The Cleveland Browns dropped a pretty profound signal with the trade of Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams. They told the entire world that they know they are not set to compete this year or even next year; they are looking at 2028 as the year that they are opening that fleeting Super Bowl window.
With that being the reality, should Cleveland look at investing more resources into their defensive end, edge rusher room?
Advertisement
Cleveland currently has north of $18M in cap space at this point in the offseason. They probably were looking at needing some more defensive end depth even with Garrett on the roster; now, they absolutely need to explore it.
They are not going to want to use all $18M, as rolling some over will make next year a little more manageable, but they need bodies at that position. Here are a couple of names they could go after.
Cleveland should be shopping in the discount section in terms of pass rushers for a couple of one or two-year contracts that are affordable for players who eat up snaps. While it would be awesome and they could afford it, a guy like Joey Bosa or Leonard Floyd wouldn’t make sense for the player or for the franchise.
Truth be told, the best player available for the position Cleveland is in is ironically AJ Epenesa. Epenesa’s expected contract is between $6M and $7M, and as a young player, he could have been a four or five-year guy if he proved himself. Unfortunately, the medical aspect of it got in the way last time, and it is very unlikely that they would entertain another go at it.
Advertisement
A decent option would be Josh Pashcal, most recently from the Detroit Lions. The former second-round pick was recently cut from the Lions after three years of mediocre play. He has the body type to be a great player, but it just hasn’t come to be. His market is less than $2M per year, and he could be a target for the Browns. At 26 years old, he is a no-risk, only reward investment.
Another option could be former Arizona Cardinal turned New York Giant, Victor Dimukeje. Dimukeje was a sixth-round pick by Arizona in the 2021 draft from Duke. He really put together just one good season in 2023, where he had four sacks and five tackles for loss on the year. Again, at 26 years old and with an expected contract value of less than $2M, he is a good option for Cleveland.
Detroit Lions defensive end Marcus Davenport (92) pressures Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit.
The final guy that Cleveland could consider is former first-round pick Marcus Davenport. Davenport was the 14th overall selection in the 108th NFL Draft and put together a solid career. His best year was in 2021, when he had nine sacks and nine tackles for loss. He is far removed from that production, but he could be the Shelby Harris type, a veteran in the room mentoring all of the youngsters around him, including Jared Verse.
Advertisement
Three decent defensive line options if the Browns were to consider that path to add some depth to that room. With the direction they are heading, they are likely going to be shopping in the lower end of the category, but there are still some solid players available.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Three options for the Browns to add edge depth, only if they want to
