CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have added new talent to the roster through the NFL Draft, bolstered positions via trades and free agency, and have started the work to implement new head coach Todd Monken's playbook in the first few sessions of minicamps this spring. It's all about creating a better on-field product this fall. And with the NFL schedule released, we know when the new-look Browns will be tested.
Now, ahead of the NFL schedule release, the league announced the strength of schedule rankings, based on opponents' win percentage for 2025-26. In that ranking, the Browns have the easiest strength of schedule, landing 32nd among all NFL teams with a .429 opponent win percentage from the 2025 season.
If all of that results in more wins for the Browns remains to be seen when the team hits the field this fall, which the Browns will exclusively do in the United States after not being scheduled for any of the league's international games. That also cuts down on the distance the Browns will travel this season, scheduled for the second fewest travel miles in the league on the schedule this season, with 9,073 total miles.
Here is the Browns' official schedule for the 2026 season:
Week 1: Jaguars — Sunday, Sept. 13, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
Starting off the season on the road, the Browns will head south to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars in Week 1. These two teams have a little history between them, especially recently. The Browns traded back from the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with the Jaguars, Jacksonville taking cornerback (and sometimes wide receiver) Travis Hunter, while the Browns made their pick at No. 6 and selected defensive tackle Mason Graham.
Whether it's as the Browns' starting quarterback or not, Shedeur Sanders is set to face off against Hunter, his former teammate and top target at Colorado. If Sanders does get the start, he'd do so with Hunter in coverage.
The Jags ended their season with a 13-4 record, finishing first in the AFC South before falling to the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs. The Browns have won the last three meetings with the Jaguars, the most recent in 2024 in Jacksonville. Cleveland will look to four-peat against them to start the year off strong.
Week 2: Buccaneers — Sunday, Sept. 20, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
There’s always a storyline when the Browns face one of their former faces of the franchise, and that’s the case in Week 2 when they head to Raymond James Stadium against the Baker Mayfield-led Buccaneers.
This won’t be the first time the Browns and Mayfield have met since they traded him after trading for Deshaun Watson in 2022, but it is the first since Mayfield became the quarterback for Tampa Bay.
Cleveland’s last matchup with the Bucs came in 2022 when Tom Brady was under center for Tampa Bay, and the Browns walked away with an overtime victory at home.
The Browns will hope to get a win on the road this season, while the Buccaneers will hope the additions of talent like linebacker Alex Anzalone and running back Kenneth Gainwell can help offset some of the losses they’ve faced, including wide receiver Mike Evans and running back Rachaad White.
Week 3: Panthers — Sunday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m. (HOME)
The Carolina Panthers come to town in a Week 3 matchup in Cleveland.
It’s the first time the Browns and Panthers have played each other in four seasons, the last meeting in 2022 ending in a Browns win. Before that, the Browns won the prior game in 2018 as well.
Using the offseason to bolster their trenches on both sides of the ball, the Panthers are hoping to improve on their success from last season, where they ended the season first in the NFL South, but fell to the Rams in the Wild Card playoff matchup. Can the Browns help to spoil that with a win in the regular season?
Week 4: Steelers — Thursday, Oct. 1, 8:15 p.m. (HOME)
Nothing beats a rivalry game, and the Browns-Steelers is always a highly anticipated one across the neighboring fan bases. This year, the first of two takes place at Huntington Bank Field.
Cleveland bested the Steelers in their last meeting of the 2025 season, getting the 13-6 victory at home in their penultimate game of the year.
The two teams look very different than the last time they met, both hiring new head coaches. At the end of last season, longtime head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down from the role and will pursue media endeavors, while another long-tenured NFL head coach, Mike McCarthy, was hired to replace him.
Week 5: Jets — Sunday, Oct. 11, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
The Browns will be pretty familiar with MetLife Stadium this season, with games against both the Giants and the Jets on the road, the latter coming in Week 5.
Most Browns fans would probably like to erase the last game played between these two teams from their memories. It was that game, the one where the Browns gave up back-to-back kick and punt returns for touchdowns. A brutal loss for Cleveland.
