Browns Release Super Bowl Champion Defensive End

Cleveland is reportedly moving on from a defensive line piece.

Ogbo Okoronkwo (left) poses with Bobby Okereke after a game between the Browns and Giants. | Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

As the 2025 season draws nearer, the Cleveland Browns have reportedly thrown a slight wrinkle into their defensive line.

The Browns are releasing defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo, according to a Thursday morning report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Okoronkwo, 30, was entering the final season of a three-year, $19 million deal with Cleveland.

In two seasons with the Browns, Okoronkwo—who appeared to thank the team's fans in a social media post Thursday—recorded 54 total tackles and 7.5 sacks.

The Gainesville, Fla., native played collegiately at Oklahoma, where the 2017 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year was a rare bright spot in a maligned defensive era for the Sooners. The Los Angeles Rams drafted him in the fifth round in 2018.

He won a Super Bowl with Los Angeles in 2021 and had his most productive season with the Houston Texans in 2022, registering five sacks and 44 combined tackles.

---