The Browns went into the offseason knowing they had to patch together life after Myles Garrett, and their brief run at Za’Darius Smith made the problem even clearer. Cleveland worked out the veteran edge rusher last week, but Smith ultimately landed with his former coach Kevin Stefanski and the Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday.
That missed reunion says plenty about where the Browns are right now. They still have a pass rush that can be dangerous, but the margin for error is thin, and the depth behind the top names looks shaky.
Smith was a logical target because he’s already done the job in Cleveland. He put up 5.5 sacks in 16 games for the Browns in 2023, then followed that with five sacks in nine games in 2024 before getting traded to the Detroit Lions.
Across 11 seasons, he has piled up 70.5 sacks and 176 quarterback hits, along with three Pro Bowl nods. He also would have brought a veteran voice to a young edge group that could use one.
Instead, the Browns keep searching. They already tried to sign A.J.
Epenesa, but that fell apart after a failed physical. More recently, Jadeveon Clowney signed with the Texans.
The message is hard to miss: Cleveland is still trying to find the right veteran body for this room.
The preseason loss to the Chicago Bears only sharpened that concern. The gap between the Browns’ first-team defense and the second unit looked wide, and that showed up on the edge as well. Julian Okwara did record a one-handed sack, but the overall picture was still uneven.
Alex Wright and Isaiah McGuire have shown enough to handle rotational work on the outside, and both should be part of the mix with Jared Verse. But the Browns still look one injury away from real trouble at the position.
Defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg is expected to keep most of Jim Schwartz’s defensive principles, while bringing a more aggressive approach and giving defensive backs more freedom. That makes pressure up front even more important. Cleveland can’t rely on coverage alone to hold everything together.
Mason Graham is another player the Browns are expecting to take a step after an up-and-down rookie season, and he has already hinted that Garrett’s departure could open more sack chances for him. But that still has to show up on the field.
For now, the Browns are left with an unsettled edge-rushing picture and not many clean answers this late in the offseason. The best veteran options still available include Haason Reddick, Kyle Van Noy and the likely-retiring Joey Bosa, and none of that makes the search feel easy.
In Other News...
Shedeur Sanders Just Put New Pressure On The Browns QB Battle
Shedeur Sanders got his first preseason work with the Browns and, as usual in August, every snap felt bigger because of what it means for the quarterback room. He finished 6 of 11 for 79 yards and an interception, giving Cleveland a glimpse of both the promise and the growing pains that come with a young passer trying to carve out a role in a crowded competition.
The interception was the kind of play that tends to linger in a quarterback battle, especially when the decision-making looked sound but the result still went the wrong way. Sanders admitted afterward that the ball slipped on him, leaving the Browns with another data point to weigh as the preseason moves along and the pressure on the position keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
Todd Monken Sent A Clear Message At Browns Camp Monday
Training camp urgency showed up quickly Monday in Berea, where the Browns worked through another August practice with injury updates, special teams work and a few notable reps from players like Denzel Ward and Deshaun Watson. One drill in particular changed the tone of the day, as the team spent time on field goal block work while the competition level kept rising across the field.
The sharp edge carried into a run period when Adin Huntington delivered a hit on Quinshon Judkins, prompting Todd Monken to step in and reset the drill. The incident was enough to tighten the entire session, and it served as another reminder that camp is moving from evaluation mode toward the kind of physical, detail-driven football the Browns expect when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Just Revealed A Stadium Vision Fans Will Be Debating
Construction is now underway on the Browns new stadium project in Brook Park, and the scope alone makes it one of the biggest talking points in the franchises next chapter. The fully enclosed dome, set to cost between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion, is scheduled to open for the 2029 NFL season and is being designed to hold 67,500 fans.
The vision goes well beyond a standard modern venue. The stadium is planned to sit in an 80-foot-deep hole, topped by a transparent folded-plate roof and a steeply sloped Dawg Pound section modeled after European soccer supporter stands, with a 50-foot video board looming above it. It is the kind of design that will excite some fans and leave others debating whether Cleveland is building a football cathedral or something far more unconventional. [Read more 🡒]