PFR Originals News & Rumors

Not interested in waiting for a never-to-be post-draft trade, the Browns decided to bring back a familiar face in Flacco, whom they viewed in a similar light to Cousins. Flacco had been the one to lead the team to its 2023 playoff appearance as Watson’s replacement and had wanted to stay in Cleveland in 2024, but no offer emerged.

Agreeing to a deal in Indianapolis, Flacco started six games in place of a benched and/or injured Anthony Richardson. Flacco made it known he wanted to play another year as soon as the season ended, and after entertaining interest from the Giants, Steelers, and Vikings, the 40-year-old QB made the decision to don the orange helmet once again.

Though Flacco was certainly an impactful signing, the two biggest contracts to newcomers came on the defensive line. After Garrett’s 14 sacks in 2024, the next three top sack-getters on the line — Za’Darius Smith (five), Tomlinson (three), and Okoronkwo (three) — were no longer with the team. To reinforce the line, Cleveland brought in Collins, who matched a career-high five sacks in each of his past two seasons (in Houston and San Francisco). Collins should do perfectly well as a plug-and-play starter on his third team in three years.

With Hudson, Wills, and Ifedi departing, answers were needed at tackle. The oft-injured Conklin slots into the right tackle spot for a potential final Browns season, and third-year spot starter — often for Conklin — Dawand Jones is on track for the starting left tackle spot after undergoing an arthroscopic knee cleanup in February.

After a down year for right guard Wyatt Teller, there was some thought Teven Jenkins may push him for the starting job. Even if he doesn’t start, Jenkins’ time in Chicago saw him start at left tackle and both guard spots, making him a valuable swingman. Lucas projects as the team’s new swing tackle after serving in that role in Washington for the past five years, accumulating 38 starts over that time.

After cutting Thornhill and letting McLeod walk in free agency, the Browns found some experienced, affordable safeties in Kazee and Rayshawn Jenkins. Jenkins had worked out with the team in April but didn’t receive an offer until hours after the team signed Kazee in mid-May. With Thornhill out, it looked like Jenkins or Kazee were coming in because of their extensive starting experience, but after spot starting for an injured Thornhill last year, undrafted third-year safety Ronnie Hickman earned a chance to take on a starting role in 2025.

The last thing worth mentioning in free agency is the team’s brief foray into the Diontae Johnson experience. After a disjointed 2024 campaign that saw Johnson join and leave three different teams, the once-ballyhooed Steelers product received an opportunity in Cleveland. In reality, the Browns were the only team who extended an offer, and though he had some strong moments in camp, the 29-year-old failed to land on the 53-man roster.

Re-signings:

• Devin Bush, LB: One year, $3.25MM ($2.97MM guaranteed)
• Andre Szmyt, K: Reserve/futures deal

With Hicks retiring just one year into his two-season pact with the Browns, Cleveland thought it prudent to bring back Bush after the veteran started 10 games for the team last year. Nearly two months after he signed the new deal, though, Bush was arrested on charges of simple assault and harassment. The former first-rounder now awaits a jury trial set for December 2. With the proceedings stretching so far into the season, any league discipline isn’t likely to come until the 2026 season.

After spending time on the Browns’ practice squad in 2024, Szmyt’s futures deal didn’t seem especially notable when signed in January. When incumbent kicker Dustin Hopkins failed to make the 53-man roster, despite having signed a three-year, $15.9MM deal in 2024, it became clear the January transaction gave the Browns their kicker for the 2025 season — even as the team had insisted it wouldn’t replace Hopkins at the end of last year.

Szmyt, 26, will make his NFL debut Sunday. Szmyt was once named a consensus All-American and Lou Groza Award winner (for best kicker in Division I-FBS) in his redshirt freshman season at Syracuse, a season in which he converted 30 of 34 field goal attempts. After his Orange career concluded, Szmyt spent some of 2024 in the United Football League. He landed on Cleveland’s practice squad on Christmas Eve, securing a shot as the Browns’ kicker months later.