With a new special teams coordinator in Byron Storer, the Browns hope to never see that kind of performance from the unit again.
Meanwhile, the Jets have assembled some new talent on their roster, especially on defense, including adding pass rusher David Bailey with the second-overall pick in this year’s draft.
But the Browns got a piece of the Jets’ former defensive talent by signing Quincy Williams in free agency this offseason.
Will Williams enjoy a revenge-game victory over his former team? Only time, and Week 5, will tell.
Week 6: Ravens — Sunday, Oct. 18, 1 p.m. (HOME)
The Browns truly weren’t alone in their change at head coach going into the 2026 season, and the Ravens were among the biggest splashes in their decision, firing John Harbaugh after 18 seasons and hiring Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to replace him.
Now, two new head coaches in the AFC North face off for the first of two in Week 6.
The Browns will be looking for their first win against the Ravens since 2024 after dropping the last three to Baltimore.
Week 7: Titans — Sunday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
The Browns go against another team with a new head coach leading the way in Week 7 as they head down to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans were the first team last season to fire their head coach, letting go of Brian Callahan after starting the year 1-5, and proceeded to go 3-14 to end the season.
After hiring Robert Salah to take over for the 2026 season and hoping for a strong second-year campaign for quarterback Cam Ward, the Titans added talent to make that happen. From selecting Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate with the fourth-overall pick in this year’s draft to signing wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson in free agency, the offense has the potential to look much different this season.
Cleveland will look for a redemption game this year after giving the Titans one of their three wins when they met last season.
Week 8: Steelers — Sunday, Nov. 1, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
The second of the rivalry matchup with the Steelers, this time, on the road.
Week 9: Saints — Sunday, Nov. 8, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
The Browns head to the Big Easy for a Week 9 matchup with the New Orleans Saints.
Last year, the Saints ended in the basement of the NFC South, but they’ve added a number of new weapons as they aim to turn things around, including some players with local ties.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Saints signed former Browns cornerback MJ Emerson, who entered free agency this offseason at the end of his contract with Cleveland. Emerson is looking for a comeback season after tearing his Achilles in training camp last year, and he’s no doubt hoping to show off what the Browns lost out on by not re-signing him.
Offensively, the Saints were able to add a guy who was on Cleveland’s draft board this year, selecting wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, brother of Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jaylon Tyson, with the eighth overall pick, just one ahead of the Browns’ selection.
The Browns will head down to Caesars Superdome, where they look to break a three-game losing streak against the Saints dating back to 2018.
Week 10: Texans — Sunday, Nov. 15, 1 p.m. (HOME)
There are so many connections between the Texans and the Browns, which will be highlighted in Week 10 when the Texans come to town. Most notable from a player standpoint is quarterback Deshaun Watson, whom the Browns acquired from Houston in the massive 2022 trade. He’s already faced his former team in the past, with the two teams meeting four times since.
The Browns won the last three regular-season matchups with Houston, but were blown out in the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs against the Texans in the 2023 season. The Texans ended their 2025 season 12-5, winning their Wild Card playoff matchup against the Steelers but falling to the Patriots in the second round.
Houston also added a familiar face to their roster this offseason, signing former Browns guard Wyatt Teller after he entered free agency. On the other side of the ball, the Texans drafted Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald in the second round of this year’s draft.
BYE
Week 12: Raiders — Sunday, Nov. 29, 1 p.m. (HOME)
The Browns welcome in the new-look Las Vegas Raiders as they face off in a Week 12 battle at Huntington Bank Field.
The Raiders fired longtime NFL coach Pete Carroll at the end of his first season with the team and replaced him with Klint Kubiak, who enters his first season as a head coach after many years in various roles around the league.
After ending the year an abysmal 3-14, the Raiders landed the first overall pick in this year’s draft, which they used to select Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and CFP national champion Fernando Mendoza.
Whether or not Medoza gets thrust into the starting role or if he learns behind veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, who the Raiders added this offseason, will be worked through this summer.
