The Cleveland Browns’ offense has a ton of question marks heading into this season, which is going to put a little more pressure on the defense. Aside from new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg and Jared Verse replacing Myles Garrett, there is a ton of continuity on that side of the ball which will help the defense continue to be a backbone of this organization.
Verse has the tallest task of filling in for the single-season sack record holder, so he is going to need some help. Nobody can be expected to replace 23 sacks, but if Verse can continue his development and bump his production up into double digits, he will have done his job.
There are still question marks at edge rusher outside of Verse, which is why the Browns are bringing in some reinforcements. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot shared on X that Cleveland has signed Jamil Muhammad after his workout last week.
“The #Browns have signed young edge rusher Jamil Muhammad, his agent Tyler Mann tells clevelanddotcom. He worked out for the Browns last week. Signed by the #Rams as UDFA out of USC in ‘2024 and knows Jared Verse well,” said Cabot.
The #Browns have signed young edge rusher Jamil Muhammad, his agent Tyler Mann tells clevelanddotcom. He worked out for the Browns last week. Signed by the #Rams as UDFA out of USC in '2024 and knows Jared Verse well.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 19, 2026
Mann having familiarity with Verse is a good sign, and if he winds up making the team, the transition would be easier for him having his former teammate around. It will be an uphill battle for him to do so, but you never know what can happen in training camp.
The 25-year-old Muhammad has yet to make his regular season debut as he was unable to make it off the Los Angeles Rams practice squad since he was waived coming out of preseason last year. After being waived, he then re-signed to the practice squad and was once again let go in November before having a stint with the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad.
Muhammad’s best year in college was in 2023, when he had 6.5 sacks at USC. We’ll see if he can rediscover that kind of production in camp and sneak his way onto the Browns roster.
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