Cleveland Browns Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Patriots To Retain Eliot Wolf, Front Office Staff

January 6th, 2025 at 6:09pm CST by Ben Levine

While the Patriots are set to revamp their coaching staff, it sounds like the front office will be staying intact. During his press conference today, owner Robert Kraft revealed that executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and his staff will be sticking around for the 2025 campaign (via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald). Wolf and top front office executive Alonzo Highsmith will also be involved in the team’s head coaching search (via Kyed).

As the Patriots navigated a post-Bill Belichick era, they chose Wolf as the leader of their new-look front office. The executive did have one major hit during his first year at the helm, with third-overall pick Drake Maye appearing to be a foundational piece. However, the front office drew criticism for the rest of their draft class, and Kraft acknowledged that the team needs stronger performances from rookie-contract players if they hope to return to contention.

“Our drafts have not been good for a while,” Kraft said (via Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “If you want to compete long term and be good in this league, you’ve got to have good drafts because those rookie contracts allow you to go out and get the people you need to surround people. It looks like we lucked out; we maybe have two quarterbacks. But I think we’ll hopefully see a big improvement this year.”

While the likes of Wolf and Highsmith are expected to keep their jobs, Albert Breer of SI.com expects there to still be significant changes to the front office operations. After Belichick was responsible for running so many aspects of the front office for years, the organization was left with an antiquated approach when the dust settled following the iconic coach’s ouster. Breer opines that the Krafts put the front office at a disadvantage by not providing the same resources as other NFL teams, with the writer suggesting that ownership could look to “add elements of analytics and sport science” to their operations.

While many of these subtle changes will take place behinds the scenes, the Patriots’ search for their next head coach will be very public. Ownership is expected to be heavily involved in the search, as are the aforementioned front office executives. Breer notes that the team isn’t expected to hire a search firm to assist in the process.

As we await word on the team’s interview process, we’ll starting to hear some details about Mayo’s sudden firing, with Tom E. Curran of NBCSports Boston noting that the final four games of the season played a significant role in the decision. Curran says the past month was “untenable,” and while the team didn’t initially anticipate moving on from their first-year head coach, the “disorganization became too much to take.”

Kraft himself told reporters that he went back and forth on the decision over the past month. Ultimately, the owner believed the squad showed regression throughout the 2024 campaign, with Kraft citing the season-opening win over the Bengals as the high point of the year. Kraft also revealed that Mayo didn’t know about his impending firing prior to the season finale; the head coach ended up guiding his squad to victory while also compromising the team’s chances at the first-overall pick (links via Kyed).

While a new head coach will presumably look to bring on their own staff, there’s still a chance a few key assistants stick around. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt didn’t get a whole lot of production from his unit in 2024, but the coach did earn praise for his handling of Maye’s development. If Van Pelt is ultimately canned by the Patriots, Breer believes the coach could land back in Cleveland, where he served as OC between 2020 and 2023.

Browns GM: Expectation For Myles Garrett To Retire With Team

January 6th, 2025 at 3:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

After a wildly disappointing season, the Browns have a significant in-house matter to address. With the Deshaun Watson restructure offering some early clarity on that lingering issue, the team still has Myles Garrett business ahead.

Garrett made pointed comments about the team’s direction last month. The All-Pro defensive end will seek answers from Browns management on how the team’s power brokers plan to climb out of this hole, one that produced a 3-14 record on the heels of a wild-card berth.

The Browns joined the Giants in being a 3-14 team that is not planning to fire its HC or GM, with Andrew Berry safe despite authorizing the Watson contract. As Berry prepares for his sixth offseason in charge in Cleveland, he does not sound like any expectation of a Garrett trade is on the horizon. Berry said (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) he expects Garrett to remain with the Browns and retire as a member of the team down the road.

Garrett, 29, said he would consider a trade request if he did not like the answer Browns higher-ups gave him. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year said he has not held that state-of-the-union talk with management just yet.

This demand comes as Garrett appears set to also angle for a new contract. The former No. 1 overall pick has long outplayed his deal, with a few less accomplished edge rushers having vaulted his $25MM-per-year contract — which sits fifth at the position but well behind the leader. Entering his ninth season still playing at an All-Pro level, Garrett faces a crucial offseason to capitalize on his value. Garrett has two years remaining on his deal, but T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson are all in contract years. It stands to reason Nick Bosa‘s $34MM-per-year EDGE ceiling will be raised — probably by more than one player — and it will be interesting to see who strikes first.

