Jimmy Haslam Targets Contending Browns by 2027 After Myles Garrett Trade, Insists Team Not Punting on 2026

Cleveland Browns managing and principal partner Jimmy Haslam made clear Friday that the franchise aims to become a contending playoff team in 2027 following the blockbuster trade of two-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. Speaking at training camp in Berea, Haslam stressed the Browns are not surrendering this season even as ownership navigates a rebuild that also includes his co-ownership stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Browns open the 2026 season on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 13. Haslam and managing partner JW Johnson addressed reporters after the third full-squad practice, discussing the quarterback competition under first-year head coach Todd Monken, the Garrett deal, and parallel moves with the Bucks.

“We all know that the quarterback position is one that we need to figure out at some point in time,” managing partner JW Johnson said. “A lot of guys have franchise quarterbacks, but we’re excited about how hard the guys are working. We’re excited about Todd and staff working with them to put them in a position to be ready to go this season.”

Monken, hired in late January for his first NFL head coaching job after three seasons as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator, turned 60 on Feb. 5. He replaced Kevin Stefanski, the two-time NFL Coach of the Year fired in early January after six seasons. Stefanski finished 45-56 and started 13 different quarterbacks, including seven across the past two seasons.

Haslam set the 2027 bar without closing the door on 2026. “We want to be a contending playoff team in 2027,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t make it in ’26.” He added that the projected win total of 5.5 games looked light: “I’ll take the over.”

The comments came weeks after Cleveland traded Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams on June 1 for edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-rounder and a 2029 third-round selection. Haslam called the move difficult but necessary for a younger core and future draft capital.

Haslam faces a similar rebuild in the NBA. As a co-owner of the Bucks, he approved the June 22 trade that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. The package returned four players and multiple first-round assets.

“My dad’s 95 1/2. He called me and said, ‘Do you know that in the last month you traded Myles Garrett and Giannis?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir, I know that.’ Listen, it’s all about what you get. Giannis, a generational player, won a championship, but we felt the need to get younger. He was the best asset we had,” Haslam said. “We had mortgaged our future going forward, and I think we got four really good players and two draft picks, No. 1 picks, a couple of swaps, and a second. So time will tell.”

“We’ve got to use those picks wisely just like we have to do with the Myles trade. But cautious optimism, although you’ve got to be realistic. I think it’s actually harder to rebuild in the NBA than I do in the NFL, but we’ll see.”

Standing on the practice fields under a warm late-July sun, with pads popping and the new Monken staff pushing tempo, the atmosphere felt like a fresh start rather than a full teardown. Young defenders and skill players rotated quickly while the quarterbacks — Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders alternating first-team work — took their turns in the competition that will stretch at least into the preseason.

Johnson and Haslam both pointed to the work ethic inside the building. The ownership group has watched the team cycle through quarterbacks for years. This time the emphasis sits on development under a coach known for maximizing talent rather than waiting for the perfect free-agent solution.

Haslam’s father, still sharp at 95½, delivered the blunt reminder that two franchise icons left within weeks. The owner’s response stayed grounded in the return assets. Verse, still on his rookie deal at 25, already draws praise in camp. The draft capital gives general manager Andrew Berry flexibility the franchise lacked during the years it sent first-round picks to Houston for Watson.

Fans packing the hillsides at the Berea facility heard the same message the media did: the Browns will not tank. They expect double-digit starters in their first or second NFL seasons and believe the talent level has climbed. Whether that produces more than five or six wins this fall remains the open question. The stated target is clearer — contend by 2027.

Monken has until the Sept. 13 opener to settle the quarterback spot. Johnson sounded content to let the process play out. Haslam, balancing two professional franchises in transition, framed both the Garrett and Antetokounmpo moves the same way: hard in the moment, measured by what comes next.