At the new Factory of Sadness, the customers will get a very close look at the assembly line.
Via Rich Exner of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the architect of the new Browns stadium says that the distance from the stands to the playing field will be as little as “16 feet, measured diagonally from the first row of seats to the field.” The last row is only 248 feet from the field.
The Dawg Pound in one of the end zones will have a 34-degree incline, according to HKS, which has designed SoFi Stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium, and AT&T Stadium. HKS says this will “create a powerful wall of sound.”
As Exner notes, the details of the 16-foot distance aren’t entirely clear. The use of the term “diagonal” makes it even more vague.
The Browns hope to open the new stadium by 2029. Current litigation aimed at preventing the use of unclaimed public funds could potentially slow the process.
The Browns are bringing back one of their defensive free agents.
Via Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media, Cleveland is re-signing defensive lineman Sam Kamara.
Kamara, 28, has been with the Browns since 2022, often going between the active roster and the practice squad. He has appeared in 18 games with two starts for the Browns over the last four seasons, recording 28 total tackles with five tackles for loss.
Kamara entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021, spending his first season with Chicago. He appeared in eight games for the Bears that year.
The Browns are meeting with one of the top wide receivers in this year’s draft class on Friday.
Field Yates of ESPN reports that Denzel Boston will be visiting with the team.
Boston spent the last four years at the University of Washington and played sparingly his first two seasons. He took on a leading role in the last two years and had 125 catches for 1,715 yards and 20 touchdowns for the Huskies.
The Browns have Jerry Jeudy at the top of their wide receiver group, but there’s no clear No. 2 and that makes the position an area of interest heading into the draft. The Browns currently have the sixth and 24th picks in the first round to use in their effort to fill that hole.
The Rams have withdrawn a pair of proposed rules changes related to the two-point play that helped cost them a game against the Seahawks during the 2025 regular season, but one of the team’s top executives has signaled that they’ll support another proposal that’s on the table this offseason.
The Browns have proposed expanding the window to trade future draft picks from three to five years and Rams president Kevin Demoff explained on X.com why he believes that is a good idea.
“Nothing creates more interest in the NFL than trades,” Demoff wrote. “This is why Cleveland’s proposal to allow teams to trade picks up to 5 years out as opposed to 3 years out makes so much sense. More picks to trade = more trades = more interest & team building options.”
The proposal will need 24 total votes from the league’s teams in order to pass. Demoff’s comments suggest that there might be more momentum out there for the change.
For those of you who follow this space closely (and thank you for that), this news isn’t news. Regardless, the NFL has announced something you already knew.
The proposals to be considered by owners at the NFL’s annual meetings coming later this month in Phoenix include two made by individual teams.
The league posted on Twitter the proposals from the Steelers and Browns. Pittsburgh wants to make permanent the one-year change that gave teams the ability to speak directly to up to five unrestricted free agents during the negotiating window, and to make travel arrangements during the pre-free agency period. Cleveland wants to expand the range of draft picks that may be traded from three years to five.
Both proposals will require 24 votes to pass.
The league also said that the 2026 proposals from the Competition Committee will be revealed next week.
Not mentioned were the Rams’ proposals arising from the nutty two-point play in their Week 16 overtime loss at Seattle. We’re currently checking to see whether those proposals remain on the table, or whether they were withdrawn.
