo they need to trade up with a team to draft a top quarterback.
However, Manning has avoided questions about his future at Texas past 2025. Manning might elect to play two more seasons at Texas before entering the 2027 NFL Draft.
Jimmy Haslam Clarifies Stance On Shedeur Sanders
#Browns Jimmy Haslam stresses that Shedeur Sanders was Andrew Berry’s pick, not his. pic.twitter.com/sD3yQYwSq8
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) July 29, 2025
Sanders dropping out of the first round was the biggest story of the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Colorado quarterback was ranked second behind Miami’s Cam Ward on most big boards. However, teams elected to pass on Sanders for the first two days.
One of those teams that initially passed on Sanders was the Browns, who took Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
The Browns later selected Sanders in the fifth round on the third day of the draft. According to Haslam, that decision was made by Browns general manager Andrew Berry.
If you’d have told me … Friday night driving home, y’all are going to pick Shedeur, I would have said, ‘That’s not happening.’ But we had a conversation early that morning, and we had a conversation later that day. I think we had the right people involved in the conversation. At the end of the day, that’s Andrew Berry’s call. Andrew made the call to pick Shedeur.”
Sanders, Gabriel, Kenny Pickett, or Joe Flacco will be starting at quarterback for the Browns in Week 1.
