2020 Cleveland Browns season

The 2020 season is the Cleveland Browns' 68th as a member of the National Football League, their 72nd overall, and their first under general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski. The Browns will attempt to improve on their 6–10 record from 2019, as well as end their franchise-record and league-high 17-year playoff drought.

2020 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Kevin Stefanski
General manager	Andrew Berry
Owner	Jimmy Haslam
Home field	FirstEnergy Stadium
Uniform

Offseason

Front office changes

On December 31, 2019, the Browns and general manager John Dorsey mutually agreed to part ways.[1] Dorsey had served as the Browns' GM since December 2017.

On January 27, 2020, the Browns hired former Philadelphia Eagles' vice president of football operations Andrew Berry as general manager. Berry previously served as the Browns' vice president of player personnel from 2016–18.[2] At age 32, Berry became the youngest general manager in NFL history.[3]

On January 29, the Browns and vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith and assistant general manager Eliot Wolf mutually agreed to part ways after the hiring of Berry. Both had served in their roles since the 2017 hiring of Dorsey.[4]

Coaching changes

On December 29, 2019, the Browns fired head coach Freddie Kitchens. In one season as Browns' head coach, Kitchens posted a 6–10 (.375) record.[5]

On January 13, 2020, the Browns hired former Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski as head coach. Stefanski served as a Vikings' assistant coach from 2006–19, including the past two seasons as their offensive coordinator. This will mark Stefanski's first NFL head coaching opportunity.[6]

On January 29, the Browns hired former Cincinnati Bengals' quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt as offensive coordinator. Van Pelt, who served as offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills in 2009, replaced Todd Monken, who was not retained by Stefanski.[7]

On February 7, the Browns hired former San Francisco 49ers' defensive backs coach Joe Woods as defensive coordinator. Woods, who previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos from 2017–18, replaced Steve Wilks, who was not retained by Stefanski.[8]

Roster changes

Players added

Position	Player	Tag	2019 team	Date
DT	Andrew Billings	UFA	Cincinnati Bengals	March 19[9]
DE	Adrian Clayborn	UFA	Atlanta Falcons	March 31[10]
OT	Jack Conklin	UFA	Tennessee Titans	March 18[9]
LB	B.J. Goodson	UFA	Green Bay Packers	March 20[9]
TE	Austin Hooper	UFA	Atlanta Falcons	March 18[9]
CB	Kevin Johnson	UFA	Buffalo Bills	March 19[9]
S	Karl Joseph	UFA	Oakland Raiders	March 19[9]
QB	Case Keenum	UFA	Washington Redskins	March 18[9]
WR	JoJo Natson	UFA	Los Angeles Rams	March 19[9]
CB	Donovan Olumba	UFA	Dallas Cowboys	March 23[11]
S	Andrew Sendejo	UFA	Minnesota Vikings	March 20[9]

Players lost

Position	Player	Tag	Date lost	2020 team	Date
S	Morgan Burnett	Release	March 16[12]
CB	T. J. Carrie	Release	February 17[13]	Indianapolis Colts	March 31[14]
TE	Demetrius Harris	Release	February 17[13]	Chicago Bears	February 20[15]
LB	Christian Kirksey	Release	March 10[16]	Green Bay Packers	March 16[17]
G	Eric Kush	Release	February 17[13]	Las Vegas Raiders	March 30[18]
S	Eric Murray	UFA	March 18	Houston Texans	March 21[19]
S	Damarious Randall	UFA	March 18	Las Vegas Raiders	April 3[20]
LB	Joe Schobert	UFA	March 18	Jacksonville Jaguars	March 18[21]
TE	Ricky Seals-Jones	UFA	March 18	Kansas City Chiefs	April 3[22]
LB	Adarius Taylor	Release	February 17[13]

2020 draft class

Main article: 2020 NFL Draft

2020 Cleveland Browns Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	10	Jedrick Wills	OT	Alabama
2	44	Grant Delpit	S	LSU	from Indianapolis
3	88	Jordan Elliott	DT	Missouri	from New Orleans
	97	Jacob Phillips	ILB	LSU	from Houston
4	115	Harrison Bryant	TE	Florida Atlantic
5	160	Nick Harris	C	Washington	from Indianapolis
6	187	Donovan Peoples-Jones	WR	Michigan	from Arizona

