During the scouting combine, former Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said that it would be a “dream come true” to play for new Browns head coach Todd Monken, who the signal-caller has known for years as a family friend.
Cleveland is one of several teams that have spent plenty of pre-draft time with Simpson, who is widely regarded as the second-best QB in this year’s class. Though the Browns have Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and Dillon Gabriel on their roster at the position, there’s certainly a chance they could add a rookie via the draft.
Asked about Simpson during his pre-draft press conference on Thursday, Browns General Manger Andrew Berry told reporters that the team has “enjoyed the time that we’ve spent with Ty.”
“[S]on of a coach, really smart, very driven, he’s physically talented,” Berry said, via transcript from the team. “He has a very unique college journey, in terms of coming in as a five star and then really having to wait his turn behind two pretty talented quarterbacks [in] Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe before getting his chance under center. And he did a great job maximizing it.
“So, we’ve really enjoyed our time with Ty.”
If the Browns were to select a quarterback, what would that mean for those already on the roster?
“I’d say I don’t love dealing in hypotheticals,” Berry said. “So, I guess I’d say this, if we add a quarterback, we have a lot of love for the quarterbacks that are in the room, that’s probably the first thing. So that decision would be made independently of anything that we add to the room.”
Simpson started for one year at Alabama, completing 64.5 percent of his passes for 3,567 yards with 28 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2025, earning second-team All-SEC recognition.
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Browns General Manager Andrew Berry has heard the same speculation about his plans for the No. 6 pick as everyone else.
That speculation has centered on the Browns trading down in order to add more picks that can be used to replenish their roster ahead of Todd Monken’s first season as the team’s head coach. At a Thursday press conference, Berry smiled while saying that he loves “how everybody last year thought we weren’t trading down and everybody this year assumes that we are” before going on to say that the dynamics are different than when the team traded out of the No. 2 pick last year.
Berry landed the Browns a a second first-round pick this year in that trade and said that his only goal with the team’s top pick in 2026 is to make sure they maximize their return regardless of whether they stay put or make a move.
“I’d go back to what I’ve said in the past,” Berry said. “Our mindset going into the draft with our most valuable asset isn’t about, hey, just trade it away. It’s maximizing the asset. And that can, at different times, take different forms. It can be selecting a player. It could be trading up for a veteran. It could be trading down. It could be trading up. We will continue to work through all those possibilities up until, really, we get on the clock on Thursday night. But I’d say we’re working through a number of different scenarios at this point.”
The first five picks will have something to do with the direction the Browns choose to go once the time comes for Berry to stop considering the choices and make his decision, but Berry should have a good idea of what will be on the table by the time next Thursday rolls around.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
If you think a story about a cabinet secretary cutting the penis off of a dead raccoon is the craziest thing you’ll hear all day, think again.
Actually, it’s hard to top the raccoon penis thing.
In any event, Daniel Kaplan recently reported for the Guardian on the case of Luther Davis. He’s a former member of the Alabama football team. More recently, he allegedly scammed lenders out of nearly $20 million, in part by impersonating a trio of NFL players: Michael Penix Jr., Xavier McKinney, and David Njoku.
Per the report, Davis plans to plead guilty later this month on charges based on allegations that he “obtained at least thirteen fraudulent loans totaling more than $19,845,000.” Of the amount, $11.6 million was obtained by pretending to be Penix, McKinney, and Njoku.
Davis allegedly worked with CJ Evins to secure the loans. Evins also plans to plead guilty.
As Kaplan explains it, the scheme began with the registration in Georgia of fake companies with names closely related to the players’ names or initials. Then, bank accounts and fraudulent email accounts were opened. Next, Davis and Evins secured fake identification documents for the players. At that point, they contacted loan brokers, providing fabricated documents.
Then came the kicker — Davis would attend the loan closings disguised as the player. The effort included makeup, wigs, and (when Davis was impersonating Penix) a durag.
The only connection by the players to the scam is that they had their identities stolen.
The fake loan obtained in McKinney’s name became the subject of civil litigation between the lender and the broker. A trial is set for July 2026.
New Browns head coach Todd Monken is well aware of what people think of his franchise. And he says there’s only one way to change the narrative.
Asked how he can change the perception that things always go wrong for the Browns, Monken said the only way is to win.
“Winning. It changes everything,” Monken said. “Winning changes everything, right? I told the coaches that the other day, right? Or playing well. How does a player stop the narrative? Play well. How do we stop the narrative on offense? Score. How do you stop the narrative of winning? Win. It’s pretty freaking simple, right? I mean, is that not in life in general, right? There’s a narrative out there that you’re not a good husband. Well, change, be a good husband, right? All that’s part of it, right? Change the narrative. Become that. That’s what we have to do. It’s real simple.”
Cleveland hasn’t had a head coach finish his tenure with a winning record since Marty Schottenheimer went 44-27 from 1984 to 1988. The narrative has been around for a long time, and Monken knows there’s only one way to change it.
Only 14 months ago, Myles Garrett made a public push to be traded by the Browns. In response, the Browns did what the Browns usually do with any problem they encounter.
They threw money at it.
A market-level contract ($40 million per year) moved the boiling pot to a back burner. There’s still reason to think it could be simmering.
The truth on Garrett and the Browns is elusive. On one hand, G.M. Andrew Berry continues to call Garrett a “career Brown.” On the other hand, Garrett seems to be ready to give up a $1 million workout bonus by skipping the team’s offseason program.
