For months, we here at Dawg Pound Daily have been sounding the alarm regarding the Browns' questionable EDGE rusher depth. That was the case before the cataclysmic Myles Garrett trade went down, and it's still the case now. Despite the calm demeanor general manager Andrew Berry displays in his press conferences, it's obviously a concern of his as well, considering the team's failed pursuit of former Browns Jadeveon Clowney and Za'Darius Smith.
Clowney wound up agreeing to terms with the team that drafted him — the Houston Texans — shortly after visiting Cleveland. The Smith saga was slightly more dramatic and less forgivable, as it was reported that he had agreed to terms with the Browns before ditching them at the altar to join Kevin Stefanski's Atlanta Falcons at the eleventh hour. The Falcons' Week 14 visit to Huntington Bank Field was already rife with storylines, and it just got spicier.
The Browns are unfortunately still in the same place. Outside of presumed starters Jared Verse and Alex Wright, and reliable rotation piece Isaiah McGuire, the room is extremely thin. The remainder of their depth chart consists of undrafted rookies Logan Fano, Khordae Sydnor, and Tyreak Sapp. They are joined by the recently signed Benton Whitley, who's only played in six games since entering the league in 2023, and Julian Okwara, a veteran with 51 games of experience though he hasn't played in over a year after spending last season on the practice squad.
Several veteran EDGE rushers are still waiting for the Browns' call
Despite the slim pickings available in free agency when mid-August rolls around each year, the EDGE position actually has quite a few intriguing options with notable ties to the Browns' coaching staff.
Leonard Floyd
If you've been perusing this space for some time — and as a Browns fan you should be — then you know we've been banging the drum for Leonard Floyd for a while. Floyd had 4.0 sacks for the Falcons last year, working closely with the Browns' new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg in his previous role as Atlanta's defensive pass game coordinator.
Floyd received a roughly average 60.1 Pro Football Focus grade for his efforts. The fact he got pressure on 15.7 percent of his rushes, which ranked 32nd in the league out of 159 qualifiers courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, shows he's still got some gas in the tank. He would be a perfect fit for the Browns as a pass rush specialist who rotates in with Verse, Wright, and McGuire.
Derek Barnett
Derek Barnett was a key contributor to the Texans' No. 1 defense last season. He had 5.0 sacks as a rotational EDGE, and he has some familiarity with the Browns' defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire from when Cesaire held the same title for Houston in 2023.
PFF viewed his play positively, giving him a 67.0 grade. Barnett's 11.4 pressure percentage is decent enough to warrant a look from the Browns. What's more, he just turned 30 years old, so there's potential for more than a one-year stay if things work out.
Kyle Van Noy
Van Noy's connections to the Browns coaching staff are obvious, as he spent the past three seasons with Todd Monken and the small army of Ravens defectors who followed Monken to Cleveland. At 35 years old, Van Noy is a little long in the tooth, but he managed to get 2.0 sacks last season in the Swiss army knife role he's become known for.
He still earned a respectable 63.0 PFF grade for his efforts, and he would provide valuable leadership for one of the league's youngest teams. Van Noy also got pressure on 11.5 percent of his rushes, so it's not like he forgot how to get to the QB. He would fit seamlessly into what the Browns are trying to build.
Yetur Gross-Matos
Yetur Gross-Matos is slightly different from his counterparts on this list in that his career should theoretically be far from over. He's only 28 years old, though he is coming off a quiet and injury-riddled campaign for the 49ers last season. The injury contributed to him putting up a big ol' donut in the sack column.
Regardless, PFF saw signs of life and gave him a respectable 60.8 grade for his efforts. He also got pressure on 10.7 percent of his rushes, a tangible sign that the skillset is still there, even if he's working back into form. Gross-Matos was healthy to finish the year, so he should be ready to roll now if the Browns come calling.
It also can't hurt that the Browns' new senior defensive assistant Dom Capers spent time with him in Carolina in 2023.
Haason Reddick
Reddick is perhaps the least likely of any of these players simply because of the peculiarity that has surrounded him in his last two stops. After being traded to the New York Jets, he held out through the first six weeks of the season because, well, who wants to play for the Jets? All kidding aside, the juice wasn't worth the squeeze as he only had 1.0 sack on the year.
He moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025 and had a strange start to the year again, as he stayed away from the team's voluntary workouts despite it being his first year in a new locale. In any case, he had 3.0 sacks for the season and received a 57.2 PFF grade for his performance. He only got pressure on 8.5 percent of his rushes, which was among the bottom quarter of the league.
If the Browns were to reach out to his camp, it would be more likely in the mold of a reclamation project. Reddick did rub shoulders with Rutenberg when the latter was the linebackers coach for the Jets in 2024.
The path forward is clear. The Browns have an uncanny amount of options for this time of year. All it takes is a quick phone call from Andrew Berry to upgrade the team's pass rush depth. These five guys should be firmly on the radar.
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