Roster juggling season is upon us, and it’s already been a busy one for the Cleveland Browns. After trimming their training camp roster down to an initial 53 active players, the Browns have continued to tweak their depth chart while also filling out the practice squad.
Their work at defensive end continues to be a major head-scratcher, though.
They emerged from Sunday’s cutdown deadline with four players at the position — Jared Verse, Isaiah McGuire, Derek Barnett, and Julian Okwara — before pivoting back to three on Monday when Okwara was released and signed back to the practice squad as a vested veteran. The Browns made a subsequent move on Tuesday, signing former Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Sam Williams to the active roster.
Williams was a second-round draft pick by the Cowboys in 2022. He signed a one-year extension with Dallas this offseason but was waived as part of the team’s roster cuts — and expert Jerry Trotta of The Landry Hat may have confirmed what many Browns fans were thinking after the move was reported.
“Still breaks contain in Year 5,” Trotta told Dawg Pound Daily. “Doesn't really have a plan when rushing the passer. Often rushes to contact even though he's not powerful. Capable of playing special teams. Good for a couple of splash plays every year.”
The Browns’ decision to choose a veteran castoff over their own young pieces is a head-scratcher
ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi projects Williams to be the Browns’ No. 4 defensive end, taking the spot originally manned by Okwara.
The big question for head coach Todd Monken and company is: Why was Williams worth signing off the street over young, developmental players who have been practicing with the team for months?
Okwara hasn’t played a regular role on defense since he was with the Arizona Cardinals in 2024, but he’s now in his second year in Berea. The Browns liked Logan Fano enough to pay him $310,000 guaranteed at signing following the 2026 draft, and fellow UDFA Khordae Sydnor seemed to come on strong at the end of the preseason, finishing the three games with nine total tackles (four solo), two sacks, two tackles for loss, one batted pass, and two QB hits.
The Browns have, however, been looking to add veteran talent throughout the offseason. They worked out or tried to sign A.J. Epenesa, Jadeveon Clowney, and Za’Darius Smith at various points. They eventually landed Derek Barnett, but that came immediately after Alex Wright’s season-ending injury.
While his production has been underwhelming, Williams does appear to fit the mold that Cleveland was searching for.
One Cowboys writer described Williams as ‘dominant’ during training camp
Williams lost his 2024 season to a major knee injury and recorded just 9.5 sacks over his Cowboys tenure. He did appear in all 17 games in 2025, though, including five starts.
He was good enough for the Cowboys to guarantee a hefty $2 million of his $2.5 million contract for the 2026 season. That certainly doesn’t make a player a roster lock but, generally speaking, multiple millions in guarantees typically means the player is in the team’s plans for the season.
Cowboys writer Nick Eatman highlighted Williams early in training camp, going as far as saying the 27-year-old pass rusher looked “dominant.”
"On two straight plays, he showed the variety of skill set the Cowboys have always admired from Williams, who ran stride for stride with running back Dominic Richardson on a wheel route down the field, and then stuffed the same running back in the hole on the next play,” Eatman wrote. “Also, Williams lived in the backfield, creating all kinds of pressure rushing from the left side."
The full details will likely come out later this week, but Williams’ contract with the Browns will almost certainly be offset in some fashion as Dallas pays out his guarantees. That might explain the “why” here. The Browns are adding a veteran pass rusher who’s in his prime and has flashed some upside, and likely at a discounted rate to boot.
In the end, the signing feels like a net positive — as long as Cleveland’s young players who have been in the system all spring and summer, like Fano and Sydnor, don’t get poached off the practice squad. That’s unlikely, as if they’re signed by an opposing team, they would be signed directly to the active roster, but it’s something for fans to monitor early in the season as attrition begins to take its toll across the league.
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