Trades:

• Browns acquired QB Kenny Pickett from Eagles for QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, No. 164
• Raiders acquired Pickett from Browns for 2026 fifth-round pick
• Jets acquired DT Jowon Briggs, 2026 seventh-round pick from Browns for 2026 sixth-rounder
• Browns acquired T KT Leveston from Rams for 2028 seventh-round pick

In the Browns’ exhaustive search for the best quarterback situation, the trade market offered some interesting options as the future of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford came into question for a short period of time. With Los Angeles allowing the veteran to speak with other teams, the Browns threw their hat in the ring. Ultimately, Stafford stayed put, and no trade was made available to Cleveland.

Stafford wasn’t the only quarterback already under contract the team had their eyes on. A little over a week after the Stafford news, the Browns made the move to acquire Pickett from the Eagles, sending them in return Thompson-Robinson and a pick that Philadelphia would eventually use to move up from No. 32 to No. 31 in this year’s draft. The Browns were familiar with Pickett from three games he started against them as a Steeler. Starting exactly 12 games in 2022 and ’23, Pickett put up identical 7-5 records, though his second season saw his run as a starter end in a demotion in favor of Mason Rudolph.

Pickett made one start for the 2024 Eagles, appearing in five games. The move to Cleveland was a welcome one, as it would offer him an opportunity to compete for a starting job that was not going to be available in Philly. Upon arrival, Pickett became the only healthy passer under contract, but the possibility of other veterans and future rookies arriving still loomed.

Pickett was alone atop the depth chart for about a month when Flacco came to town. It was another few weeks until the rookies (Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders) arrived. Despite the number of bodies in the room, and despite claims that the rookies would be given a chance to start, the four-way QB competition quickly turned into a battle between Pickett and Flacco with some believing that the loser would be traded and the winner backed up by rookies.

Cleveland seemed to contradict that notion, clearly stating it was not planning to trade any QBs while multiple reports ironically indicated that Pickett was the frontrunner in the competition.

During OTAs, Pickett still held an early lead, and though the rookies were seeing fewer reps, Flacco was rumored to be third in line for the starting job. Following the conclusion of OTAs and minicamp, the tides started to turn in Flacco’s favor. Still, the Browns quadrupled down on their openness to keep all four passers, specifying now that no rookies would be traded.

Entering training camp, Flacco received the support of not only the coaches but of the veterans on the team. The 18th-year vet seemed to benefit from his experience with the team and staff from the 2023 season. As the preseason approached, Pickett then encountered a hamstring injury. This gave Flacco the majority of first-team reps in camp, with the rookies receiving more chances to gain ground.

Once the preseason started, it became clear that Flacco was the guy. Pickett and Gabriel were unavailable for the team’s first preseason game, so the Browns signed quarterback Tyler Huntley to ensure Flacco would not need to suit up until the final preseason game. As the preseason continued, the narrative remained that cuts in the QBs room were unlikely to happen, save that of Huntley when the extra body was no longer a necessity.

Before the final preseason game, Flacco was officially named the team’s starter. Sunday will be his first Week 1 start since 2022, when he was a Jets Zach Wilson injury sub. Flacco’s last Week 1 start as a preferred option came in 2019 with the Broncos.

When the preseason wrapped up, Berry made sure to confirm one more time that Cleveland was keeping all four QBs. The next day, Pickett was traded to Las Vegas, where backup passer Aidan O’Connell had suffered a wrist fracture. This positions Pickett as Vegas’ QB2 for at least six weeks. Pickett joined fellow 2022 draftee Sam Howell as a twice-traded quarterback this offseason.

The Browns also made two minor trades in the days before the final roster cut deadline — a time at which trades of that nature often occur. The first sent Briggs, a seventh-round 2024 draftee who appeared pretty frequently in the team’s last six games after not appearing in the first 11, to New York. The second saw Cleveland send a 2028 seventh-round pick to Los Angeles for Leveston, who will add to the depth at tackle alongside Lucas and Jenkins.

The Browns checked in on some players that weren’t likely to be traded, inquiring with New Orleans on receiver Chris Olave and calling Cincinnati as star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson continued to demand a trade amid his contract dispute. The Saints rebuffed any notions of a trade, and reports emerged that Cleveland was not “seriously pursuing” Hendrickson — in what would have been an unrealistic intra-AFC North trade.

