Kick 'Em Out 2025: Cleveland Browns

The latest futile Cleveland Browns effort featured defensive history from Myles Garrett and a “Pro Bowl” quarterback in Shedeur Sanders.

Turn out the lights, the party’s over.

With a little help from Willie Nelson, former NFL quarterback and narrator Don Meredith would routinely herald closing time before it was cool on the original editions of Monday Night Football. Alas for all but one of football’s 32 finest, it’s over before the desired Vince Lombardi Trophy hoist, as the season, or at least the championship-contending portion of it, has come to an end.

With that in mind, TeamFB7 goes over the season that was for the fallen, looking at what was, what is, and what could be. We find yet another mainstay on lists such as these in our next segment, which features the Cleveland Browns …

Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns reacts prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Huntington Bank Field on December 28, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. — Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Team: Cleveland Browns
Record: 5-12
Date of Playoff Death: Dec. 7
Last Playoff Season: 2023

What Went Wrong

The Browns took the field.

For the 17th time over the last two decades, Cleveland’s logo-less football franchise finished on the wrong side of .500. That led to the ousting of Kevin Stefanski, a rare coach that had the so-called “honor” of holding the headset for six seasons.

Stefanski was the longest-turned head coach on the Cleveland ledgers since Sam Rutigliano was ousted in 1984 … mere months before Ronald Reagan was inaugurated for the second time. Stefanski immediately found work at the helm of the Atlanta Falcons, who clearly believed that he was in no condition to win this time around.

Cleveland certainly did not rock in 2025, mainly done in by an offensive offense that ranked at or near the bottom of almost every traditional and advanced category. Of note, Cleveland was dead-last in offensive drives that ended in a score and also posted the shortest average possession in the league at but 2:33.

The Browns couldn’t blame Deshaun Watson for these latest shortcomings, as the legally encumbered franchise thrower done in by yet another Achilles injury that kept him sidelined for the season.

Watson was replaced by a pair of “Pro Bowlers,” originally giving way to former divisional foe Joe Flacco while the year ended with the extreme hot and cold hype around Shedeur Sanders. It was the Browns that ended Sanders’ surprising free fall in the draft in the fifth round, and even that was rendered quizzical considering they took Prime Time Jr. only 50 picks after choosing Dillon Gabriel.

To Sanders’ credit, the offense showed its most potent signs of life when he was on the field (and the Browns went 3-4 in his seven starts) but there was little to suggest that he was lasting franchise quarterback material.

The 2025 Browns are the first team in NFL history to send 2 QBs on their roster at the start of the season to the Pro Bowl

• 41-yr-old Joe Flacco (traded midseason)
• Rookie backup Shedeur Sanders (finished last in the NFL in QBR, one spot behind other teammate Dillon Gabriel) pic.twitter.com/jRfb4x3tyn
— QBgami (@QBgami) January 30, 2026

Prime Otto Graham himself would’ve had trouble working with what Cleveland assembled: beyond the reliable antics of Joel Bitonio, the offensive line failed to stop much pressure, with the outsides proving particularly leaky after Jack Conklin endured yet another injury.

The Browns’ failure to find their quarterback a reliable aerial weapon when Jerry Jeudy took several steps back after a record-breaking debut tour of the Cuyahoga (catching less than half of his targets from the three starting quarterbacks) forced third-round rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. to step up immediately.

All that and more wasted the talents of another sterling, and this time historic, defensive effort, one that allowed the second-fewest first downs in the league this season and the fourth-fewest yards. It didn’t help that the unit had its back slammed against the wall: opposing drives would start at their own 34-yard-line, by far the worst origin in football this year.

Even that, however, may be subject to lasting heartbreak: it’s no surprise that the Browns offered their primary headset to a tenured offensive mind in Todd Monken (whose 2020s have been spent on collegiate national title tours with Georgia and deep-play antics in Baltimore) but it came at the cost of defensive architect Jim Schwartz, who made no secrets about his head coaching desires and submitted his resignation during Super Bowl week.

