These Cleveland Browns Could Use A Change Of Scenery Next Season

The Cleveland Browns are in NFL purgatory at the moment.

The Browns have an interesting mix of promising young players and established veterans who are ready to win right now. The team has a cast of young offensive weapons and seasoned veterans on the defensive side of the ball.

With just $3.2 million available in team cap space at the moment, the Browns are limited as to what they can achieve in free agency. Cleveland is already a hard market to attract free agents as it is. Browns General Manager Andrew Berry will have to approach this free agency period patiently and tactically to maximize what they can achieve. Expect Deshaun Watson or Denzel Ward to be approached by management with an offer to restructure their contract. If neither player decides to do this for the Browns, you can also expect Berry to explore shipping some contracts out of town.

Sanders, Gabriel, and Watson all need their offensive line

ESPN's Aaron Schatz named one player on every team who could really use a change of scenery and named guard Joel Bitonio as the Browns player who could benefit from being on another team the most.

"Bitonio is still a top-caliber guard in the league, but he deserves to play for a winner before his career is over. He has played his entire 12-year career with Cleveland and has been to the playoffs only twice. Bitonio is a free agent this offseason, and he makes a lot of sense as a one-year plug-in for a playoff contender that needs an upgrade at the position."
ESPN's Aaron Schatz

NFL front offices usually do not operate based on emotion. Browns legend Joe Thomas played in Cleveland for his entire 11-year career and never appeared in the playoffs. If the Browns want to keep a valuable player in their building, they will do it. If Shedeur Sanders is going have a chance at emerging as the franchise quarterback in Cleveland, he'll need to have the best possible offensive line he can have.

Shipping Bitonio out of Cleveland simply because he hasn't had much postseason success is not a great reason to lose one of the best guards in football.

WR, Jerry Jeudy

At just 26-years-old, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is still in the prime of his life. There isn't a lot of money on the books for Jeudy since most of his newest contract was given to him as a signing bonus in 2024.

A quarterback can develop a lot of chemistry with wide receivers over the course of an entire offseason. Wide receiver is the easiest position who replace aside from the running back position. Receivers Cedric Tillman, Isaiah Bond, and Malachi Corley showed promise toward the late stages of the season. Joel Bitonio is supremely more important to the Browns success and development of young players than Jeudy.

Berry will have to revisit contract negotiations with the receiver after next season, unless he's offered an early-round draft pick for Jeudy before this NFL draft starts. Berry could make those negotiations someone else's problem while drafting multiple new receivers in the draft.

RB, Jerome Ford

The Browns organization seems to like what they saw out of the rookie running back duo of Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson. An injury-riddled 2025 prevented the running back from proving his worth to the team again. He carried the ball just 24 times this season after rushing for 1,378 yards over the previous two seasons.

Denver Broncos running J.K. Dobbins has defied what running backs are capable of after catastrophic leg injuries. Ford should be able to bounce back and be a contributing factor on a good team if given the chance. Ford can still be a great receiving back for a team in need of a shifty checkdown option.