The Cleveland Browns saw Kevin Stefanski and the Atlanta Falcons swipe Za’Darius Smith from them, and here’s the pivot they must make.
It looked like the Cleveland Browns had landed Za’Darius Smith. Then they didn’t get him. So here is the immediate pivot the Browns must make after Kevin Stefanski’s Falcons swiped Smith from them.
It’s a weird world in the NFL. The 33-year-old Smith clunked around to five different teams over the course of five years. He announced his retirement in the middle of last season. And then this year, he’s the object of a bidding war between desperate teams. Doesn’t that leave you shaking your head?
The Falcons needed him because of the Jalon Walker injury and the James Pearce Jr. suspension. The Browns could have used the help because they traded all-world edge rusher Myles Garrett.
So what do the Browns do now?
Currently, the Browns are rolling with Jared Verse on one side and Alex Wright on the other. Isaiah McGuire and Julian Okwara are depth pieces. But the Browns could still use a veteran to provide pressure on the quarterback, at least in a rotational role.
The answer to the question depends on what the Browns are trying to accomplish in 2026. Are they going to try to be a playoff contender for as long as they possibly can? Or are they going to treat 2026 as a rebuilding year? The direction matters in the free-agent pursuit.
If they’re serious about making a little playoff noise at least into the middle of the season, they need to chase Joey Bosa. It might be easier said than done. If Bosa decides to play this year, it seems like to be with the 49ers.
It doesn’t seem likely Bosa would want to play with a going-nowhere team like the Browns. Still, the Browns should kick the tires.
Another avenue to explore would be Haason Reddick. He has played with three different teams over the last three years. He might be willing to play even without the carrot stick of the postseason.
Reddick is 31 years old, but he started 12 games for the Buccaneers last season. However, he wasn’t very productive with only 2.5 sacks. And that number may be part of an overall decline. His Pro Football Focus overall grade of 57.2 last season put him at No. 95 among 115 qualified edge rushers. It was deflated somewhat by being one of the bottom 10 run defenders in the NFL at the position.
Perhaps the best option is Kyle Van Noy. He’s a 12-year veteran just two years removed from a 12.5-sack season and his first-ever Pro Bowl honor. Van Noy played for the Ravens the last three seasons, so he knows the division.
Van Noy has endured a challenging personal journey that he opened up about on The Players’ Tribune. He said it had to do with being put up for adoption in the early 1990s.
“There will always be a part of me that feels like I don’t belong, if that makes sense,” Van Noy said. “Like I do and I don’t, as weird as that sounds. So even in that supportive setting I grew up in, with a family that loves me, there’s still this feeling of abandonment, of something being missing for me, of not fully belonging.
“I feel like that’s always around for me. And it always has been. Now, mind you, it’s in the background. It’s not something that I think about every day, or all the time. It just pops into my mind every once in a while.”
Van Noy could give the Browns a veteran presence to steady the edge rusher position.
It looked like the Cleveland Browns had landed Za’Darius Smith. Then they didn’t get him. So here is the immediate pivot the Browns must make after Kevin Stefanski’s Falcons swiped Smith from them. It’s a weird world in the NFL. The 33-year-old Smith clunked around to five different teams over the course of five years.