Asked about an extension, Garrett said, “There’ll be something coming.” Considering his comments about the state of the team, it would be a mild surprise if Garrett showed up for offseason work without a new deal in place. The Browns gave him what turned out to be a team-friendly contract in 2020, as the deal tied him to the team for seven years (due to rookie-contract control). Garrett may be trying to force two issues in the same offseason.

Even though Garrett is not technically in a contract year, inserting a potential trade into the equation represents another way to apply pressure on the Browns. It does not sound like the team is interested in letting another franchise authorize Garrett’s third contract.

Browns Fire OC Ken Dorsey, OL Coach Andy Dickerson; HC Kevin Stefanski, GM Andrew Berry To Be Retained

January 5th, 2025 at 11:13pm CST by Rory Parks

Hours after their dismal 3-14 campaign came to an end, the Browns have made major changes to their offensive staff. The team has fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network was first to report.

Dorsey, 43, appeared in five games at quarterback for the Browns between the 2006 and 2008 seasons, and he began his coaching career as a quarterbacks coach for the Panthers in 2013, a role he held for five years. He took the same job with the Bills in 2019, and his work with Buffalo QB Josh Allen encouraged the club to promote him to offensive coordinator ahead of the 2022 campaign, following Brian Daboll‘s departure to become head coach of the Giants.

Dorsey’s first season in charge of the Bills’ offense went as well as could be expected, as the team finished second in the league in terms of both yards per game and points per game. In 2023, however, the unit appeared to stagnate, and Dorsey was given his walking papers at a time when Buffalo was 5-5 (even though the team was still in the top-10 in total and scoring offense).

Despite the midseason ouster, the former Miami (Fla.) standout generated OC interest last offseason. With a roster that otherwise appeared playoff-worthy, the Browns hired Dorsey to replace Alex Van Pelt in the hopes that the former could work the same magic with Deshaun Watson that he had with Allen in Buffalo and Cam Newton in Carolina. Of course, those hopes were unrealized, as Watson struggled before succumbing to a season-ending injury in October.

Immediately after Watson’s injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski — who had been calling offensive plays up to that point — handed the reins to Dorsey. When the switch happened, Cleveland was 1-6 and was 29th in the league in scoring and last in total offense (h/t Zac Jackson and Larry Holder of The Athletic (subscription required)). And while there was some improvement when Jameis Winston was inserted into the lineup, including upset wins over division rivals Baltimore and Pittsburgh, Winston himself was benched in the wake of a familiar spate of interception-laden contests, and the team played out the last three games of the season with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Bailey Zappe under center.

Clearly, Dorsey is not the primary reason for Cleveland’s failures this season, but Stefanski has proven that his offense — whose concepts did not mesh well with Dorsey’s — can work with anyone other than Watson at quarterback, and as Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network confirms, the head coach will remain in place in 2025 (the same is true of GM Andrew Berry). Watson, by virtue of his albatross contract that was recently restructured yet again, will also be back with the Browns, though the team is expected to pursue another starter-caliber passer in the coming months.

A compelling plan in that regard will likely be necessary to convince a coveted external candidate to come to Cleveland, as it would be surprising to see a coach with other options hitch their wagon to Watson at this point. Should the Browns choose to promote from within, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports names tight ends coach Tommy Rees as a name to watch. The team could have competition for Rees, as he has been mentioned as a possible OC hire for Mike Vrabel if Vrabel — who just wrapped his consulting gig with the Browns — should become a head coach in the upcoming cycle.

Dickerson, 42, also lasted just one season in Cleveland. He had big shoes to fill when former O-line coach Bill Callahan left to join son Brian Callahan‘s first staff in Tennessee, and the difficulty of his job was compounded by the numerous injuries that the Browns’ front five sustained this year. As Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Jounral notes, left guard Joel Bitonio was the only OL who did not miss time in 2024.

By season’s end, Vrabel was also working quite a bit with the O-line, at which point the writing was on the wall for Dickerson.