Silver Linings

— They’ll tragically be denied an A, but the Browns defense once again did all the work on the group project. Myles Garrett broke loose for 23 sacks to set a new single-season NFL record, the latest addition to an orange resume that must stretch out to Solon, Ohio at this point. While it’s clear that fifth overall choice and interior defensive lineman Mason Graham is a work in progress, further, sustainable hope emerged on that side of the ball to join Garrett, Grant Delpit, and Denzel Ward: in addition to the continued work of homegrown men (Mohamoud Diabate, Myles Harden, Ronnie Hickman, Isaiah McGuire, Alex Wright) and acquired talents (Devin Bush Jr., Tyson Campbell, Maliek Collins) alike, the Browns may have found another diamond in the Friday fray in the form of Carson Schwesinger, a second-round choice who won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last week.

Myles Garrett and Carson Schwesinger have won the DPOY and Rookie DPOY on the same team, during the same year for the first time in NFL history. #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/rxxQCBeuah
— Stephen (@Scuba_Steve26) February 6, 2026

— In addition to the Schwesinger find, the Browns earned some foundational Friday finds on the embattled offense at the draft. Fannin has the makings of being a reliable target on the road ahead while Schwesigner’s fellow second-round selection and Ohio State fan favorite Quinshon Judkins proved to be a reliable red zone threat (7 touchdowns, all inside the 20). Judkins’ rehab after enduring both ankle and fibula injuries will be something to keep an eye on this offseason but he at least provides Monken … as well as the latest attempt at a Cleveland franchise quarterback … a good base for the road ahead.

Looking Ahead

Notable Free Agents: OG Joel Bitonio, P Corey Bojorquez, LB Devin Bush Jr., OT Jack Conklin, LB Mouhamoud Diabate, DT Shelby Harris, TE David Njoku, S Ronnie Hickman, OG Teven Jenkins, C Evan Pocic, OT Cam Robinson, OG Wyatt Teller

Potential Cap Cuts: OT Dawand Jones ($3.6 million*), DE Isaiah McGuire ($3.6 million), WR Cedric Tillman ($3.6 million*), OT Cornelius Lucas ($3 million)

(*—post June 1)

The Browns have several major men facing void years originally granted when it felt like they were at the cusp of contention. That will likely lead to them bidding farewell to a few names that have headlined previous eras of hope, many of them coming on the offensive line, especially considering a relatively paltry cap situation.

In yet another sign the NFL offseason is officially underway, the Browns are facing questions at the quarterback spot. The Watson contract, one of the biggest albatrosses in recent NFL memory in more ways than one, will be a burden for one more year barring a restructuring or trade. That will probably force them to give Sanders one more chance if Watson isn’t ready for Week 1.

In any event, the Browns will have to address other areas of the offense, primarily the line that’s going to protect the next would-be aerial savior. Despite the uncomfortable financial situation on the veteran front, there will be ample opportunities to grow in the draft: thanks to the deal that allowed the Jacksonville Jaguars to select Sanders’ fellow former Colorado Buffalo Travis Hunter, the Browns have three picks within the first 39 selections come spring. That will allow them to find new blood on the both the line and receiving depth charts or offer a unique edge if they try to trade for a new thrower.

Is There Hope?

It’s Cleveland. If there wasn’t hope, it’d be as blank as their orange helmets.

If this year’s Super Bowl between New England and Seattle has proven anything, it’s that defensive-focused teams still have a place in this league. With numerous key pieces secured and the AFC North division trapped in a state of mediocrity and transition (even the supposedly stable bastions of consistency in Baltimore and Pittsburgh have finally decided to make changes), that defense headlined by a historic talent in Garrett could well lead to a sizable leap.

the crown jewel on a historic season 👑

Myles Garrett is your Defensive Player of the Year! pic.twitter.com/SQaT626SOE
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) February 6, 2026

Leave it to the Browns to mess up the timing of having a generational man like that on their roster, however. There has to be some form of offensive progress and the Browns accounted for that by hiring Monken to lead the way. There are also building blocks in stow in the form of Fannin and Judkins. So, general manager Andrew Berry’s job is not as desperate or dire as it was for his predecessors.

Berry will go into this offseason with a sense of relative desperation: for the time being, his tenure is still defined by the ill-advised Watson trade, one that released Baker Mayfield’s hold on the franchise quarterback job. Quieter renovations on the line will be the key and potentially save not only his Cleveland reputation but those of plenty of others as well.