The Cleveland Browns still have some cap space to work with since Deshaun Watson’s contract is the gift that keeps on giving this offseason. The insurance on his contract recently kicked in and cleared up another $17 million or so, which the Browns are now using a bit of to bring in some help in the secondary.
Ronnie Hickman and Grant Delpit aren’t going anywhere and should once again serve as one of the league’s better starting safety tandems, but they could use some help. According to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, some reinforcements are on the way.
Cabot shared on Wednesday that the Browns have agreed to terms with former Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars safety and special teamer Daniel Thomas.
He’ll immediately slot in as a do-it-all weapon on special teams with over 1,400 career snaps on special teams.
“The Browns have agreed to terms with former Lions and Jaguars safety and special teams ace Daniel Thomas, as @MaryKayCabot reported. Thomas, 27, played 233 special teams snaps for Detroit last season, which was fourth most on the team,” Oyefusi posted on X.
#Browns have agreed to terms with former Lions and Jaguar (S and Special Teamer) Daniel Thomas, source tells clevelanddotcom.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) March 18, 2026
Financial terms have yet to be disclosed, but it’ll likely be a one-year deal for a nominal amount of money. Last season with Detroit, he racked up 23 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup in his time playing safety, and it will be interesting to see if new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg taps into that ability even more and utilizes him on defense more than his previous teams did.
Thomas typically plays everywhere on special teams except for the field goal unit, so he’ll be a legitimate weapon added to this roster. Cleveland’s offense was so bad last season that it was easy to gloss over the fact that it also had one of the worst special teams units in the NFL, so it’s encouraging to see the front office fully commit to overhauling that aspect of the team.
The depth at safety is the wild card with this signing because the safety room behind Delpit and Hickman is completely up in the air.
Thomas showed signs of progress last year during an injury-riddled season for the Lions’ defense and will now have an opportunity to build on that progress and make big improvements in 2026, just like many are hoping to see from some other members of this defense.
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