Updated 2025 NFL Draft Order

January 5th, 2025 at 10:58pm CST by Adam La Rose

Once again, we saw plenty of change occur in the projected draft order after Sunday’s games. Most notably, the Patriots took themselves out of the top overall draft slot with a win over the resting Bills. While this change likely won’t hurt their ability to select one of the players that interested them most, as they likely weren’t looking to select a quarterback with rookie Drake Maye in place, New England likely could’ve benefitted from collecting some serious draft capital trading out of the top spot to any of the teams seeking quarterback help next season.

One of those quarterback-needy teams, the Titans have officially secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, tying for the worst overall record in the league with the Browns and Giants but holding tiebreakers over both franchises. The Browns and Giants, who both secured the second and third overall picks, respectively, today, are also considered top candidates to draft a passer.

With all three teams at the top of the draft interested in adding help at quarterback, the draft’s top two prospects at the position, Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, saw their chances at getting selected No. 1 overall rise dramatically. Plenty could still occur to change this situation; trades could alter the draft order, and further pre-draft evaluations could change opinions on top prospects.

Still, for the first time since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002, there is a chance that every team drafts in the first round, as no first-round picks have yet been traded. It’s extremely unlikely that this will remain the case, as draft-day trades are a very common occurrence, but it’s still an interesting concept to note this close to the draft.

For non-playoff teams, the draft order will be determined by the inverted 2024 standings — plus a series of tiebreakers, starting with strength of schedule — with playoff squads being slotted by their postseason outcome and regular-season record. Here is how the draft order looks at the regular season’s conclusion:

Tennessee Titans (3-14)
Cleveland Browns (3-14)
New York Giants (3-14)
New England Patriots (4-13)
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13)
Las Vegas Raiders (4-13)
New York Jets (5-12)
Carolina Panthers (5-12)
New Orleans Saints (5-12)
Chicago Bears (5-12)
San Francisco (6-11)
Dallas Cowboys (7-10)
Miami Dolphins (8-9)
Indianapolis Colts (8-9)
Atlanta Falcons (8-9)
Arizona Cardinals (8-9)
Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)
Seattle Seahawks (10-7)
Houston Texans (10-7)
Denver Broncos (10-7)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7)
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)
Los Angeles Rams (10-7)
Green Bay Packers (11-6)
Los Angeles Chargers (11-6)
Washington Commanders (12-5)
Baltimore Ravens (12-5)
Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
Buffalo Bills (13-4)
Philadelphia Eagles (14-3)
Kansas City Chiefs (15-2)
Detroit Lions (15-2)

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

Jets Interview Mike Vrabel For HC Job

January 3rd, 2025 at 11:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Rumored to have Mike Vrabel high on their list of prospective head coaches, the Jets have an important meeting set up for today. They will meet with the former Titans HC at their facility, The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt reports.

Vrabel’s consulting contract with the Browns expired this week, giving him the ability to meet with teams at any point moving forward. Candidates who are still tied to teams are not yet permitted to conduct interviews — either virtually or onsite. Vrabel can as a coaching free agent, and he will take advantage of that status.

Vrabel, 49, has become expectedly popular on what is considered to be a thinner coaching carousel. A mid-December report tabbed him as the Jets’ preferred candidate. Since, he has been tied to the Patriots, Raiders and Saints. While the New England job is believed to be one he would strongly consider, the Pats are not committed to making Jerod Mayo a one-and-done. The Raiders have also not committed to firing Antonio Pierce, but Vrabel’s past with Tom Brady — the broadcaster/minority owner who is expected to play a lead role in the AFC West team’s offseason — has tripped alarms across the league regarding a potential fit.

The Browns recruited Vrabel to help out this season, as both sides learned from the other party’s differing style. Vrabel aided the analytically geared organization both in practice and on gamedays, with Rosenblatt indicating the former Titans HC began traveling to Browns road games around the midseason point. Vrabel worked with both Cleveland’s tight ends and offensive line, transitioning to the latter area during the year. Browns brass also picked Vrabel’s brain regarding personnel.

Rumors about the Jets needing to overpay to obtain a high-end HC candidate have surfaced. Woody Johnson‘s meddling became perhaps their defining 2024 story. The owner made his voice known in personnel matters regularly, from firing Robert Saleh without consulting GM Joe Douglas, to interceding on trades and free agency matters. Madden-based decisions involving his teenage sons became the most memorable component of an eventful year for the Jets owner, who is part of an HC hiring process for the first time since 2015, having previously served in Donald Trump’s presidential administration.

