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Browns Add Ex-Dolphins Cornerback Nik Needham Days Before Draft

Cleveland is bolstering its secondary.

Patrick Andres

Nik Needham looks during a 2022 game against the Bengals.
Nik Needham looks during a 2022 game against the Bengals. / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
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With three days to go until the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns are adding to their secondary.

The Browns are signing former Miami Dolphins cornerback Nik Needham, they announced Monday morning. Needham, 28, has spent his entire six-year career with the Dolphins.

A UTEP product, Needham went undrafted in 2019 after a five-year career with the Miners. He rose to start 11 games as a rookie, and wound up starting 27 games in his first four season. Needham picked off two passes in the '19, 2020 and 2021 seasons.

In 2022, Needham tore an Achilles tendon, limiting him to 16 games between 2022 and '23. He appeared in just two games in 2024.

The Browns were bruised defensively in '24 after an outstanding '23 on that side of the ball. Cleveland dropped from 13th to 27th in scoring defense and first to 19th in total defense year-over-year, and missed the postseason with a 3–14 record.

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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

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