Notes

• Cleveland acquired a third round pick (No. 90) from Houston in exchange for RB Duke Johnson.[23]
• Cleveland traded its fifth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 155 and 188) to Buffalo in exchange for G Wyatt Teller and a 2021 seventh-round selection.[24]
• Cleveland acquired a sixth-round selection (No. 187) from Arizona in exchange for CB Jamar Taylor.[25]
• Cleveland acquired a seventh-round selection (No. 236) from Buffalo in exchange for WR Corey Coleman.[26]
• Cleveland acquired a seventh-round selection (No. 244) and G Justin McCray from Green Bay in exchange for a seventh-round selection (No. 224)

Undrafted free agents

Player	Position	College	Signed	Cut
Solomon Ajayi	LB	Liberty	April 25[27]
Elijah Benton	S	Liberty	April 25[27]
Ja'Marcus Bradley	WR	Louisiana	April 25[27]
Tony Brown	WR	Colorado	April 25[27]
Kevin Davidson	QB	Princeton	April 25[27]
Drake Dorbeck	OT	Southern Miss	April 25[27]
A.J. Green	CB	Oklahoma State	April 25[27]
Brian Herrien	RB	Georgia	April 25[27]
Jameson Houston	CB	Baylor	April 25[27]
Benny LeMay	RB	Charlotte	April 25[27]
Jovante Moffatt	S	Middle Tennessee State	April 25[27]
George Obinna	DE	Sacramento State	April 25[27]
Alex Taylor	OT	South Carolina State	April 25[27]
Jeffery Whatley	DE	South Alabama	April 25[27]
Nate Wieting	TE	Iowa	April 25[27]

Uniform changes

On April 15, the Browns unveiled new uniforms to be used starting in the 2020 season. The jerseys are brown with white numbers and white with brown numbers, each featuring the five-stripe sleeve pattern used prior to 2015. The pants are brown or white, each with an orange-brown-orange stripe pattern on the sides. The "Cleveland" wordmark on the front of the jerseys and the "Browns" wordmark on the side of the pants have been removed.[28]

Staff

Cleveland Browns staff

	Front Office Owners – Jimmy Haslam, Dee Haslam, Whitney Haslam-Johnson, JW Johnson Chief strategy officer – Paul DePodesta General manager/executive vice president of football operations – Andrew Berry Vice president of football administration – Chris Cooper Vice president of football operations – Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Vice president of player personnel – Glenn Cook Vice president of research and strategy – Andrew Healy Vice president of player personnel process and development – Ken Kovash Director of player personnel – Dan Saganey Assistant director of pro personnel – Adam Al-Khayyal Director of research and strategy – Dave Giuliani Director of scouting research – Mike Cetta Senior football advisor – Ryan Grigson Special advisor – Jim Brown Head coaches Head coach – Kevin Stefanski Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Alex Van Pelt Run game coordinator/running backs – Stump Mitchell Pass game coordinator/wide receivers – Chad O'Shea Tight ends – Drew Petzing Offensive line – Bill Callahan Assistant offensive line – Scott Peters Offensive assistant – T.C. McCartney Offensive quality control – Seitu Smith Senior offensive assistant – Kevin Rogers			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Joe Woods Defensive line – Chris Kiffin Assistant defensive line – Jeremy Garrett Linebackers – Jason Tarver Pass game coordinator/defensive backs – Jeff Howard Assistant defensive backs – Brandon Lynch Senior defensive assistant – Ben Bloom Defensive quality control – Stephen Bravo-Brown Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Mike Priefer Assistant special teams - Doug Colman Support staff Chief of staff – Callie Brownson Coaching assistant – Ryan Cordell Strength and conditioning Director of high performance – Shaun Huls Director of strength and conditioning – Larry Jackson Strength and conditioning assistant/sports science – Josh Christovich Strength and conditioning assistant – Monty Gibson Strength and conditioning assistant – Dale Jones Strength and conditioning assistant – Evan Marcus → Coaching staff → Management → More NFL staffs
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC LV LAC NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LAR SF SEA