Johnson is not expected to return to the Trump administration, calling his role with the Jets into question. Vrabel clashed with Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk during the final stretch of his Titans tenure and may have multiple offers, giving the Jets a potential uphill battle to fight given Johnson’s involvement. They are, however, not committed to building their next power structure around a GM or a head coach. Given Vrabel’s stock, he may need a notable voice in personnel matters to take a job.

Roster control loomed as one of Vrabel’s issues with Adams Strunk, and Rosenblatt adds HC interviews last year involved teams questioning if he could effectively collaborate with a GM. The Jets having yet to hire a GM would stand to work in Vrabel’s favor.

“There’s got to be clear communication with ownership, so that we understand as coaches what the expectations are,” Vrabel said, via Rosenblatt. “That’s so we can explain to them what’s reasonable, what we can do, what we probably can do and what we’re going to try to do — or die trying. I want to have a structure in place that people see the game the same way I do from an X’s-and-O’s standpoint, from a personnel standpoint, with team-building. We would hopefully have that alignment, which is critical.

“And I would like to be able to say that there’s a quarterback that you feel like you can win with — or that there’s a path to find the one that you can win with.”

Vrabel will follow Ron Rivera in interviewing with the Jets, who have regularly hired defensive-minded HCs (Saleh, Todd Bowles, Rex Ryan and Eric Mangini among them) during Johnson’s ownership tenure. Arthur Smith is also believed to be in play for the job, but unattached names will have the first shot at speaking with the team, which must eventually meet with two external minority candidates to satisfy the Rooney Rule.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/3/25

January 3rd, 2025 at 10:23pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

Carolina Panthers

Placed on reserve/NFI list: OLB DJ Johnson

Cleveland Browns

Signed to active roster: WR Kaden Davis, DT Michael Dwumfour, S Christopher Edmonds
Placed on IR: RB Jerome Ford, TE David Njoku, RB Pierre Strong
Elevated: CB Kahlef Hailassie, RB Jacob Kibodi

Green Bay Packers

Placed on reserve/NFI list: RB MarShawn Lloyd

New York Giants

Placed on IR: DT Armon Watts

Johnson sustained a concussion in a car accident earlier this week, per ESPN’s David Newton. The 2023 third-round pick will miss the Panthers’ final regular season after 14 appearances (including two starts) this year.

The Browns added three more players to injured reserve before Saturday’s matchup with the Ravens, including their leading rusher in Ford and second-leading pass-catcher in Njoku. Those absences have extended Baltimore to 19.5-point favorites as they look to lock up the AFC North. Cleveland will finish the year with 23 players on IR, including key players like Deshaun Watson and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Browns To Start Bailey Zappe In Week 18

January 2nd, 2025 at 2:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

Make it four starting quarterbacks for the Browns this season, marking a second straight slate in which that rarely reached number will be in the equation for Cleveland. It will be Bailey Zappe taking over in Week 18, according to The Associated Press’ Tom Withers.

Zappe will replace Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has struggled since replacing Jameis Winston. Although Winston suited up in Week 17, he did not play. The Browns’ draft standing, No. 3 overall, is worth reminding here, as is the fact the team is expected to retain both Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry. With the two power brokers not needing to make moves to preserve their jobs (at least, that is not the expectation), a Zappe-over-Winston choice would make more sense. For what it’s worth, Winston has practiced in a limited capacity due to a shoulder injury.

Stefanski said both Zappe and Thompson-Robinson will play against the Ravens, who are up to 20-point favorites in the teams’ Week 18 rematch. Cleveland upended Baltimore during Winston’s first start after Deshaun Watson‘s injury. The Browns benched Winston after a turnover-heavy Week 15 showing, but Thompson-Robinson has not played well since. For his career, Thompson-Robinson has put together a 1-10 TD-INT ratio, which is next to impossible in this passer-friendly era. The 2023 fifth-round pick has thrown six picks and no TD passes this season.

Zappe will be the 40th the starting quarterback since the Browns’ 1999 reboot, as Withers notes. He finished last season as the Patriots’ starter, replacing a declining Mac Jones. Zappe has made eight career starts, going 4-4 in those games. The Browns initially signed Zappe off the Chiefs’ practice squad following Watson’s October Achilles tear. Cleveland then waived Zappe and re-signed him not long after.

