The Cleveland Browns could look to the trade market to find their franchise quarterback.
Cleveland has been widely expected to use an early pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to get their franchise quarterback. Yet, NFL insider Jason Fitz of Yahoo Sports believes Cleveland should look to acquire Trevor Lawrence from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“For that big deal he just got, the way the cap is laid out, it’s a really attainable contract, some complications for the Jags to get rid of him,” Fitz said. “But it’s an attainable contract. … Trevor Lawrence to the Browns? What do you think?”
Fitz’s co-host, Caroline Fenton, agreed and felt like Lawrence being traded to the Browns makes a ton of sense.
“That’s like a nine (out of 10). I would love this for the Cleveland Browns because it would what it would give them is stability at the quarterback position,” Fenton said. “When was the last time the Browns had stability at the quarterback position? What Trevor Lawrence can do is come in and give you just enough. You know that he would be your guy for the next five-plus years.”
Lawrence is in the midst of his five-year, $275 million deal, including $142 million guaranteed with the Jaguars. He was selected first overall in 2021, but he has struggled to live up to expectations with the Jaguars.
This season, Lawrence has gone 188-of-316 for 1,998 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions while also rushing for 4 touchdowns.
In the offseason, Lawrence’s name has come up in trade rumors.
However, no deal was made, and Lawrence said the rumors weren’t true, especially due to the fact that he has a no-trade clause.
“I have a no-trade clause in my contract, so I would know about it if I was getting traded or if that was something that was going to happen,” Lawrence said during an appearance on
Lawrence is a one-time Pro Bowler and has led the Jaguars to the playoffs just once, in 2022, when he led Jacksonville to a 9-8 record. He’s 27-42 as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Cleveland is widely expected to have a new quarterback in 2026 despite the team showing so much confidence in Dillon Gabriel.
Gabriel will remain the starter on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Despite his struggles, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said he still has confidence in the rookie quarterback.
“Well, I think with young quarterbacks, it’s understanding that there’s going to be ups and downs,” Stefanski said on Monday. “You know, can Dillon play better? Yes, he can. Can we play better around him? Yes, we can. Can we coach him better? Yes, we can.
“So, I understand the question. But I just trust that our young players at every position, and certainly at the quarterback position, are guys that are going to work their tails off to get better every single day.”
Cleveland is a 7.5-point underdog at home against the Ravens.
Heading into this season, the Boston Bruins had a laundry list of improvements needed to be competitive in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26. At the top of that list was special teams and secondary scoring, two areas that really struggled in 2024-25. So far, the Bruins have made massive strides in both areas. Here’s a look.
The Bruins’ power play was abysmal last season. Their 15.2% success rate ranked 29th in the league, ahead of only the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, and Anaheim Ducks. Their offense was generally mediocre last season, but the power play, in particular, never gained any momentum and was a major reason why they couldn’t keep pace in the Atlantic.
Despite not adding a big-name forward in free agency this summer, this has been a major area of improvement so far this season. With a power play success rate of 25.8% heading into Friday’s games, they rank sixth in the league, thanks to solid production from Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak, who lead the way with four power-play goals each.
The penalty kill has been another area of improvement under new head coach Marco Sturm. Last season, the Bruins had a disappointing 76.3% success rate on the penalty kill, ranked 24th in the league. That figure has improved to 80.3% this season, putting them 15th.
A large reason for the poor penalty killing performance in 2024-25 was injuries to the blue line, so some improvement was expected; however, new faces in the lineup, such as Sean Kuraly, have also made a meaningful impact on that front. Though they have not scored a shorthanded goal yet, the Bruins have looked more confident and aggressive shorthanded this season.
Secondary scoring has been another major area of improvement. Only four players who ended the 2024-25 season on the Bruins’ roster recorded more than 40 points. Eight members of the 2025-26 team are on pace for more than 40 points through 19 games. Outside of Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, and Brad Marchand, no member of the Bruins scored more than 17 goals last season; the Bruins have seven players on pace to eclipse that mark this season.
Given that general manager Don Sweeney did not go out and sign an elite scorer during the offseason, the Bruins’ recipe for a serviceable offense is to rely on continued scoring from players like Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, Michael Eyssimont, and Casey Mittelstadt, while also relying heavily on Pastrnak and Geekie to provide some star power and consistency. Whether the contributions from these depth players continue remains to be seen, nit they are off to an undeniably impressive start.
Thanks to improved special teams and secondary scoring, the Bruins are significantly better than expected already this season. Without a ton of offensive star power, they will need to remain consistent on special teams. We saw last season that Pastrnak and Geekie, as great as they are, cannot be the only source of offense, so continued contribution from the rest of the lineup is also an absolute must.
Combining all this with solid play in net might be the winning formula for the Bruins this season, and it has worked for them so far. Just about a quarter of the way into the season, they sit tied at the top of the Atlantic with the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators, something very few would have predicted just two months ago.