The Cleveland Browns spent the first wave of free agency rebuilding their vacant offensive line room and making muted additions around the margins elsewhere. It appears their next notable additions will come during the NFL Draft, when the Browns will put their nine draft choices to use, including five of the top 107 selections.
That quieter landscape hasn't stopped Andrew Berry and company from making a few more value-adds at positions that could pay huge dividends, particularly in areas that are frequently overlooked. In 2025, the Cleveland Browns had one of the league's worst special teams units.
One of their latest signings, safety and special teams maven Daniel Thomas, will hopefully go a long way toward changing that.
Thomas, a 2020 fifth-round pick out of Auburn, spent his first five years with the Jacksonville Jaguars before joining the Detroit Lions for the 2025 campaign. Despite being listed as a safety, he has only played 556 defensive snaps in his career, maxing out at 204 in 2021. He has been a constant presence on kick and punt defense units, logging 1,417 snaps over his career.
In 83 career games, he has totaled 94 tackles, one tackle for loss, three passes defensed, and a lone interception (off former Browns-tormenter Ben Roethlisberger, no less). It's evident that the Browns expect him to be a staple of new special teams coordinator Byron Storer's unit, and the reality is that these men have their work cut out for them.
Browns quietly address major weakness with underrated Daniel Thomas signing
For the 2025 season, the Browns allowed the league's fifth-highest kick return average (27.83 yards per return) and seventh-highest punt return average (12.73). They were one of three teams — along with the Raiders and Giants — to allow two punt return touchdowns, which was the worst mark in the league. No team allowed more than one kickoff return touchdown last season, but you already know the Browns were one of the lucky six that did.
Browns fans can rightfully chuckle that the Rams hired Bubba Ventrone, last season's coordinator, for the same role. But the reality is that Cleveland's special teams unit must improve in 2026.
Two of the top-five leading snap leaders for the Browns' woeful unit last season — Donovan McMillon and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold — remain on hand, while the other three have either signed elsewhere or remain unsigned (Cameron Thomas followed Kevin Stefanski to Atlanta, while Blake Whiteheart and Rayshawn Jenkins still await their 2026 homes).
The hope for Browns fans is that Daniel Thomas displays some of the special teams prowess that has helped him stick around the league all these years and shores up a unit that desperately needs to improve.