Browns EDGE Position Gets Even Thinner With Recent Alex Wright Injury

The Cleveland Browns can’t catch a break after they received bad news during Thursday’s joint practice with the Buffalo Bills.

Everything seemed well throughout the day until the two teams broke off for individual one on ones that saw Cleveland’s EDGE rushers going against Buffalo’s offensive tackles. During this drill, Browns defensive end Alex Wright went down with what appears to be a lower leg injury.

Wright was helped up and eventually carted off the field, which is the worst thing to see happen to any player after they go down with an injury.

#Browns DE Alex Wright injured his ankle in practice today. Trainers looked him over for about 5 mins before he was carted off the field.

🎥: @Matt_Bove pic.twitter.com/XrTIDabOK3
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) August 20, 2026

With Wright’s injury depleting Cleveland’s defensive line even further, especially after Maliek Collins’ offseason injury, the Browns need to make a move now more than ever.

Here’s how Wright’s injury impacts the Browns’ thin defensive line and who they could add.

Cleveland has very little experience outside of Jared Verse, and he’s entering his third year

It was also brought to light earlier today that defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was lining up at defensive end after Wright’s injury. That alone speaks to the lack of depth on Cleveland’s defensive line.

Jared Verse was acquired earlier in the summer in the blockbuster Myles Garrett trade and is set for a big role on the Browns defense. It’s not quite the ideal addition by subtraction, but Verse certainly brings his explosiveness and knack for getting to the quarterback.

Outside of Verse and Wright, the Browns have very little experience. Isaiah McGuire is entering his fourth year in Cleveland but hasn’t seen any meaningful minutes. The only other veteran with some level of experience is Julian Okwara.

The Browns did sign Jamil Muhammad earlier this week, but he hasn’t seen any real NFL action since entering the league in 2024. The hopes are that one of Cleveland’s young defensive ends, possibly Logan Fano, can surprise their coaching staff and find his way onto the field.

In terms of available free agents that Cleveland can pursue, they already let two former Browns workout with the team and leave without signing a contract. Both Jadeveon Clowney and Za’Darius Smith have since signed with other teams, so options are dwindling.

Bilal Nichols is still on the market, and he has plenty of NFL experience after bouncing around the league since 2018. His 14 career sacks aren’t anything to gloat about, but he put up some respectable numbers earlier in his career with the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders.

All the Browns need is some experience to fill in if Wright is going to miss an extended period of time. No time frame has been discussed for how long he could be out, but Cleveland should assume the worst as of now.

The Browns are set to battle the Buffalo Bills on Saturday for their second preseason game of the season, and will hope they can see some promise out of some of their backup defensive ends.

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