But the Browns will look to be ready for whoever is on the field, aiming for a second straight win against the Raiders after beating them last season on the road in Shedeur Sanders’ first start at quarterback for Cleveland.
Week 13: Bengals — Sunday, Dec. 6, 1 p.m. (HOME)
The Browns and Bengals have had a rollercoaster history over the past several seasons. From 2020 to 2023, the Browns had only lost one game against Cincinnati. But until Week 18 of the 2025 season, the Bengals had won four straight against Cleveland.
That Week 18 victory for Cleveland might have only been their fifth of the season, but it made history as defensive end Myles Garrett sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for his 23rd sack of the year, breaking the NFL’s single-season sack record of 22.5.
Garrett becoming the Sack King to close out the season with a win over a division rival was one of the final goals the team had set out to achieve last year. Now that goal will shift to returning to dominance in the Battle of Ohio, which begins in Week 13.
Week 14: Falcons — Sunday, Dec. 13, 1 p.m. (HOME)
The Browns host their former head coach, Kevin Stefanski, in this Week 14 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.
Stefanski gets a quick return to Cleveland after being fired in January at the end of the 2025 season and taking the head coaching role in Atlanta shortly after. He’ll face off against his replacement, Todd Monken, just months after the changes were made.
It’s been a while since these two teams played each other, their last meeting back in 2022, which resulted in a Browns loss. Cleveland will look to come out on top this time and show they made the right call in their coaching change.
Week 15: Giants — Sunday, Dec. 20, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
Browns head coach Todd Monken will certainly have a personal tie to the Week 15 game when the Browns head east to New York to face the John Harbaugh-led Giants.
Before being hired by the Browns as their new head coach, Monken had spent the previous three seasons as Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator with the Ravens.
There were various reports indicating that Monken would take the same role in New York with Harbaugh if he didn’t land a head coaching job, which he inevitably did.
Now the two will reunite, but on opposite sidelines, as the Browns and Giants face off this season.
The Giants used the offseason to add to more than just the coaching staff, and there are a couple of other connections to Cleveland that will be highlighted in this year’s meeting.
The Giants selected Glenville grad and Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese with the fifth-overall pick in this year’s draft. They also added former Browns first-round pick cornerback Greg Newsome II in free agency.
Cleveland lost the last meeting with the Giants at home in 2024 but looks to get a win on the road this season.
Week 16: Ravens — Sunday, Dec. 27, 1 p.m. (AWAY)
The Browns will face the Ravens in their second game of the year in Week 16.
The Browns haven’t swept the Ravens since 2007. Could this be the year that changes?
Week 17: Colts — Sunday, Jan. 3, 1 p.m. (HOME)
The Browns will host the Indianapolis Colts in a Week 17 matchup inside Huntington Bank Field.
Indianapolis brings back quarterback Daniel Jones to be their starter while the team navigates the trade request quarterback Anthony Richardson submitted, but the team has yet to yield any deal.
The Colts added a number of new pieces to their defense, which the Browns' new offense will battle against this season.
The last time these two teams met in 2023 resulted in a Browns victory on the road. We’ll see if they can update the record with a home win in 2026.
Week 18: Bengals — TBD (AWAY)
The Browns get their second date with Cincinnati in Week 18, and while the past matchups of these two teams have been discussed, the current iteration of the Bengals is a bit different, especially on defense.
Trey Hendrickson, the Bengals’ star pass rusher, had been in trade talks all last season, and this offseason did not re-sign with Cincinnati and landed instead within the division, signing with the Ravens.
While the Bengals lost a massive piece to the defense, they did trade their first-round pick in this year's draft to acquire three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
The Browns’ freshly bolstered offense will certainly be put to the test in their matchups against the Bengals this year.
Watch the full schedule announcement from the Browns here:
While the Browns have their schedule set, first things first is getting through the offseason workouts. The Browns are back in Berea for voluntary OTAs next week. Those will continue through the start of June before the whole roster reports for mandatory veteran minicamp the second week of June.
