The Browns are heading into camp with a clear hole to fill at defensive end, and the search for help is still ongoing.
Cleveland is set to open the post-Myles Garrett era this week when veterans report, and the pressure now falls on Jared Verse to anchor the edge. Verse is not Garrett, but he has already shown he can affect games, putting up 99 pressures since entering the league as a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Browns, though, are not asking him to carry the load by himself. They need Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire to become more than complementary pieces while Verse handles the bulk of the work.
Wright made it clear in Organized Team Activities in June that he welcomes that responsibility.
”Somebody gotta take control, like somebody has to take charge. So, just trying to step into that role.
It just don’t have to be me; it could be all of us. But I’m taking on that ownership; just because (Myles is) gone, that doesn’t mean the standard that he set since he’s been here, since he was a rookie, is going to change.
We are all still going to work and be a top defense; we’re still going to just work our butts off.”
Even with that confidence in-house, general manager Andrew Berry tried to bring in another veteran. The Browns initially reached a deal with A.J. Epenesa, but he failed the team’s physical and ultimately signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Berry is still looking, according to cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. The Browns want a veteran defensive end for the rotation, ideally one in place before camp begins, though they may have to wait longer to land the right fit.
The market does offer a few recognizable names, even if none jump off the page.
Joey Bosa is coming off a season with the Buffalo Bills in which he had five sacks, five forced fumbles, and 42 quarterback pressures. At this point, he profiles more as a situational rusher, but that could still work for Cleveland.
Jadeveon Clowney, who played for the Browns in 2021 and 2022, has since had one-year stops with the Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, and Dallas Cowboys. He was productive for Dallas last season with 8.5 sacks and 32 quarterback pressures, and he could fit as a rotational pass rusher.
Haason Reddick has seen his production dip in each of the last two seasons after a four-year run in which he averaged 12.5 sacks per year. He was with the New York Jets in 2024 alongside new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, then the Jets linebackers coach, so that familiarity could matter.
Kyle Van Noy brings a different kind of appeal. He spent the last three seasons in Baltimore, knows the AFC North, and has been durable, playing at least 13 games every season since 2017. His production dropped last year, but availability remains part of the selling point.
For now, those are only options on a list. Whether Cleveland has real interest in any of them is unclear, and so is whether any of those veterans would want to join what could be another long season.
Berry may also choose to see what undrafted free agents Tyreak Sapp and Logan Fano can do in the preseason before making a move. If one of them stands out enough, the Browns might decide against handing a one-year deal to an older veteran.
Still, the team made its intentions clear earlier this summer: it wants another rotational defensive end. So even if none of these names fit, Berry may still have work to do before the Browns open the season on September 13 in Jacksonville.
In Other News...
Browns Camp Opens With Rising Hope And Real Pressure For Familiar Names
Training camp arrives with the Browns carrying more optimism than theyve had in a while, but also with a roster that is already starting to sort itself into winners and players who need a strong August. Shedeur Sanders, Isaiah Bond and Tylan Wallace all came out of spring with their stock pointing up, while a few familiar names are walking into camp with more to prove. For Cleveland, that means every practice rep matters, especially at quarterback, where the competition will shape the tone of the entire month.
The pressure is just as real elsewhere on the depth chart, where Cedric Tillman, Dawand Jones and Maliek Collins are all dealing with different kinds of uncertainty. Tillman has to fight for space in a crowded receiver group, Jones is trying to hold his ground along the offensive line, and Collins opens camp on the active/PUP list while still working back from the quad issue that ended his 2025 season. The Browns have options, but camp will decide which of these names stay in the conversation and which ones start slipping behind. [Read more 🡒]
These Browns Rookies Enter Camp With Almost No Margin For Error
The Browns are already getting a head start on summer camp with rookies reporting early, and this draft class arrives with more than the usual amount of pressure attached. Several newcomers are stepping into open competitions right away, from wideouts Jaxon Concepcion and Denzel Boston to center Brailsford, tight end Royer and quarterback Green, all of them trying to turn a strong first impression into a real role before the pads even come on.
For Cleveland, the appeal is obvious: these are the kinds of young players who can change the shape of the roster if they hit quickly, but camp is also where the margin for error shrinks fast. The coaching staff and front office will spend the next several weeks sorting out who can handle the jump from draft pick to contributor, and for a few of these rookies, simply keeping pace may be the first test that matters. [Read more 🡒]
Browns May Still Have One Strength After Andrew Berrys Biggest Gamble
Even after Andrew Berrys biggest swing of the offseason, the Browns still have a case to make that their defensive front can carry real weight into 2026. Losing Myles Garrett changes the ceiling of the unit, but the line is still built around young talent and a front office that has spent heavily to keep that part of the roster from falling apart. Mason Graham and Alex Wright give Cleveland a foundation to work with, and the teams ability to keep adding to that group has become one of the few clear reasons for optimism on that side of the ball.
The concern, as always, is what happens once the top names come off the field. Cleveland does not have much margin for error in the rotation, and the Browns may need a relatively untested option to hold up as the next edge presence behind the main group. The good news for Berry is that the long view is still intact, with extra draft capital in 2027 giving the Browns a chance to patch holes if this version of the defensive line proves good but not deep enough. [Read more 🡒]