Things just got more stressful for the Cleveland Browns. The news broke recently that the Las Vegas Raiders are trading star defensive end Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens for two first-round draft picks. A small haul for one of the best all-around defensive ends in the game. His arrival in Baltimore bolsters the Ravens' tough defense and puts everyone else in the North on edge. Maybe most of all the Cleveland Browns, whose offensive line is in shambles.
The Browns are overhauling their offense this offseason, and may have five entirely new men starting on the offensive line in 2026. An almost unheard of overhaul that one doesn't hear of very often. There's a chance that one player, Joel Bitonio, returns to anchor the offensive line at left guard, but at this point, it's anyone's guess if he's back.
Even if he does return, he's not likely to make much of an impact against the likes of Crosby. Bitonio is an interior guard, so he and Crosby will only have a few encounters a season at most. A small number compared to what a tackle would normally deal with. Tackle is a position group that the Browns have had issues with for some time, to boot. Ever since Joe Thomas retired, the team has struggled to find someone who can play at a high level at his position.
The team did acquire Tytus Howard, but he's nearly 30 years old and has been an inconsistent presence on the Houston Texans' offensive line. While a solid pass-blocker, he may not be a long-term fit for the Browns at tackle.
For a time, Jack Conklin played well at right tackle when he was healthy, which became less and less likely the longer he played in Cleveland. Still, he may be a solid short-term answer with the recent news. Re-signing Conklin on a short, cheap deal would help make the arrival of Crosby a bit more palatable, after all, Conklin can play well if he's healthy. Yet, you'll need more than one oft-injured, aging right tackle to slow Crosby down. Even if you brought back Conklin, he's at best a short-term option, and worse, a spot-starter.
More: The Cleveland Browns may keep kicking Deshaun Watson's cap hit until it becomes someone else's problem
You'll need to seriously up the talent even if you bring Conklin back. He should be a stopgap, a guy you can play while a rookie figures things out. He's not the savior the team needs.
In fact, after how bad the offensive line was in 2025 and the addition of Crosby to an already stacked defensive division, the Browns are going to need to invest almost every dollar of that recently found cap space on some heavy-duty offensive linemen. Not to mention a top draft pick or two. If they hit on these additions, then the team should be safe for a few years.
That's if they hit on these additions, however. It's not a foregone conclusion that the new players will be better than what the team had prior, at least not with Andrew Berry as general manager. Since his arrival, he has whiffed on Jedrick Wills, overspent on Conklin, and failed to find any project players that could turn into a viable starting option. Let alone a Pro Bowl-caliber addition.
His best addition was Conklin, who was named to one All-Pro team. So Berry's got a tall task ahead of him to bolster this offensive line.
The trade to land Crosby makes the Browns' offseason plan of overhauling the offensive line all the more important. They can't afford to miss. Not if they truly think they can be contenders in 2026. So if the Browns fail to fortify their offensive line in the 2026 offseason, they'll be set back for years to come. Possibly resulting in a few years of below-average offensive line play.
Overhauling an entire offensive line in one offseason is tricky to begin with; doing so with two future Hall of Fame pass rushers just makes things even more dire. If Berry misses on even more offensive linemen, then this new era of Browns football could be over faster than it took to start.
More Browns News: