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


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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 .