While the Cleveland Browns' free agency period of 2025 was one of the most disappointing in recent memory, 2026 was a welcome change of pace. Andrew Berry restrained himself from making the huge splash moves that dominate headlines, still managing to fill multiple holes heading into the pivotal 2026 NFL Draft.
The Browns' roster, while by no means a finished product, enters the draft in a healthy position. They are not boxed into one specific position with their first selection and enjoy flexibility to move around the board as they see fit. With offseason moves come consequences, though. In the zero-sum game of football, every addition means a subtraction.
With eight free agent adds and 10 picks in the draft, change is inevitable for the Browns' roster, including to some players who've carved out multi-year tenures in Cleveland. The following four players find themselves in precarious situations that could stand to get worse after draft day.
These Browns players could be pushed out as roster changes take shape
Defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr.
The former No. 54 overall pick (the Browns' top selection in 2024), Hall has done little of note on the field since joining the Browns. He has garnered headlines instead for off-the-field problems as well as missing time due to suspension and injuries. Nonetheless, the Browns seem to be sending a pointed message the former Buckeye's way.
Returning in 2026 are the Browns' top two defensive tackles, Mason Graham and Maliek Collins. They bolstered the group by signing former San Francisco 49er Kalia Davis, and his contract indicates he wasn't brought on to fight for a spot. Davis received a one-year contract worth $2 million, with $1.745 fully guaranteed. A guarantee at that valuation is usually a good predictor of whether a player will make the team.
That leaves Hall competing with 2025 undrafted success story Adin Huntington and longtime depth piece Sam Kamara, as well as a potential rookie or two for the remaining two or three spots. In the eyes of Pro Football Focus, Huntington (64.8 grade on 158 snaps) greatly outperformed Hall (41.3 grade on 178 snaps) in 2025. Huntington also contributes on special teams while Hall didn't register a single snap in that phase.
Wide receiver and punt returner Gage Larvadain
The writing on the wall for Larvadain was immediate when the Browns opted to ink a former Todd Monken pupil in Tylan Wallace to a one-year deal. In five years with the Ravens, Wallace was part of the return rotation logging 12 punt returns (including one TD) and eight kick returns throughout his career. He's not strictly a returner, but also a special teams regular playing between 28 and 58 percent of special teams snaps for Baltimore since being drafted.
Larvadain earned his spot with an impressive preseason and wound up being the Browns' primary punt returner in 2025. His 7.0 average per return ranked second to last of 16 qualifiers. Larvadain will have stiff competition to retain his spot in 2026.
EDGE Isaiah McGuire
Isaiah McGuire appeared to be squarely in the team's plans as their first pass rusher off the bench when Myles Garrett or Alex Wright need to catch their breath. The signing of A.J. Epenesa from the Buffalo Bills complicates matters. Despite McGuire being a standout player in the eyes of Pro Football Focus (73.5 grade, 36th out of 115 qualifiers), his counting stats never quite matched.
McGuire has 5.5 sacks in 37 career games — Epenesa exceeded that mark in three different seasons of his career. The Browns also opted to re-sign Julian Okwara, who missed the entire 2025 season with an injury. This doesn't even take into account the likelihood that a new addition to the room comes via the draft.
The Browns would likely hope to trade McGuire before outright releasing him, and either route would incur a financial benefit. McGuire's entire $3.7 million salary is non-guaranteed and would thus be wiped away if the Browns opt to move on.
Offensive tackle Dawand Jones
Jones is slightly different from the other features on this list, in that there isn't a suitable replacement for him on the roster. The only experienced tackle behind him and presumed starter at right tackle, Tytus Howard, is K.T. Leveston, though the Browns are widely expected to address the position in the draft.
The issue Jones faces has been his inability to stay healthy. There comes a point in many players' careers where a team decides to pull the plug, coming to the determination that they're simply throwing good money after bad.
To this point, Jones has been earning between $750K and $1.03 million a year. In the fourth year of his rookie contract, his salary balloons to $3.7 million, a figure the Browns may not be comfortable paying with his injury history.
Like McGuire, Jones carries a non-guaranteed salary and would ideally be moved in a trade rather than released outright. Either of those options would save Cleveland the same $3.7 million in cap space and actual dollars.
The Browns don't lose much by carrying all of these players to training camp and giving them the opportunity to compete. The reality, though, is that in the ultimate numbers game, these players could be some of the odd ones out.