The Cleveland Browns know their opponents. All they’re waiting for is the order in which they will actually play them.

That knowledge will start to come out this week, capped by the full schedule release on Wednesday, May 14. It will be at 8 p.m., with both ESPN and the NFL Network producing live broadcasts to discuss the schedule.

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Coming off a 3-14 season, the Browns aren’t likely to be as hot a commodity as a year ago, when they were initially scheduled for four national prime time games, but flexed out of two of those in December. With a trip to London on the schedule, how many other national TV windows do they find themselves in for 2025?

Here’s what we know about the 2025 NFL schedule release date:

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Browns 2025 schedule: What we know so far

The Browns will be playing a “home game” in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That game is going to be in October, with Week 5 — Oct. 5 — seen as the most likely date.

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The Minnesota Vikings have most recently emerged as the likely opponent for the game. The San Francisco 49ers are another team mentioned.

The Browns will play the AFC East and NFC North, plus the last-place teams from the NFC West, AFC West and AFC South, along with their fellow AFC North teams twice. One home opponent will be played in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Home games: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans

Road games: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders

Browns strength of schedule

The Browns’ 2025 opponents had a .519 winning percentage last season, ranking their schedule tied for 13th in the 32-team league. That makes their schedule the third toughest in the division, as the Ravens’ schedule is No. 9 in strength of opponent, the Steelers’ is 10th and the Bengals’ is 14th.

Browns prime time games

Teams can play a maximum of six prime time games, although they can be flexed to a seventh in Weeks 12-17. Last year, the Browns were featured on prime time twice: A Week 12 “Thursday Night Football” game at home against the Steelers and a Week 13 “Monday Night Football” game on the road at the Denver Broncos. However, they were also the first team to be flexed off a “Thursday Night Football” game in Week 16 at the Bengals, then were flexed out of the ensuing week’s “Sunday Night Football” game against the Dolphins.

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The AFC North opponents always seem to get Cleveland one “Thursday Night Football” appearance, even coming off a sub-par season. The Browns won’t be in “prime time,” but are assured of a national television spot with the game in London.

Browns predictions, picks: How many games will Cleveland win?

The early over-under on wins, as set by Betmgm.com, has Cleveland at 4.5, which would actually signal an improvement over the 3-14 record they had last season. That pegs them to finish last in the AFC North, as Baltimore is at 11.5 games, Cincinnati is at 9.5 wins and Pittsburgh is at 8.5

Baltimore, Buffalo, Kansas City and Philadelphia have an over-under of 11.5 wins, the best in the league. The Browns’ win total has them projected to be the worst team in the league.

What do Browns want to see on 2025 schedule?

The Browns have opened at home the last two seasons, but an AFC North home game in Week 1 wouldn’t be an attractive way to get it started. After finishing on the road each of the last three seasons, the traditional AFC North season finale feels like it will be in Cleveland this season.

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The London game, likely but not 100% the Vikings in Week 5 on Oct. 5, creates an interesting bye week conundrum. Do they take the bye week early, in Week 6, after coming back from across the Atlantic Ocean, or do they pass on that option and hope to get one more toward the middle-to-late portion of the schedule?

As for when the Browns would want to see opponents, Miami coming to Cleveland in December is up there, although the Dolphins played there last December. Avoiding a trip to Chicago in December would be nice as well.

Cleveland Browns tickets

Looking to buy Browns tickets for 2025? We’ve got you covered:

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Buy Cleveland Browns tickets for 2025

When is Browns schedule release?

The Browns’ schedule will be released at 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 14. Both ESPN and NFL Network are planning multi-hour shows around the release.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns schedule 2025: Record predictions, opponents