A 2022 fourth-round pick who broke Joe Burrow‘s Division I-FBS touchdown pass record by firing 61 in Western Kentucky’s pass-happy offense in 2021, Zappe did not make the Patriots’ 53-man roster this season. That led him to Kansas City’s practice squad. He is not under contract in Cleveland beyond this season, but this matchup with Baltimore could help his cause. Though, the Browns will be looking elsewhere for a player to be a viable option as a Watson replacement — perhaps in Round 1 — after the season.

One of four 3-13 teams entering the season finale, the Browns sit behind the Patriots and Titans for the top pick. The Pats host a Bills team that has nothing to play for, while the Titans host a Texans team locked into the AFC’s No. 4 seed. With the Ravens gunning for the AFC’s No. 3 spot via the AFC North title, the Browns have the best chance to lose among this trio. The cards look to be breaking Cleveland’s way, even though this was certainly not where this year’s team was expected to be at the season’s outset. The Browns will at least have a high pick when they make their way back to the first round — after three years of missing out due to the Watson trade.

NFC Coaching Rumors: Cowboys, Vrabel, Johnson

December 31st, 2024 at 8:36pm CST by Ely Allen

After failing to make it past the Divisional Round of the playoffs for the fourth straight year as Cowboys head coach, Mike McCarthy entered the 2024 NFL season on a bit of a hot seat. Often that type of pressure comes externally from a disgruntled fan base or media criticism, but the fact that nearly the entire coaching staff, including McCarthy, was playing on the final year of their contracts didn’t help.

McCarthy is known for coaching playoff teams. In 13 years with the Packers, McCarthy took the team to the playoffs nine times. Green Bay did make it to four NFC Championship Games under McCarthy, advancing to (and winning) only one Super Bowl. In Dallas, McCarthy has seen similar regular season success followed by postseason struggles. After a 6-10 debut season with the Cowboys, McCarthy led the team to the playoffs with three straight 12-5 seasons. In those three postseason appearances, McCarthy’s squad has only won one game, failing to make any NFC Championship Game appearances.

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, team owner/president/general manager Jerry Jones doesn’t believe the staff’s lame duck status was a distraction during a tumultuous 2024 campaign. In fact, Jones believes “people do better…when they don’t have a contract.” So far, Jones has been noncommittal on the future of McCarthy and his staff. He claimed in a recent interview that he doesn’t feel that he’s “under any unusual time frame at all.”

Jones doesn’t seem to have made much of an indication at all hinting at whether or not he sees McCarthy returning, and at the moment, he doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to make such a decision.

Here are a few other coaching rumors coming out of the NFC:

In an interview on the Rich Eisen Show, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer tabbed Browns coaching and personnel consultant Mike Vrabel as a name to watch for the Giants‘ likely opening head coaching position. After his first head coaching stint with the Titans came to an end, Vrabel was unable to secure another gig, settling at the time for a minor role in Cleveland. Breer believes that New York has an advantage in securing Vrabel’s services, thinking that Vrabel’s likely picks for general manager (Ryan Cowden) and defensive coordinator (Shane Bowen) are already in house. Cowden was vice president of player personnel (and interim general manager) during Vrabel’s tenure in Tennessee and now serves as executive advisor to the general manager in New York. Fired alongside Vrabel in Tennessee, Bowen went from one defensive coordinator job to the other, coaching the Giants’ unit this season. Though the season is not yet over for Cleveland, head coach Kevin Stefanski indicated that Vrabel’s contract was amended in order “to allow him to get a jumpstart” on interviews, per ESPN’s Tony Grossi.
In another interview, this one with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on Good Morning Football, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was discussed. According to Pelissero, Johnson’s likeliest destination in 2025 remains Chicago. Johnson is looking for a place at which he can build alignment and sustainable, long-term success, similar to what was built in Detroit. So far, all signs seem to be pointing to Johnson taking the intra-divisional job with the Bears, keeping in mind, of course, that him getting hired as head coach of Washington seemed like a sure thing last year before he made the decision to remain with the Lions. With Vrabel and Johnson being established as the two hot names for teams looking for a new skipper this offseason, we’ve seen their names connected to several teams. Breer recently reported a new connection, though, claiming that many see the Jaguars as a good fit for Johnson, should they part ways with Doug Pederson.