Then there’s the recent contract modification, which delays the deadline for Garrett’s offseason option bonuses from the 15th day of the league year in March until seven days before the start of the regular season. Obviously, that allows the Browns to trade Garrett without paying the option bonus.
It’s hard to imagine that everything is fine. The Browns had another non-playoff season in 2025. They fired coach Kevin Stefanski. They didn’t promote defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who’s now long gone.
What does Garrett think about all of that? Maybe the answer resides in his willingness to give up $1 million.
And if the Browns really are thinking about getting the most value possible for Garrett while he has time left in his prime, the best way to maximize the return is to insist he’s not available.
Consider this: Has anyone reported that the Browns have flatly refused to take any and all calls about Garrett?
Even if they don’t trade him, the analytics-obsessed Browns view every player as an asset that, in theory, could be converted into other assets. Why would they view Garrett any differently?
Look at what the Cowboys got for Micah Parsons. Look at what the Raiders almost got for Maxx Crosby. Garrett broke the single-season sack record despite having few if any chances to pin the proverbial ears back and chase quarterbacks during pass-happy garbage time. How dominant could he be with a contending team that routinely has a second-half lead?
That’s not to say he will be traded. It’s hard to believe at this point that he absolutely won’t be.
The Browns lost a good defensive coordinator this offseason when Jim Schwartz left Cleveland after being passed over as the team’s next head coach. But new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg is making a good early impression.
Browns cornerback Tyson Campbell says Rutenberg, whom players call Rudy, has energized the defense even at this stage in the offseason, when coaches aren’t doing on-field work with players.
“Rudy, off rip, he brings a lot of energy, a lot of passion,” Campbell said, via Cleveland.com. “And that’s what you want out of a D-coordinator, a guy that brings a lot of energy and passion to the group and all about team camaraderie, 11 guys playing as one on the field and rooting for each other.”
Campbell was only in Cleveland for the second half of last season, arriving in a trade, so he didn’t spend as much time in Schwartz’s defense as most of his teammates. The time he’s spending with Rutenberg, however, has been promising.
“You bring in that type of positive energy into a room, it’s so addictive and I feel like everybody around him can pick off of that energy,” Campbell said. “And that’s what you want out of a defensive coordinator, a guy that’s passionate about ball, passionate about his guys, and it’s contagious and other dudes around the room will be able to open up and reflect that same energy around the locker room.”
New Browns head coach Todd Monken had a tough decision to make when Schwartz declined to stick around. Campbell thinks Monken made the right decision.
Browns defensive end and single-season sack leader Myles Garrett has skipped the start of the team’s offseason program. That puts him on track to lose $1 million in 2026 compensation.
Garrett’s contract, a copy of which PFT has reviewed, includes a $1 million workout bonus for 2026. And while the payment is fully guaranteed, it still must be earned.
To earn it, Garrett must participate in 84.375 percent of the offseason workout sessions, participate in all minicamps, participate in all OTA days, and timely report to training camp.
Yes, he’s still making $40 million per year, on average, under his new contract. If he doesn’t satisfy the 84.375-percent minimum for the first two phases of the program and show up for all minicamps and OTA days, $1 million of his 2026 base compensation will be gone.
An unexpected scheduling change caused two NFL coaches to miss the annual meeting group photo last week. Browns coach Todd Monken was one of them, and he had some fun with it in a press conference held in conjunction with the first week of the team’s offseason program.
“I really don’t give a shit,” Monken said regarding the missed photo. “I mean, nothing to do with me. I mean, they moved the meeting. I didn’t miss it. I was just trying to get a sweet haircut. That’s what I was trying to do. And then they moved the meeting. Now you can claim that I should have been at the meeting when they moved it up and my ass would have known that’s when it was — yeah, OK, I got you.
“And was it disappointing? You bet your ass it was disappointing. Am I allowed to be head coach if I’m not in the head coach’s picture? You think with AI they could have done that quickly and got me in there? But no, it’s the way it is. It’ll be under the bridge. And what will matter most is how we move from here and do we win or not. Ultimately none of that will matter.”
He’s right. And it’s weird, frankly, that the powers that be didn’t make sure the photo was taken at a time when all coaches were present.
No, the photo doesn’t mean anything. It gives the media something to talk about for a day.
Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger won Defensive Rookie of the Year. The question as the team’s offseason program began this week is: What does he do for an encore?
“Yeah, that was pretty cool,” Schwesinger said Wednesday, via Ashley Bastock of cleveland.com. “My whole family was there, which was cool to share that with all of them and just to be able to see that’s a great honor. But now I guess the mindset is just what’s next? Keep building off of it.”
Schwesinger, the 33rd overall pick in 2025, led all NFL rookies in tackles (146) and tackles for loss (11). He added 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, three passes defensed and 10 special teams tackles in 16 games, all starts.
He received 40 of the 50 first-place votes for Defensive Rookie of the Year, topping Giants linebacker Abdul Carter, Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori, Falcons defensive end James Pearce and Falcons safety Xavier Watts.
Schwesinger insists he can improve.
“There’s a lot of things to get better at, whether it’s just the preparation throughout the week, game week and figuring out really what to watch, how to watch film and things like that,” Schwesinger said. “There’s a lot of things to get better at, whether it’s just the preparation throughout the week, game week and figuring out really what to watch, how to watch film and things like that.
“But even just at this time, whether it’s improving the football knowledge, football intelligence, right? Or just finding better ways to attack the ball and really get those punch-outs. I think that’s something really going to work on this year. Just continuing to grow in terms of patience behind the ball and being able to see things and being ready by the snap.”
