The disrespect train keeps rolling for the Cleveland Browns, and Bleacher Report just added another car to it.
The outlet released their hot, cold, and mild start predictions for every NFL team after the schedule release, and their verdict on Cleveland was about as cold as it gets. Literally.
“Cleveland Browns: Cold. The Cleveland Browns have long been a tomato can in the AFC North, and if the early part of the schedule is any indication, the team should try to work a sponsorship deal with Hunt’s. The Browns are already a touchdown underdog against the Jaguars on the road in Week 1, and after that comes another game in Florida against the Buccaneers before hosting two playoff teams in the Carolina Panthers and Steelers,” Davenport wrote.
The opening schedule concern is a legitimate one and worth acknowledging honestly. Two road games in Florida to start the year followed by home matchups against Carolina and Pittsburgh is not a soft opening stretch by any measure. The Jaguars went 13-4 last season, which Todd Monken himself pointed out when he said the challenge would be fun. Tampa Bay has won the NFC South four of the last five years.
But calling the Browns a tomato can in 2026 ignores virtually everything that has happened to this roster over the past several months. The offensive line that was a disaster last season has been completely rebuilt around Spencer Fano. The receiver room that had nothing for Shedeur Sanders to work with now features KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, and Jerry Jeudy. The defense that was already dangerous with Myles Garrett and Carson Schwesinger is adding Emmanuel McNeil-Warren to a secondary that is getting younger and more athletic.
A cold start is absolutely possible. The first month of this schedule is genuinely difficult, and a young offense learning a new system under a first-year head coach is not going to look polished in week one. That is just reality.
But a tomato can? A sponsorship deal with ketchup?
The Browns have been disrespected in every power ranking, every prediction, and every national piece written about them since the schedule dropped. The only place that gets answered is between the lines on Sunday afternoons starting in September.
Week one against Jacksonville is circled. The chips are on the table. Time to play football.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals One Bad Thing About Browns' Schedule
