The Browns’ edge-rush picture has shifted again, and the A.J. Epenesa chapter only looks stranger with time.
Cleveland is still hunting for veteran help on the outside after Jadeveon Clowney chose the Houston Texans this week, and the team’s earlier flirtation with Epenesa has come back into focus. What once looked like a clean solution reportedly unraveled after a failed physical, even though Epenesa appeared to finish the 2025 season healthy and played in 18 total games for the Buffalo Bills, including their divisional-round playoff loss to the Denver Broncos.
Now with the Philadelphia Eagles, Epenesa finally addressed the situation and didn’t hide how odd it felt from his side.
“It was a weird situation, but I don’t necessarily want to go back and talk on that in just a weird sense,” Epenesa told reporters at Eagles training camp, via beat reporter EJ Smith. “But I’ll just leave that in the past and just be happy that I’m not a Brown and that I’m an Eagle.”
He was asked directly whether he was healthy, and his answer was blunt: “Very healthy. Feeling good and happy to be here.”
That only adds to the mystery around Cleveland’s decision to walk away. The Browns had reportedly lined up a one-year deal with a max value of $5 million for Epenesa, a former second-round pick who had been a dependable presence for Buffalo over his six seasons there.
The reaction at the time reflected how surprising the situation was. Back in March, Bills analyst Brandon Ray of FanSided’s BuffaLowDown wrote, “This is very interesting,” considering that Epenesa “hasn’t missed more than three games in a season for the Bills since 2020.”
Since then, the Browns’ edge room has been remade in a big way. Myles Garrett was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, Jared Verse was brought in to replace him, and Cleveland passed on a deep edge class in the 2026 draft while instead adding undrafted rookies Logan Fano and Tyreak Sapp.
That leaves the Browns without a clear, established answer behind Verse, Alex Wright, and Isaiah McGuire. Fano, who is Spencer Fano’s older brother, now has a real shot at the No. 4 job in camp.
Andrew Berry may still choose to wait things out. Cleveland has strong waiver priority because of last year’s record, and help could still surface closer to roster cutdown day. Even so, Epenesa looked like the kind of sensible depth swing teams usually love: affordable, experienced, and still not yet 28.
In Other News...
A.J. Epenesa Just Took A Public Shot At The Browns
The Browns had A.J. Epenesa lined up as another veteran addition to the edge rotation after Andrew Berry signed him to a one-year, $5 million deal, only for the agreement to be pulled back 11 days later. The club cited concerns that surfaced during his physical and visit to the facility, but never spelled out what those concerns were, leaving the situation to linger as one of the more unusual contract reversals of the offseason.
Epenesa eventually landed with the Philadelphia Eagles after six NFL seasons as mostly a pass rusher, and he has now made it clear the Browns did not end up on the right side of that sequence. For Cleveland, it is a reminder that the back end of roster building can turn quickly when medical questions enter the picture, and the original move is already becoming part of a much less flattering story than Berry likely intended. [Read more 🡒]
Luke Floriea Just Made The Browns Roster Battle A Lot Tougher
Todd Monken has finished the installation phase of Browns training camp, and the focus in Berea is starting to turn toward game-mode work ahead of the preseason opener against the Bears. Within that transition, the wide receiver room has become one of the more interesting areas to watch, with rookie Denzel Boston pushing toward a bigger role and second-year receiver Luke Floriea continuing to get a look with the first-team offense.
Florieas recent run matters because Cleveland is still sorting through a crowded group and trying to decide how many receivers it wants to keep on the initial 53-man roster. If the Browns decide there is room for six instead of five, the door opens a little wider for a player like Floriea, whose timing has made this competition a lot less straightforward than it looked a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Camp Buzz Is Suddenly Back On A Quarterback Battle
The Browns quarterback conversation got a little louder on Day 7 of training camp, with Deshaun Watson putting together one of his sharper practices and showing better work on the fundamentals. He was particularly effective in drills, while Dillon Gabriel has continued to go about his business quietly and draw attention for the steady way he has been developing behind the scenes.
Todd Monken has already signaled that Gabriel could earn more reps if he keeps stringing together good days, which gives this camp a slightly different feel than the usual early-summer script. Cleveland is also adding to the rest of the roster, claiming defensive tackle Coziah Izzard off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals, but it is the quarterback room that suddenly has the most intrigue as the Browns keep sorting out who is separating and who still has ground to make up. [Read more 🡒]