Current roster

Cleveland Browns roster

Quarterbacks  9 Kevin Davidson  3 Garrett Gilbert  5 Case Keenum  6 Baker Mayfield Running backs 24 Nick Chubb 25 Dontrell Hilliard 27 Kareem Hunt 31 Andy Janovich FB 30 D'Ernest Johnson 36 Benny LeMay 43 Johnny Stanton FB Wide receivers 13 Odell Beckham Jr. 84 Ja'Marcus Bradley 82 Rashard Higgins 12 KhaDarel Hodge 80 Jarvis Landry 15 D. J. Montgomery 16 J'Mon Moore 19 JoJo Natson RS 11 Donovan Peoples-Jones RS 18 Damion Ratley 10 Taywan Taylor Tight ends 86 Pharaoh Brown 88 Harrison Bryant 89 Stephen Carlson 81 Austin Hooper 85 David Njoku		Offensive linemen 75 Joel Bitonio G 63 Evan Brown C 78 Jack Conklin T 57 Casey Dunn C 68 Michael Dunn G 53 Nick Harris C 74 Chris Hubbard T 70 Kendall Lamm T 67 Alex Taylor T 77 Wyatt Teller G 64 J. C. Tretter C 71 Jedrick Wills T 66 Willie Wright C Defensive linemen 91 Eli Ankou DT 94 Adrian Clayborn DE 96 Daniel Ekuale DT 90 Jordan Elliott DT 95 Myles Garrett DE 97 Porter Gustin DE 52 Robert McCray DE 60 George Obinna DE 65 Larry Ogunjobi DT 98 Sheldon Richardson DT 92 Chad Thomas DE 54 Olivier Vernon DE		Linebackers 58 Solomon Ajayi MLB 55 Tae Davis OLB 93 B. J. Goodson MLB 56 Willie Harvey Jr. OLB 41 Montrel Meander OLB 50 Jacob Phillips MLB 44 Sione Takitaki MLB 51 Mack Wilson OLB Defensive backs 48 Elijah Benton FS 22 Grant Delpit FS 38 A. J. Green CB 49 J. T. Hassell SS 34 Robert Jackson CB 28 Kevin Johnson CB 42 Karl Joseph SS 37 Donnie Lewis CB 39 Terrance Mitchell CB 35 Jovante Moffatt SS 33 Donovan Olumba CB 29 Sheldrick Redwine FS 23 Andrew Sendejo SS 36 M. J. Stewart CB 20 Tavierre Thomas CB 21 Denzel Ward CB 26 Greedy Williams CB Special teams  7 Jamie Gillan P 47 Charley Hughlett LS  4 Austin Seibert K				Active/Reserve lists 99 Andrew Billings DT (Opt-out) 68 Drake Dorbeck T (Opt-out) 79 Drew Forbes G (Opt-out) 71 Colby Gossett G (Opt-out) 62 Malcolm Pridgeon G (Opt-out) 59 Trevon Young DE (IR) Rookies in italics Roster updated August 16, 2020 Depth chart • Transactions 80 active, 6 inactive → AFC rosters → NFC rosters
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC LV LAC NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI LAR SF SEA

Preseason cancellation

The Browns' preseason schedule was announced on May 7. However, on July 27, in a letter to fans, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell officially announced the cancellation of the entire preseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29]

Regular season

Schedule

The Browns' 2020 schedule was announced on May 7, and is subject to change, pending developments in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[29]

Week	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	TV	Recap
1	September 13	1:00 p.m.	at Baltimore Ravens			M&T Bank Stadium	CBS
2	September 17	8:20 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals			FirstEnergy Stadium	NFLN
3	September 27	1:00 p.m.	Washington Football Team			FirstEnergy Stadium	Fox
4	October 4	1:00 p.m.	at Dallas Cowboys			AT&T Stadium	Fox
5	October 11	4:25 p.m.	Indianapolis Colts			FirstEnergy Stadium	CBS
6	October 18	1:00 p.m.	at Pittsburgh Steelers			Heinz Field	CBS
7	October 25	1:00 p.m.	at Cincinnati Bengals			Paul Brown Stadium	CBS
8	November 1	1:00 p.m.	Las Vegas Raiders			FirstEnergy Stadium	Fox
9	Bye
10	November 15	1:00 p.m.	Houston Texans			FirstEnergy Stadium	Fox
11	November 22	1:00 p.m.	Philadelphia Eagles			FirstEnergy Stadium	Fox
12	November 29	1:00 p.m.	at Jacksonville Jaguars			TIAA Bank Field	CBS
13	December 6	1:00 p.m.	at Tennessee Titans			Nissan Stadium	CBS
14	December 14	8:15 p.m.	Baltimore Ravens			FirstEnergy Stadium	ESPN
15	December 20	1:00 p.m.	at New York Giants			MetLife Stadium	CBS
16	December 27	1:00 p.m.	at New York Jets			MetLife Stadium	CBS
17	January 3	1:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh Steelers			FirstEnergy Stadium	CBS

