{"id":845051,"date":"2026-03-31T15:01:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/845051\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T15:01:34","slug":"browns-gm-andrew-berry-breaks-down-clevelands-offensive-lines-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/845051\/","title":{"rendered":"Browns GM Andrew Berry Breaks Down Cleveland’s Offensive Line\u2019s Overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Browns began their offseason with the offensive line among the club’s top priorities.<\/p>\n

So far, the team has delivered on sweeping changes. The Browns moved on from former starters Ethan Pocic, Wyatt Teller and Jack Conklin. Tackles Cam Robinson and Cornelius Lucas are also gone, along with backup center Justin Osborne. Joel Bitonio\u2019s situation is still TBD, though a comeback feels unlikely at this stage.<\/p>\n

New arrivals include Tytus Howard, acquired through a trade with the Texans, plus free agency signings Elgton Jenkins and Zion Johnson. Teven Jenkins was re-signed<\/a>. Dawand Jones has recently posted updates on his progress while coming back from a season-ending injury from last September.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, how\u2019s the Browns\u2019 offensive line going to look like in 2026?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what general manager Andrew Berry told reporters from the owners\u2019 meetings in Phoenix on the unit:<\/p>\n

Most Positions Are Still To Be Determined<\/p>\n

Berry emphasized the versatility of the current O-line group, underscoring how Elgton Jenkins and Howard in particular can line up at different spots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cParticularly with Elgton and Tytus. Both of those guys are players that can play at a quality starting level at most positions across the offensive line.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Jenkins\u2019 case, Cleveland sees him mostly as an interior lineman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s TBD. You know, he can play center, he can play guard. That\u2019s something we\u2019re gonna sort out as we get, I guess a little bit further through the acquisition season. I mean, this is a guy who has played starting level snaps at left tackle, right tackle, left guard, center. He can really do it all. We would view him more as an interior player, that is what we think is more his natural home. Whether its center or whether its guard, we\u2019ll work through that as we put together the position group in the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Browns Might Already Have Their Left Tackle on Roster<\/p>\n

A number of observers have insisted that Cleveland will aim for a left tackle at the top of the order of the 2026 NFL Draft, but Berry seemed to dispel the notion that the team is focused on that one position, explaining that the Browns already have some options.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say between Dawand, Tytus is obviously played there before, was a college left tackle, we have KT, [Leveston] so we do have options there.”<\/p>\n

As for the possiblity of Jones moving inside, Berry was quick to discard it stating: \u201cWe view him as a tackle. “<\/p>\n

One O-Line Position Does Seem Set<\/p>\n

At least one starting position could already have an owner, as Berry sounded confident in Johnson holding one of the guard spots while discussing the center vacancy. <\/p>\n

“It really depends on the competition at really one of the other guard spots opposite Zion. Obviously, we have Elgton, re-signed Teven. Zak [Zinter] and Luke [Wypler], they\u2019re guys that are gonna have greater opportunity now that those vets are gone. So it\u2019s really where we would be looking for the best. Zak\u2019s most natural position is guard. He can do both.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Update on Joel Bitonio?<\/p>\n

Berry confirmed that the team wasn’t going to pressure Bitonio<\/a> into making a decision.<\/p>\n

“Joel\u2019s gonna take the time that he needs to make the decision for the next step in his career, and he should. It\u2019s a pretty big life decision for him. I don\u2019t think we can operate under the assumption that he\u2019s definitely coming back, \u2018cause he hasn\u2019t said that. I do think that there\u2019s a little bit of an indefinite time period for Joel where he\u2019s gonna make a decision, \u2018cause it’s a major one for a person. We can respect that and appreciate it…<\/p>\n

“The door\u2019s always open for good players and certainly players who\u2019ve done as much as what Joel\u2019s done for the organization.”<\/p>\n

What Should We Expect From the Browns Come Draft Day?<\/p>\n

Berry believes the Browns have done enough to be in a position where the team doesn’t have to focus on just one spot. <\/p>\n

“We feel good that if he had to line up today and play, that we could with that group of linemen. But it certainly doesn\u2019t pigeonhole you into anything as you get to draft weekend.\u00a0“<\/p>\n

And to this end, Berry warned the team has met with multiple linemen on official visits, even if the reports that are circulating only have one at the moment, offensive tackle Markel Bell from Miami. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve actually had a lot\u201d, said Berry with a grin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cleveland Browns began their offseason with the offensive line among the club’s top priorities. So far, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-845051","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116324393935431833","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}