The University of Michigan has interest in Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees as the school searches for a new head coach, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
Rees was mum earlier Thursday when asked about college interest in him. He reportedly talked to Penn State about its coaching vacancy last week before the Nittany Lions hired Matt Campbell.
“I’m going to just keep my focus here right now,” Rees said.
It is unclear when the Wolverines will begin interviews after Sherrone Moore’s abrupt firing on Wednesday.
Rees was an offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and Alabama before joining the Browns staff in 2024. He was a candidate for the North Carolina job last year before the Tar Heels hired Bill Belichick.
The Browns promoted Rees from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator before this season, and he took over play-calling duties from head coach Kevin Stefanski in Week 10 against the Jets.
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Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze returned to practice on Wednesday and he was back on the field on Thursday.
Odunze missed last Sunday’s loss to the Packers with a foot injury, but he has been a limited participant in practice both days this week. Friday will bring another practice and the Bears will then issue their injury designations for Sunday’s game against the Browns.
Odunze leads the Bears with 44 catches, 661 yards and six receiving touchdowns this season.
Cornerback Kyler Gordon (groin) and running back Travis Homer (ankle) missed practice for the second day. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip) and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (hamstring) were limited participants while linebacker Ruben Hippolyte (shoulder) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (groin) were full participants.
Penn State hired Matt Campbell as their new head coach last week, but Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ name was reportedly in the mix before they made that choice.
NFL Media reported that Rees had a remote conversation with the school about the opening before they moved forward with Campbell. Rees was asked about that during a Thursday press conference and didn’t confirm anything about his contact with Penn State while saying that the Browns have all of his attention at the moment.
“I’m really focused on trying to play good offensive football, get a young quarterback ready to play, support our players,” Rees said. “Some of those things are flattering and you listen as a competitor, but, for me, my focus is really how can we score enough points to win a game. How can we put our young players, put our quarterback, put our offense in the right positions to have success. How to lead our staff — that’s really where my focus is right now.”
Rees was asked a followup about interest in the opening at the University of Michigan and reiterated that he’s focused on the Browns.
Rees was an offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and Alabama before joining the Browns staff in 2024, so a return to the college ranks wouldn’t be an out of left field move for his next step up the coaching ladder. If Michigan is going to be a consideration on that front, there will likely be word about it in the near future.
It’s usually a positive to find your way into the NFL record book, but Bears quarterback Caleb Williams knows one way he’d avoid being commemorated.
Williams and the Bears will face the Browns this weekend, which means they’ll be tangling with defensive end Myles Garrett as he closes in on the NFL’s single-season sack record. Garrett has 20 sacks on the season and needs three more to take sole control of the mark, so one of Williams’ goals for the week is to avoid being dropped three times while trying to pass.
“Obviously, he’s right there at the sack record, almost there at the sack record,” Williams said, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal. “And so, I’m going to try and make sure that he doesn’t get the sack record on us and on me.”
Williams has been sacked 20 times this season, which is a big upgrade on the league-high 68 times that he was dropped during his rookie season. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur suggested last weekend that some of their success in protection has come because they’re getting away with holding and the Bears figure to try everything they can to make sure that Garrett doesn’t wreck things this weekend.
Shedeur Sanders said on Wednesday that he’s focused on being the Browns’ starting quarterback in Week 15 and not on the final three weeks of the season.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said this week that Sanders will be the team’s starter for the rest of the regular season. That commitment gives Sanders, who has started the last three games, an extended chance to make his case for the job in 2026, but he said at a press conference that he’s only looking at this week when asked about the implications of Stefanski’s announcement.
“Yeah, that’s a long, deep thought,” Sanders said, via a transcript from the team. “Like, that’s not in my focus. My focus right now is the team we’re playing ahead, the Bears — anything past that I’m not really focused on, honestly. I’m thankful for it, but I’m not content with my situation, with everything. And we’re leading this team.”
Sanders made his debut in the second half of a Week 11 loss to the Ravens. He has gone 50-of-87 for 722 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions since becoming the starter.
The Browns signed cornerback Tre Avery from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced Wednesday.
Avery is in his fourth season out of Rutgers, having originally signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
He has appeared in 44 career games, including six with the Browns this season.
Avery has seen action on 12 defensive snaps and 67 on special teams, totaling seven tackles. In his career, he has totaled 72 tackles, seven passes defensed and a fumble recovery in 44 games.
The Browns waived safety Christopher Edmonds in a corresponding move.
The Browns added a pair of players to their active roster on Wednesday.
They have signed running back Trayveon Williams off of the Chargers’ practice squad and tackle Jeremiah Byers off of the Cardinals’ practice squad. They did not need to make any corresponding moves after placing center Ethan Pocic and running back Jerome Ford on injured reserve on Tuesday.
Williams spent August with the team, but did not make the 53-man roster. He played in three games for the Chargers this season and appeared in 68 contests for the Bengals over the previous six seasons. He has 65 carries for 306 yards over the course of his career.
Byers was undrafted out of Florida State this year.
The effort to build a new Browns stadium has encountered many obstacles. One of them will continue to linger.
Via Jessie Balmert of the Cincinnati Enquirer, a federal judge has declined to dismiss a legal challenge aimed at preventing Ohio from using unclaimed funds to partially finance the project.
The judge nevertheless denied a motion for preliminary injunction, which was aimed at blocking the first payment of unclaimed money as of January 1, 2026.
In all, $600 million will be devoted to the Browns stadium. Unless the pending lawsuit eventually prevails.
If the unclaimed funds faucet is eventually twisted shut, Ohio likely would dip into its ongoing windfall from sports betting to help pay for the Browns’ new stadium.
The Browns have made a pair of roster moves on Tuesday.
Cleveland announced center Ethan Pocic and running back Jerome Ford have both been placed on injured reserve.
Pocic, the Browns’ starting center, suffered a torn Achilles during Sunday’s loss to the Titans. He has started 57 games for Cleveland since joining the team in 2022.
Ford is now out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. In 13 games this season, Ford rushed for 73 yards on 24 carries and caught 26 passes for 103 yards.
A fifth-round pick in 2022, Ford is set to become a free agent in March.
At least temporarily, the Browns will move forward with a pair of open roster spots. The club did sign center Darrian Dalcourt and defensive tackle to the practice squad. Ochaun Mathis and Mark Robinson were released from the practice squad as corresponding moves.
49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings had a week off from confrontations with opponents due to the team’s bye week, but he was asked about his last issue when he spoke to reporters on Monday.
Browns defensive lineman Shelby Harris said that Jennings “said some things that you should not say to another man” during an injury stoppage in the Week 13 game between the teams. Harris also said he could “see exactly why they punched him in the nuts” in reference to Panthers safety Tre’Von Moehrig doing that to Jennings the previous week.
Harris’ teammate Myles Garrett also took issue with Jennings’ comments and the wideout said on Monday that he thinks “they wanted some attention” because he doesn’t believe he said anything that crossed a line.
“I mean, [Harris] said some things, so why ain’t he saying what he said?” Jennings said, via Matt Barrows of TheAthletic.com. “I don’t know, bro. I do know it ain’t that bad. That’s what I do know. I’m gonna just keep it to myself, what I said, but I know it wasn’t that bad, and he knows that. It’s funny. If he sees me to smack me, maybe y’all find out that day.”
Jennings said that you “shouldn’t say you want to kill someone” when asked where he would draw a line and the reactions from his recent opponents suggest that is probably a different place than some others would place it.
