Cleveland Browns

The Browns carry the third-most dead money in the league at $99.0M but rank second in projected next-year cap room at $1762.2M, so the financial pain is real today and the relief is coming fast.

23 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Five starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Eleven picks in the immediate draft with four first-rounders spread across the next three years gives this rebuild more ammunition than almost any team in the league.

• Acquired: Round 4 from Giants, this draft
• Acquired: Round 3 from Rams, the third draft
• Acquired: Round 2 from Rams, next draft
• Acquired: Round 1 from Rams, this draft
• Acquired: Round 4 from Seahawks, this draft
• Acquired: Round 7 from Texans, this draft
• Acquired: Round 5 from Texans, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Rams, next draft
• Traded away: Round 6 to Texans, this draft

The roster's top strength is its young defensive core headlined by Verse, Ward, Graham, Schwesinger, and Owusu-Koramoah, while the quarterback room is the glaring weak spot with no starter rated above 69 overall.

• LEDGEhigh

  Alex Wright (72 overall) starts opposite Jared Verse, and the group ranks dead last among starters league-wide, making this the single most urgent roster hole to address.

• QBhigh

  Deshaun Watson starts at 69 overall, ranking 32nd among starters, and the entire QB room sits at the bottom of the league, so finding a legitimate franchise signal-caller is the franchise's most consequential decision.

• WRhigh

  Jerry Jeudy leads a receiver room that ranks 28th in starter quality and 30th in depth, with KC Concepcion Jr (75) and Denzel Boston (74) as the only other options of note behind him.

• FSmedium

  Ronnie Hickman starts at 76 overall and ranks 25th at the position, though the depth behind him is surprisingly solid at fifth in the league, making this a moderate rather than critical need.

• DTlow

  Mason Graham (80) leads the interior and has a Superstar dev trait, but Maliek Collins (77) is entering the twilight of his career and depth behind Graham thins quickly.

• HBlow

  Quinshon Judkins (82) is a capable starter, but the group ranks 23rd in starter quality and 21st in depth, with Dylan Sampson (75) as the primary backup.

• LTlow

  Spencer Fano (79, age 21, Star dev) starts at left tackle and projects as a long-term piece, but the unit ranks 22nd among starters and needs continued development at that spot.

• 62Blake WhiteheartTEBlake Whiteheart sits third on the TE depth chart at just 62 overall, and releasing him frees $1.1M against the cap with zero dead money, making him a clean and costless roster spot to reclaim.Frees $1.1M · $0 dead

Cleveland enters this franchise in a genuine rebuild, held back most critically by the quarterback position where Deshaun Watson sits at 69 overall as the nominal starter and Shedeur Sanders offers a developmental path but nothing proven yet. The defense has real pieces to anchor around: Jared Verse is a 25-year-old Superstar edge rusher, Denzel Ward remains an elite cornerback though he is entering the later stage of his career, and Carson Schwesinger and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah form a legitimate linebacker tandem. Mason Graham at 22 years old with a Superstar dev trait gives the interior defensive line a long-term cornerstone. On offense, Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin Jr are young Star dev contributors with real upside, and Jerry Jeudy leads a receiver room that desperately needs reinforcement. The cap picture is complicated by $99.0M in dead money (third most in the league), but the committed obligations drop sharply after next season and the team carries $1762.2M in projected next-year cap room (second in the league), meaning financial flexibility is coming. With 11 picks in the upcoming draft including four first-rounders across the next three years, the rebuild has genuine resources, but the window to compete depends entirely on how quickly the team can solve the quarterback and LEDGE situations.

The Browns were founded in 1944 (organized in 1945) by taxicab magnate Arthur B. "Mickey" McBride as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), beginning play in 1946 in Cleveland. Named after their first coach, the innovative Paul Brown, they were instantly dominant: quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley, and tackle-kicker Lou Groza led Cleveland to all four AAFC championships (1946-1949), including a perfect 15-0 season in 1948. Paul Brown pioneered modern coaching methods and, by signing Motley and Bill Willis in 1946, helped reintegrate professional football a year before Jackie Robinson debuted in baseball. When the AAFC folded, the Browns joined the NFL in 1950 and immediately won the NFL Championship, reaching the title game in each of their first six NFL seasons (1950-1955) and winning in 1950, 1954, and 1955. In 1957 the Browns drafted Jim Brown, who led the NFL in rushing in eight of nine seasons and retired as the all-time rushing leader. Owner Art Modell bought the team in 1961 and controversially fired Paul Brown before 1963; under Blanton Collier, the Browns won their fourth and most recent NFL championship in 1964. After Jim Brown's 1966 retirement, the team declined but revived with the "Kardiac Kids" of 1979-80 behind MVP quarterback Brian Sipe and again with Bernie Kosar leading three AFC Championship Game appearances in the late 1980s. In 1995 Modell announced relocation to Baltimore; the settlement created the Baltimore Ravens as a new franchise in 1996 while the Browns' name, colors, and history stayed in Cleveland for a reactivated team that returned in 1999. Since then the franchise has been defined by instability and losing: just three playoff appearances (2002, 2020, 2023), one playoff win, a franchise-scarring 0-16 season in 2017, and a revolving door at quarterback.