While much of the chatter around the Cleveland Browns’ upcoming 2026 offseason has centred on the head coach, front office, and draft order, the roster will soon be under the microscope.
As it stands, general manager Andrew Berry has left his team with a lot of work to do.
The story of this 2025 season has been the play of Cleveland’s 2025 rookie class, which has been so productive that it may save Berry’s job next month.
In terms of the team’s established veterans, the Browns made moves to lock up their two best edge defenders, Myles Garrett and Alex Wright, with multi-year extensions. Top cornerback Denzel Ward remains under contract through the 2027 season, after the team got to him early during the summer of 2022. Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy has been brutal this year, but he had a Pro Bowl season for the Browns in 2024, and has two years left on his contract.
From there, Cleveland will be left piecing together a puzzle made more difficult by Deshaun Watson’s pending $80.7 million salary cap hit. The Browns’ current list of pending 2026 free agents is massive, and the majority figure to be saying goodbye after Sunday’s season finale in Cincinnati.
2026 Cleveland Browns pending free agents
Unrestricted free agents
1. LB Jerome Baker, 29
2. G Joel Bitonio, 34
3. P Corey Bojorquez, 29
4. LB Devin Bush, 27
5. WR DeAndre Carter, 32
6. CB Martin Emerson Jr., 25
7. RB Jerome Ford, 26
8. G Kendrick Green, 27
9. DT Shelby Harris, 34
10. G Teven Jenkins, 27
11. S Rayshawn Jenkins, 31
12. TE David Njoku, 29
13. C Ethan Pocic, 30
14. OT Cam Robinson, 30
15. CB D'Angelo Ross, 29
16. G Wyatt Teller, 31
17. DE Cameron Thomas, 25
18. CB Sam Webb, 27
Restricted free agents
19. S Tre Avery, 28
20. LB Mohamoud Diabate, 24
21. S Ronnie Hickman, 24
22. TE Blake Whiteheart, 25
Exclusive-rights free agents
23. WR Malachi Corley, 23
24. LB Winston Reid, 26
25. LS Rex Sunahara, 29
26. WR Jamari Thrash, 25
The bottom line for the Browns entering 2026
According to Spotrac, Cleveland has 26 pending free agents, including 18 who are scheduled to hit the market unrestricted.
Complicating matters for the Browns? They’re currently projected to be $11 million over the 2026 salary cap, per Over the Cap, and their free agent list includes eight Week 1 starters, including three offensive linemen and a pair of fan favorites in Bitonio and Njoku.
Defensively, the key players on the list are Bush and Hickman, with Bush the potential painful flight risk. He signed a prove-it deal with Cleveland this offseason and has balled out alongside breakout rookie Carson Schwesinger, entering Week 18 with 111 total tackles, two sacks, and two interceptions. Based on Spotrac’s market projections, Bush could command about $10 million per year entering his age-28 season, and given their current cap situation, the Browns could choose to find a new running mate for Schwesinger in the 2026 draft.
The harsh reality? Unless established guys like Bitonio, Njoku and Teller are interested in running it back on short-term, team-friendly deals, Browns fans will likely be saying goodbye to some respected players as their team looks to reset the books and get younger this offseason.