Notes

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
• Networks and times for Sunday games from Weeks 5–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.
• As the result of Saturday flexible scheduling during Week 16, the date, time, and network for that week's game at the New York Jets will be finalized at a later date—by no later than four weeks prior to game day.[30]

References

1. "John Dorsey out as Browns general manager". ESPN. December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
2. Maya, Adam (January 27, 2020). "Browns hire Andrew Berry as new GM/executive VP". NFL.com. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
3. "Sources: Browns to make Andrew Berry youngest GM in NFL history". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
4. "Browns executives Alonzo Highsmith, Eliot Wolf, Steve Malin out after new GM Andrew Berry hired". ESPN. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
5. "Browns relieve Freddie Kitchens of duties as head coach". ClevelandBrowns.com. December 29, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
6. "Kevin Stefanski named Browns head coach". ClevelandBrowns.com. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
7. Cabot, Mary Kay (January 30, 2020). "Kevin Stefanski hires Alex Van Pelt as Browns offensive coordinator; Jeff Howard as DBs & passing game coordinator". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
8. Gribble, Andrew (February 7, 2020). "Joe Woods named Browns defensive coordinator". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
9. Pluto, Terry (March 18, 2020). "What exactly are the Cleveland Browns doing in free agency?". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
10. "Browns sign Adrian Clayborn". Pro Football Talk. March 31, 2020.
11. Gribble, Andrew (March 24, 2020). "Browns sign dynamic returner JoJo Natson, CB Donovan Olumba". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
12. Gribble, Andrew (March 16, 2020). "Browns release S Morgan Burnett". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
13. ""Browns release 4 players"". ClevelandBrowns.com. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
14. Walker, Andrew (March 30, 2020). "Colts Sign Free Agent CB T.J. Carrie". Colts.com.
15. Williams, Charean (February 19, 2020). "Bears sign former Browns tight end Demetrius Harris". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports.
16. "Browns release veteran LB Christian Kirksey". ClevelandBrowns.com. March 10, 2020.
17. Packers Sign LB Kirksey Hours Before Start of Free Agency
18. Bair, Scott (March 21, 2020). "Raiders add offensive line depth, agree to deal with guard Eric Kush". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
19. "Texans agree to terms on the following moves". HoustonTexans.com. March 21, 2020.
20. Bergin, Mark (April 3, 2020). "Damarious Randall Signs With Raiders, But Browns Won DeShone Kizer Trade". Browns Nation. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
21. "Jaguars officially agree to terms with former Browns LB Joe Schobert". SB Nation. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
22. Goldman, Charles (April 3, 2020). "Chiefs to sign TE Ricky Seals-Jones". UAS Today. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
23. "Browns trade Duke Johnson to Texans for 2020 pick". NFL.com. August 8, 2019.
24. "Teller-traded-cleveland". clevelandbrowns.com. August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
25. Cabot, Mary Kay (May 19, 2018). "Browns' trade of Jamar Taylor to the Cardinals for 6th round pick in '20 is official". Cleveland.com. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
26. Knoblauch, Austin (August 6, 2018). "Browns trade Corey Coleman to Bills for draft pick". NFL.com. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
27. "Cleveland Browns 2020 undrafted rookie free agent tracker: Live updates". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
28. Gribble, Andrew (April 15, 2020). "Browns pay homage to past, look ahead to future with new uniforms". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
29. Shook, Nick (July 27, 2020). "Roger Goodell writes letter to NFL fans as training camps start across U.S." NFL. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
30. "2020 NFL Schedule Announced" (PDF). NFL Communications. May 7, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2020.

External links

• Official website