Draft:

• Round 1, No. 5 (from Jaguars): Mason Graham (DT, Michigan) (signed)
• Round 2, No. 33: Carson Schwesinger (LB, UCLA) (signed)
• Round 2, No. 36 (from Jaguars): Quinshon Judkins (RB, Ohio State) (signed)
• Round 3, No. 67: Harold Fannin Jr. (TE, Bowling Green) (signed)
• Round 3, No. 94 (from Bills): Dillon Gabriel (QB, Oregon) (signed)
• Round 4, No. 126 (from Vikings through Jaguars): Dylan Sampson (RB, Tennessee) (signed)
• Round 5, No. 144 (from Patriots through Seahawks): Shedeur Sanders (QB, Colorado) (signed)

While Winston’s interest in re-signing was certainly something to consider, Cleveland held the No. 2 overall pick, and it made all the sense in the world to believe that pick may be utilized on a quarterback. Interestingly enough, the first hint of quarterback news we saw in the Browns’ offseason was Sanders lining up his visit with the team. Sanders was, at the time, thought to be in contention with Miami (Fla.) QB Cam Ward to be this year’s No. 1 overall pick.

Initially, there were thoughts that Tennessee may be looking to trade out of No. 1, and Cleveland was immediately a candidate to move up. The team even inquired with Tennessee about obtaining the pick, but ultimately, Berry called it an “unlikely” possibility, with the team even offering to field calls for its No. 2 overall choice. In the end, it became clear the Titans were standing pat when they canceled a visit with Sanders as they fell more and more in love with Ward.

At this point, the Browns had begun to do serious homework on the draft’s QB prospects. They also conducted a workout with Ward, and perhaps seeing a stark difference between Ward and Sanders, their vision of Sanders as a top-two pick began to fade. As his stock started to fall, the impression around the league still pointed to the two-year Colorado starter being a first-round pick.

Knowing they were no longer in a prime position to land the draft’s only passer worthy of a top-10 investment, the Browns began flirting with another idea — drafting a non-QB at No. 2 overall and trading back into the first round for passers that may be more likely to fall towards the end of Day 1. At the time, that crop still included Sanders. The plan was to trade up because the draft class was deep in starter-level players throughout the first three rounds but lacked the top-end talent that would’ve allowed QB-needy teams to entice clubs later on in the first round to move up.

Without a focus on quarterback at No. 2, Cleveland shifted its attention. Early on, it appeared Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter was the preferred option, but the Browns quickly set up a meeting with Colorado two-way athlete Travis Hunter. With Ward out of reach and interest in Carter waning, Cleveland set additional meetings with Hunter and his quarterback. Some predictions indicated Hunter could be the favorite at No. 2 and Sanders could be the team’s target via a trade back into Round 1. This prediction seemed especially attractive considering the Browns viewed Hunter as more of a wide receiver than cornerback.

As time went on the team hosted several top prospects — like Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker and Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan — but also met with eventual draftees like running back Quinshon Judkins, wide receiver Isaiah Bond, and defensive tackle Mason Graham. They even hosted Carter a second time, and reports came out that Cleveland was still undecided on who it would take at No. 2.

With the rookie QB plan starting over from scratch, the Browns made everyone a possibility, starting with Tyler Shough, then moving on to private workouts with Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe before meeting up, once again, with Sanders at his pro day. At the pro day, the Browns planned a private Sanders workout before hosting Dart, Milroe, and Shough all for a group visit a couple days later. The talk in the days after hinted that the Browns liked Milroe “a lot.”

With Pickett and Flacco in tow, the Browns prepared for the draft with a mindset that Flacco’s addition would not change their approach to the position. They still planned to add a passer in the draft, but one of the players they had been linked to was starting to slide. By the time the draft arrived, Hunter was increasingly expected to be the team’s top pick, but first-round grades on Sanders were hard to find.

The phone lines were busy in the days leading up to the draft. The Browns received calls from teams interested in moving up to No. 2, and after it was reported the Giants had tried and failed to trade into the No. 1 pick, Cleveland knew it might be competing with New York when looking to get back into the first round for a quarterback at the end of the night.

On draft day, the Browns were still fielding calls, and the Jaguars emerged as the team seriously intending to move up to No. 2 overall. At the same time, the Browns appeared to be moving away from their plan of trading back into Round 1 as they expressed a desire to retain their pick at the top of Round 2. In the hours before the event, Cleveland utilized its 10-pick arsenal to acquire an additional fifth-round pick in both this year’s draft and the 2027 draft from Houston.

