It took general manager Andrew Berry just a matter of days to rebuild the Cleveland Browns‘ offensive line.
With four Week 1 offensive line starters and six linemen overall becoming unrestricted free agents, Berry moved quickly to overhaul a unit that he predicted would have a “fair amount of turnover” this offseason.
As the new league year began Wednesday, the Browns officially announced their trade with the Houston Texans for offensive tackle Tytus Howard (Cleveland sent a fifth-round pick via the Las Vegas Raiders), as well as the finalization of a three-year extension. Cleveland also announced it agreed to terms with guard Zion Johnson and center/guard Elgton Jenkins. And on Tuesday, the Browns announced the re-signing of Teven Jenkins, who started four games at right guard late in the 2025 season.
In total, Cleveland made external acquisitions for three offensive linemen who have a combined 252 career starts and brought back Jenkins, who has 42 starts.
It was part of a concerted effort to improve an offensive line that ranked 20th in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric, 24th in run block win rate and allowed pressure on a league-high 39.1% of dropbacks in the 2025 season.
In Johnson, 26, the Browns have a possible replacement for Joel Bitonio, whose contract voided as he continues to mull retirement. Berry and first-year head coach Todd Monken have publicly welcomed Bitonio back if he desires to play a 13th NFL season. But if Bitonio decides to retire or sign elsewhere, Johnson can slot in at left guard, where he has played the past three seasons after spending his rookie campaign at right guard.
The No. 17 pick in the 2022 draft, Johnson struggled in pass protection this past season — the fifth-lowest pass block win rate among guards — but registered the second-best run block win rate at his position. The latter should be a welcome sight to Monken, who wants to replicate the elite run game he produced while he was offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
Cleveland not only got experience but versatility to replace what had become an aging offensive line. Elgton Jenkins, 30, was a two-time Pro Bowler at left guard for the Green Bay Packers before moving to center this past season. In nine games before sustaining a season-ending leg fracture in November, Jenkins registered a pass block win rate that ranked 17th out of 31 qualifying centers and a run block win rate that ranked 15th. It remains to be seen where the Browns will play Jenkins, but the organization believes he is a viable option if slotted at center.
And Howard, 29, has been a longtime right tackle but logged starts at left guard and right guard in the 2025 season. He allowed a career-low 4.8% pressure rate while being one of just two players in the NFL to play three different offensive line combinations this past season, along with Jordan Morgan. That flexibility should aid a Browns team that used 14 unique offensive line combinations in 2025, the third most in the NFL.
Cleveland’s flurry of moves leaves left tackle as the only glaring hole on the offensive line, and it could be filled with one of the team’s two first-round picks in April’s draft. Dawand Jones has logged snaps at both tackle spots, but his first three seasons have all ended because of injury, the latest being an LCL tear in a knee and a hamstring avulsion. Jones said he expects to be back for organized team activities in the spring, and Berry said at the NFL combine last month that Jones is “right on track.”
While much of the external discourse surrounding the Browns has focused on their quarterback situation, Cleveland did not sign a passer in the first wave of free agency.
The team’s messaging, though, signaled an urgency to fill holes along the offensive line first and foremost, a development the organization hopes will lift the entirety of the offense.
