Bills tackle Dion Dawkins is wasting no time turning a late-August joint practice into a personal sparring session.
With the Browns and Bills set to work against each other on Thursday, August 20, Dawkins used a recent appearance on "Good Morning Football" to send a direct message to Browns edge rusher Jared Verse.
Dawkins said, "Verse understands too. We have a joint practice against the Browns this offseason, and I can't wait.
I'm gonna start talking my talk right now. I'm gonna say, 'Verse, get ready to talk, because I can't wait to talk to you.'"
Verse, who was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to Cleveland, has already made a name for himself as a physical, downhill force and a player who loves getting under the skin of offensive linemen. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year is expected to be a centerpiece of the Browns’ defense, and the matchup with Buffalo will give him an early chance to show it.
The trash talk between the two isn’t new. Verse recently listed Dawkins among the top three trash talkers in the NFL, and the pair last met in 2024, during Verse’s rookie season. In that game, Verse finished with two tackles and four quarterback hurries, while the Rams pulled out a 44-42 shootout win.
For Cleveland, Verse arrives with plenty of attention already attached to him. He’ll be under the microscope in 2026, and every rep against a top tackle like Dawkins becomes a chance to strengthen his case as one of the league’s premier edge defenders. If ESPN leaving him off its top 10 edge defenders list wasn’t enough fuel, Dawkins just added more.
The Browns and Bills will follow the joint practice with a Week 2 preseason meeting two days later, giving Verse and Dawkins even more chances to go head-to-head.
In Other News...
Browns May Be Headed For A Dillon Gabriel Outcome Fans Hate
Dillon Gabriel entered Browns camp with a clear path to work ahead of rookie Shedeur Sanders, but the early-season shuffle has only made the quarterback picture murkier. The third-round pick lost his spot quickly, yet his place on the roster still looks far from settled, especially with Cleveland weighing how many passers it wants to carry and how the depth chart might look once the dust settles.
Zac Jacksons read on the situation suggests Gabriel may not be going anywhere soon, even if the Browns keep sorting through other young arms and roster math. Gabriels rookie contract gives Cleveland plenty of control, and his profile still fits the kind of backup role teams like to protect, but the bigger question is whether the Browns will view him as part of their long-term quarterback plan or as a player whose value could be tested by late-summer competition and possible trade interest. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Hit With Another Brutal National Label Before 2026 Begins
The Browns are entering another offseason with plenty of change and very little certainty, which is exactly why a recent preseason power ranking landed with such a harsh edge. FanSideds Jason La Canfora placed Cleveland at No. 30, a reminder that national skepticism is still following the franchise even after a reset that includes new head coach Todd Monken and a reworked offensive line built around first-round pick Spencer Fano.
The bigger issue is that Cleveland still does not have a settled answer at quarterback, with the competition expected to stretch into camp. Add in the loss of Myles Garrett and the Browns are trying to convince the league they have a real direction, even as outside observers continue to see a team stuck in the middle of a rebuild and searching for proof that this version can move forward. [Read more 🡒]
Which Browns Players Are Truly Worth A First Round Pick
An ESPN column from Bill Barnwell has Browns fans doing the kind of roster math that always sparks debate this time of year: which players around the league are actually valuable enough to bring back a first-round pick in a trade. The piece uses Cleveland as a lens for that conversation, sorting through names and trying to separate true premium assets from players who are merely good, useful or still too unproven to command that kind of return.
Barnwells list leaves room for plenty of argument, which is exactly the point. He sees some Browns as the type of players who could headline a deal for a single first-rounder, while others would take more than that to pry away, and a few just missed the cut altogether. It is the sort of exercise that says as much about how the league values certain positions and age curves as it does about Cleveland itself, and it gives Browns followers another reason to wonder which pieces of the roster would draw the most interest if the phone ever started ringing. [Read more 🡒]