With the Browns finally on the clock at No. 2 overall, another trade occurred, allowing Jacksonville to claim Hunter as their prize but netting Cleveland a new set of picks for the ongoing draft and the Jaguars’ first-rounder in 2026. The trade — one Jags GM James Gladstone said had been worked out weeks before the draft — slotted the Browns at No. 5 overall now, and Graham fell into their lap. Later reports posited Cleveland was looking to move back into the first for Dart, but it was the Giants who appeared to be working the phones hardest before pulling the trigger on a trade-up.

Having stuck to their new plan of not moving up, the Browns had to turn down several offers from teams looking to acquire the No. 33 overall pick. They stood pat and used two of the first four picks of the second round on Schwesinger and Judkins, though some believed LSU tight end Mason Taylor may have been a possible target.

At this point, the Browns seemed to be past their gameplan for drafting a quarterback. The first two rounds of the draft had passed by, and a third passer, Shough, went to New Orleans. Two picks before Cleveland’s last Day 2 selection, the fourth quarterback came off the board when Seattle selected Milroe. Though the Browns had seemingly liked Milroe, they would later insist that their next pick, Gabriel, would’ve been the choice regardless of Milroe’s availability.

The draft continued, as did Sanders’ historic slide, until Cleveland made the move to trade their final two picks to move up 22 slots and select the quarterback out of Colorado. The Browns had not intended to draft two quarterbacks, but they felt that, with their QB future so up in the air at that moment, they couldn’t pass up the potential Sanders held at that point in the draft.

Looking back, many connected Sanders’ slide to immaturity as he came off as arrogant and disrespectful in pre-draft meetings with teams. The second-generation NFLer didn’t do much to disprove that theory after arriving in Cleveland and quickly getting cited for driving 101 mph in a 60-mph zone. Multiple speeding violations occurred this offseason.

As covered above, initial thoughts were that Gabriel and Sanders were safe with Flacco starting as the odd man out. Gabriel was reportedly being given a chance to compete with Pickett and Flacco for the starting role, but both rookies were given fewer opportunities throughout OTAs. At the moment mentioned above when Flacco was rumored to be QB3, it was Gabriel who was seemingly next in line for the starting role. It came as no surprise, then, that Cleveland was forced to rebuff several trade offers for Gabriel throughout the offseason.

Even though it soon became apparent neither rookie was likely to start — and Sanders was apparently highly unlikely to start — the preseason arrived, and it was Sanders in the spotlight. With Flacco sitting, Pickett injured, and Gabriel limited with a similar injury, Sanders received the start in the team’s preseason opener and performed admirably. Gabriel took the reins in the second preseason game as Sanders dealt with an injury of his own, then the final preseason game saw Gabriel featured much more heavily than Sanders.

Flacco had already been named the starter by then, and both rookies knew they were safe from being cut because that would expose them on the waiver wire, and Cleveland couldn’t risk losing its drafted arms to a waiver claim. Following Pickett’s trade to Las Vegas, Gabriel was officially named the primary backup, setting Sanders as QB3.

For the other draft picks, Graham will start alongside Collins. Schwesinger was deemed likely to start, as well, especially with Bush’s legal issues and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah set to spend the year on the reserve/PUP list as he continues to recover from last year’s scary neck injury. Fannin, on the other hand, will need some development as more of a long-term project at tight end.

Ford is set to fend off both Judkins and Sampson for the Week 1 starting job. Sampson stands a stronger chance at getting more run early, while Judkins was away from the team for an extended period of time after being arrested on charges of battery and domestic violence.

Because of his legal situation, Judkins did not report to training camp with the rest of the team. Haslam remained cautiously optimistic that Judkins would be able to play this year, and when it was announced that the national championship-winning RB would no longer face charges and there was no imminent discipline from the league on its way, that looked to be the case.

With both the Nos. 35 and 37 draftees receiving fully guaranteed rookie deals, the Browns found it simple enough to give Judkins full guarantees on his, agreeing to terms the day before their season opener. A potential suspension — which has not been determined yet — undoubtedly held up these negotiations. Judkins will not play in Week 1, as he has not practiced since the offseason program.

