The Browns are heading into training camp with the quarterback spotlight still burning bright, but the real story is the shape of a 91-man roster that still has plenty of sorting out to do before Cleveland gets down to 53.
There are starting jobs to settle, depth spots to fight over, and a handful of players already sitting in a shaky place. Some positions look relatively settled. Others are crowded enough that special teams, practice-squad math, and even trade chatter could end up deciding who stays and who goes.
At quarterback, the hierarchy appears fairly straightforward on paper. Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are the top two names, no matter how the battle plays out. Taylen Green looks like a developmental piece for the future, which leaves Dillon Gabriel as the likely odd man out - unless the Sanders trade rumors turn out to mean something.
The backfield has its own pecking order. Quinshon Judkins is first in line, with Dylan Sampson and Raheim Sanders behind him.
Michael Burton is the wild card in the group, especially since the Browns haven’t carried a true fullback since 2021 with Andy Janovich. Ahmani Marshall looks like a tough keep, and Davon Booth and T.J.
Harden are also fighting uphill.
Receiver is another spot with a clear top tier and a messy fight underneath it. Jerry Jeudy, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston and Isaiah Bond are viewed as locks.
Cedric Tillman, Tylan Wallace, Gage Larvadain and Malachi Corley are battling for what could be the final two openings, and special teams could end up carrying real weight in that decision. Jamari Thrash, Luke Floriea, Aaron Anderson and Kole Wilson are also in the mix.
Tight end may be one of the more interesting rooms to watch. Harold Fannin Jr. is the headliner, and Joe Royer and Carsen Ryan are the names most likely to join him. That leaves Jack Stoll and Blake Whiteheart fighting for one spot, though there’s also a chance Cleveland keeps all of them and pushes the numbers onto the practice squad.
Up front, Titus Howard, Spencer Fano, Dawand Jones and Austin Barber look safe. Tyre Phillips and Jeremiah Byers are in more danger, while Izavion Miller profiles as a practice-squad type of project.
The interior line has its own layers. Elgton Jenkins and Zion Johnson are safe, as is KT Leveston.
Teven Jenkins is in the group as well, while Zak Zinter could be the kind of player a team dangles in trade talks. Kendrick Green and Jack Conley look like longshots.
Even if Elgton Jenkins never makes a full-time move to center, Eguakun’s odds of sticking around are slim.
On the defensive line, Mason Graham, Malik Collins, Kalia Davis and Michael Hall Jr. are the main names to watch. Sam Kamara and Elijah Chatman look like the most obvious cutdown candidates, while Hall could still be the surprise of the group after two years of injuries and limited production. Adin Huntington is the one expected to see a lot of snaps this year.
Edge rusher has a more defined top end. Jared Verse, Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire are the locks. Julian Okwara, Tyreak Sapp, Logan Fano, Khordae Sydnor and Benton Whitley are the rest of the group, and up to two UDFAs could make it through among Sapp, Fano and Sydnor.
At linebacker, Carson Schwesinger and Quincy Williams are the only true locks. Justin Jefferson, Winston Reid, Nathaniel Watson, Easton Macarenas-Arnold, Reid Carrico, Edefuan Ulofoshio and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah are all part of the numbers game for the remaining three spots. Owusu-Koramoah won’t play this season either.
Cornerback is crowded in one sense and thin in another. Denzel Ward, Tyson Campbell and Myles Harden sit behind the starters, but there isn’t much proven depth after that. Dom Jones, D'Angelo Ross, Myles Bryant, Tre Avery, Nate Evans, Michael Coates Jr. and Tyron Herring are all in the mix, and Coates has a shot after making a few good plays over the summer.
Safety looks a little cleaner. Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Daniel Thomas appear set, leaving Christopher Edmunds, Donovan McMillon and Zion Washington to compete for the final spot.
And at punter, the job belongs to Bojorquez unless something changes. Having extra legs around for camp makes sense, but this is his job to lose.
In Other News...
Browns May Be Headed For A Dillon Gabriel Outcome Fans Hate
Dillon Gabriels first Browns season has already taken a turn, and the bigger question now is what Cleveland wants his role to be going forward. The third-round pick opened the year ahead of rookie Shedeur Sanders, only to lose that spot early, and the Browns still have enough uncertainty at quarterback that keeping Gabriel around remains very much on the table.
Beat reporter Zac Jackson has pointed to a roster picture that could get crowded if Cleveland decides to carry four quarterbacks, with Gabriel part of that conversation depending on how the rest of the room performs. Rookie Taylen Green adds another layer, since his raw athleticism gives the Browns another developmental option to weigh as camp and the late-August roster crunch approach, leaving Gabriels immediate future tied to a decision the team may not be ready to make just yet. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Hit With Another Brutal National Label Before 2026 Begins
Clevelands offseason has already been defined by sweeping change, from hiring Todd Monken to reworking the offensive line around first-round pick Spencer Fano. Even with all that movement, FanSideds Jason La Canfora still slotted the Browns at No. 30 in his preseason power rankings, a reminder that outside observers are not buying the idea that a reset automatically translates into respect.
The bigger issue is that the roster still feels unfinished, with the quarterback situation unresolved and the competition expected to carry into training camp. After a year of bold decisions and a front office willing to remake key parts of the team, the Browns are still trying to convince anyone outside the building that this version is ready to be more than a placeholder in the AFC. [Read more 🡒]
A Familiar Browns Standard Just Vanished At The Worst Time
For years, the Browns could count on at least one familiar name showing up when ESPN rolled out its annual offensive line rankings. Since the top-10 interior linemen lists began in 2020, Cleveland had been represented every season, a small but meaningful sign that the teams front still carried league-wide respect even as the roster around it changed.
That run is gone in 2026, and it comes at a time when the Browns are already bracing for major turnover up front. Cleveland is expected to open Week 1 with five new offensive linemen, an overhaul that may be unprecedented in NFL history, and even the presence of established rsums on the roster was not enough to keep the streak alive. For a team that has long leaned on line play as part of its identity, the timing makes the omission feel like more than just a rankings quirk. [Read more 🡒]