BEREA, Ohio — After hiring Todd Monken as the new head coach and finalizing the coaching staff around him, the Cleveland Browns are entering the next phase of the offseason—free agency.
Beginning on Monday. March 9, teams are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents, and as soon as the window opened, teams around the league began making moves and agreeing to terms, sending talent spiraling across teams.
The Browns have 19 players set to become unrestricted free agents, five players set to become restricted rights free agents and seven exclusive rights free agent players, six of whom the Browns have already tendered. Some of those players, like the ERFA players tendered, will find themselves back on the Browns for the 2026 season. Others will soon call new teams home. The same will go for free agents on other teams who could land here in Cleveland.
General manager Andrew Berry spoke at the NFL Combine two weeks prior and addressed their expected approach to free agency, admitting that they may be more active next offseason than this one.
"I would anticipate that there's at least the chance that we would be a little bit more aggressive relative—well, more, I'll say this—more aggressive than last year, but it'll be targeted and opportunistic. I think realistically we may be one more off-season away from being hyper-aggressive in that window, but if there's something that fits us, fits our roster, fits our timeline, then it's certainly a swing we'll take," Berry said.
Berry and his front office may not consider this year to be as aggressive as they plan to be next season, but that doesn't mean they won't make moves. Trades and free agent signings will not be able to be made official until the start of the league's new year at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11.
Check back here for moves the Browns make to add talent to Cleveland in free agency:
Browns signing former Chargers offensive lineman
The Cleveland Browns added to their offensive line, a unit expected to face heavy turnover in free agency, by agreeing to terms with free agent guard Zion Johnson, who was with the Los Angeles Chargers previously.
Johnson, 26, agreed to a three-year, $49.5 million deal with the Browns, league sources confirmed to News 5.
The Chargers originally selected the 6’3,” 316-pound lineman with the 17th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and named the team’s starting right guard as a rookie. He was moved to left guard in 2023, where he’s stayed since. Last season, Johnson played 1,071 snaps, allowing three sacks, seven hits and 26 pressures, per Pro Football Focus stats.
Browns trade for versatile lineman
Before free agency began, the Cleveland Browns got to work adding talent by agreeing to a trade to acquire offensive lineman Tytus Howard from the Houston Texans.
RELATED: Sources: Browns trading for Texans starting offensive lineman Tytus Howard
Here is a tracker of Browns players set to hit free agency and where they head next. This will be updated as moves are made this offseason.
As the Browns continue to explore free agency and perhaps more trades, the moves now will shape what decisions the team makes in just a few short weeks at the NFL Draft, where the Browns hold the following picks (only the first three rounds are locked in; the order after that is subject to change based on compensatory picks):
- Round 1 – Pick 6
- Round 1 – Pick 24 (from Jacksonville 2025 draft day trade)
- Round 2 — Pick No. 39
- Round 3 — Pick No. 70
- Round 4
- Round 5
- Round 5 (from Cincinnati in 2025 QB Joe Flacco trade)
- Round 6 (from Chicago in 2025 DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka trade)
- Round 7 (from Seattle in 2024 C Nick Harris trade)
The 2026 NFL Draft begins on April 23.