Other:

• Coaching consultant Mike Vrabel departed for Patriots’ HC job
• Fired OC Ken Dorsey, promoted Tommy Rees as replacement
• Fired OL coach Andy Dickerson, hired Mike Bloomgren as replacement
• Director of player personnel Dan Saganey departed for Tennessee
• Assistant GM Catherine Hickman interviewed for Titans’ GM job
• Charles Woodson purchased minority stake in team
• Team finalized land purchase for domed stadium construction
• CB Martin Emerson placed on IR; WR David Bell placed on reserve/NFI list
• QB Deshaun Watson resumed throwing, remains longshot to play in 2025
• Signed 13-man UDFA class, later added WR Isaiah Bond

Though Stefanski and Berry remained in place, other changes occurred within the coaching staff and front office. The easiest change saw 2024’s coaching and personnel consultant, Vrabel, depart to accept the head coaching job for the team he played eight years and won three Super Bowls with. A Cleveland-area native, Vrabel claimed he would’ve listened to offers to remain in his hometown, but it was going to be hard to beat the opportunity he received in New England.

After finishing the season ranked last in scoring offense, the Browns fired Dorsey and Dickerson. Cleveland interviewed five candidates to replace Dorsey as OC, opting to promote from within and give the job to Rees, who had been the team’s tight ends coach/pass-game specialist in 2024.

Rees, 33, had also been rumored as a candidate to follow Vrabel to New England and serve as his OC. Even before Rees’ promotion, the team had brought on Bloomgren from the college ranks to replace Dickerson after spending the last seven years as the head coach at Rice.

Rees’ promotion does not come with an opportunity to call plays. Following Cleveland’s abysmal offensive season, Stefanski reclaimed play-calling duties, with plans to return to his previous, more successful scheme focused on a strong run game that can open up the play-action passing game more, a Flacco special.

Newsome went through a tumultuous offseason. After expressing interest in a long-term extension last year, the former first-round cornerback was set to head into 2025 playing on a fifth-year option. After Newsome voiced disappointment in the evolution of his role — as Emerson received more run across from Denzel Ward at cornerback — the Browns shopped the disgruntled CB (when it looked like Hunter would be coming to Northeast Ohio in the draft). It turned into a consolidated effort to begin offloading expiring deals for 2026 draft picks under assumptions that they may not be contending for a title this year.

Newsome’s fortunes changed, unfortunately, at the detriment of Emerson’s health. Emerson suffered a torn Achilles tendon, landing on season-ending IR, thus returning Newsome to a more prominent role.

Watson, after reinjuring his Achilles tendon, resumed throwing in May. Despite progress, the 29-year-old opens the year on reserve/PUP list. The offseason finally saw Haslam admit that trading for and extending Watson was “a big swing-and-miss.” Considering the efforts to replace Watson this year consisted of signing a 40-year-old Flacco, trading for (then trading away) Pickett, and drafting two mid-round rookies, many presume that Cleveland has its eyes on the prospects in the 2026 draft — which is expected to feature a better QB crop compared to 2025.

Top 10 cap charges for 2025:

1. Deshaun Watson, QB: $35.98MM
2. Denzel Ward, CB: $24.57MM
3. Myles Garrett, DE: $22.92MM
4. Wyatt Teller, G: $14.18MM
5. Greg Newsome, CB: $13.38MM
6. Joel Bitonio, G: $11.94MM
7. David Njoku, TE: $11.44MM
8. Jerry Jeudy, WR: $7.98MM
9. Ethan Pocic, C: $7.77MM
10. Mason Graham, DT: $7.44MM

It is hard to have a ton of hope for Cleveland heading into the 2025 NFL season, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any. Flacco will lead the team to open the season, but if the Browns fall out of contention early, Gabriel or even Sanders may earn some opportunities to convince the coaching staff and front office that taking a first-round quarterback with one of their two Day 1 picks next year is not a given. And a defense that was a strength at times last year now carries Graham and Schwesinger as new building blocks.

There is a bit to look forward to past the 2025 season in Cleveland. When the season ends, the team will be another year closer to being past the hideous Watson contract. (The deal expires after the 2026 season, but the restructures create a likelihood the franchise will face historic dead money figures in the late 2020s.) The staff will continue to determine which pieces are worth holding onto as the Browns establish a new identity, and if things go unexpectedly well this year, then they’ll perhaps have yet another crack at ending their 30-plus-year drought of back-to-back winning seasons.