3 free agents Browns need to sign after more offensive line injuries

The Cleveland Browns are dealing with an unfortunate number of injuries to their offensive line, which is never a good thing. Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin are both recovering from season-ending injuries that took place last year and even the depth behind Wills is beat up, as James Hudson and Germain Ifedi are both dealing with injuries as well.

This could lead to the Browns needing to bring in some help from the free agent market to serve as depth pieces until these guys get healthier. At this point in free agency there aren't going to be any terrific options left (or if they are, they too are injury-prone) but with such an important season on the horizon, the Browns need to give themselves a chance to compete in a difficult division.

Here are three free agent offensive linemen the Browns should be looking to add as injury replacement options.

David Bakhtiari

Bakhtiari is going to be the biggest name in the bunch and why shouldn't he be? He spent over a decade in Green Bay as their franchise left tackle and blocked for Aaron Rodgers in all but one of his 11 years with the Packers.

Unfortunately for Bakhtiari, the reason he's still waiting for his next NFL home is that he's struggled to stay healthy in recent years. In two of the last three seasons, Bakhtiari has only played in one game before suffering a season-ending injury.

Browns fans might be wondering why the team would want to target an oft-injured player but those who have watched Bakhtiari play will get it. He's still a fantastic left tackle and if he's only being signed as a depth piece and not playing as consistently, the risk of injury won't be as high.

The Browns wouldn't be bringing the former Packer in to start 17 games plus some playoff games. He'd be brought in as a depth piece and would only play in emergencies. That makes him worth taking a chance on.

D.J. Humphries

Humphries hasn't been in the league as long as Bakhtiari has but he still has plenty of experience in the NFL. A first-round pick by the Cardinals in 2015, Humphries has made 98 starts on the offensive line during his nine-year career in Arizona.

Unfortunately, there's a theme here with the first two entries on this list and that's that we have talented tackles who have been bitten by the injury bug too much in recent years. Humphries tore his ACL during the 2023 season and was released by the Cardinals earlier this offseason.

As is the case with Bakhtiari, Humphries wouldn't be signed as a starting option for the Browns. If Cleveland did bring in the former first-rounder, he'd only be used if the team suffered their own injuries on the o-line and hopefully he'd be able to power through until the starters were healthy enough to take back over.

Having a veteran on the bench like Humphries would be a great option for the Browns to have.

Charles Leno Jr.

For a seventh-round pick, Leno has gone on to post quite an illustrious career. Leno was a seventh-round pick by the Bears in 2014 and started 94 games at left tackle for them over a seven-year span. He's spent the past three years with the Commanders, starting 47 games at left tackle.

Leno's PFF numbers show that he had a respectable 2023 campaign, posting an overall grade of 72.5. His release was more about the Commanders wanting to shore up their cap space than Leno's play.

Was Leno the best left tackle in the league during his time with the Commanders? Certainly not, but he was still a decent option and he stablized that position for them during his three years there. Bringing him to Cleveland would be an excellent decision because he has the experience to be able to step in and lead the charge on the unit.