The Most Underrated Offseason Move the Cleveland Browns Made So Far

Offense got most of the attention, but the Browns hit the nail on the head with their special teams’ offseason.

Sep 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns place kicker Andre Szmyt (25) celebrates with long snapper Rex Sunahara (50) and punter Corey Bojorquez (13) after kicking a field goal during the first half against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns began their offseason laser-focused on addressing their two main roster needs: the offensive line and wide receiver group.

Even as the team saw an army of offensive linemen -- including four starters from the beginning of  last season -- and a couple of fan favorites like tight end David Njoku and linebacker Devin Bush  walk in free agency, the team’s focus never seemed to waver.

Between free agency and the NFL Draft, the Browns have added no less than 11 new players to those position groups, ensuring a massive infusion of talent at the two most vulnerable spots on the team. 

However, a trio of roster moves made early in the free agency period that flew under the radar helped the Browns’ front office stay on course in addressing their most pressing needs, without needing to invest valuable resources on another phase of the game that needed attention: special teams.

The Browns most underappreciated offseason moves

Cleveland hit the nail on the head by retaining their trio of specialists, avoiding any additional drama to an already hectic offseason. The team replaced its head coach and all three coordinators, and is once again heading to the summer with more questions than answers at quarterback, even if there’s been upgrades regarding protection and weapons.

Even after a season filled with special team woes, it was critical for the Browns to ensure stability at the punter, placekicker and long snapper positions 

Punter Corey Bojorquez re-signed with the team via a one-year deal worth $2 million. As he heads into his fifth year in Cleveland, Bojorquez has led the league in punts and yards in each of the last two seasons. While his average dropped significantly last year and he suffered two blocked punts in the same season for the first time in his career, Bojorquez had been a steady presence for the Browns. In the two previous years, Bojorquez had been averaging over 49 yards per punt, pretty close to his 50.8 -yard per punt average with which he led the league in 2020 while playing for Buffalo. 

At 29 years old, Bojorquez can still be a weapon, especially if the Browns defense takes another big step forward in 2026.

Placekicker Andre Szmyt was praised as an example of resiliency for the team by owner Jimmy Haslam at the end of the season, citing his notorious turnaround after a disastrous Week 1 performance that saw him miss an extra point and a 36-yard field goal during a one-point loss to the Bengals. 

As an exclusive rights free agent, Cleveland wasted no time in tendering Szmyt to get him back into the fold, after he finished the year having made 24 of 27 field goal tries and not missing another extra point all season long.

Long Snapper Rex Sunahara was also an exclusive rights free agent, so retaining his services was also a pretty straightforward decision, after two years with the team. As the least visible player of the trio mentioned here, Sunahara still earned himself a spot on PFF’s All-Pro team.

Coupled with Byron Storer taking over as special teams coordinator in place of Bubba Ventrone, the Browns should eliminate most of the mistakes seen last year on special teams by tightening up a few loose screws in terms of protection and coverage.

But keeping their trio of specialists on board was a positive move for Cleveland. There’s a lot of room to grow and the investment was minimal, at a time when the team’s front office had other kinds of needs. Avoiding the special teams’ debacle of 2025 from becoming an offseason issue was big for the Browns.