The Browns kick off their real offseason work next week at the draft combine. That’s when they dive into figuring out who’s actually out there on the free-agent and trade markets and what it’ll take to land some real upgrades.

Fixing the offence sits at the top of the to-do list. And sure, that starts with making a call at quarterback because it’s always about the quarterback in Cleveland. But honestly, the problems run deeper than just who lines up under centre. Shedeur Sanders, the guy with the job last year, probably got a raw deal. He played behind an offensive line held together with duct tape, lost his star running back Quinshon Judkins to a season-ending injury, and threw to receivers who were either too green or just didn’t seem to care.

Jerry Jeudy stands out among that last group. The Browns brought him in from Denver, paid him a fat three-year, $52.5 million contract, and watched him put up 1,229 yards in 2024. Then, in 2025, his game just collapsed. The effort and discipline disappeared.

The Browns can’t just cut Jeudy loose right now, so the hope is they can straighten him out and get him back to what he was; even a little closer to that would go a long way, no matter who wins the quarterback job.

That job fixing Jeudy falls to the new wide receivers coach, Christian Jones. Dan Labbe at Cleveland.com pointed out that Jeudy’s 12 drops and that ugly 18.8% drop rate last year don’t match up with the rest of his career. Maybe 2024 was the real Jeudy, and 2025 was just a bad year. Either way, Jones has to figure out what went wrong and fix it.

Jones isn’t new to the Browns. He started as the tight ends coach last year, then Todd Monken moved him over to receivers, a rare move, considering most of the offensive staff turned over. Jones worked with the Giants as a quarterbacks coach for the last couple of years, and before that, he helped coach receivers in Minnesota. He knows what it looks like when guys like Justin Jefferson or Adam Thielen are locked in.

The Browns don’t need another Jefferson, though adding some new blood at receiver is almost a sure thing in this draft. They’ve got young guys, Isaiah Bond, Malachi Corley, and Gauge Larvadain, brought in last year, and Jones will have to get them ready. Still, it starts at the top. They need Jeudy to show up, play hard, and set the tone. If he doesn’t, none of the other moves will matter much. 

The Detroit Lions just watched two big pieces of their defence, Alex Anzalone and DJ Reader, hit free agency. Their contracts were officially voided this week, and now the team’s dealing with a bigger cap headache.

It’s not just a little setback, either. SI.com’s John Maakaron pointed out that the voided deals for Anzalone and Reader tack on another $4.9 million in dead cap for 2026. Altogether, the Lions are staring down $9.2 million in dead money for this upcoming season. That’s a tough pill to swallow, and it definitely makes the team’s decisions about both players a lot more complicated.

Even with the cap hit already locked in, the Lions could still try to bring Anzalone and Reader back. Starting March 9, during the legal tampering period, both guys can sit down with GM Brad Holmes and talk about new deals, assuming everyone’s interested.

But honestly, it’s starting to look like Alex Anzalone’s time in Detroit might be over. Greg Auman at Fox Sports thinks he’ll follow former Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to the New York Jets. Anzalone’s been a staple in the middle of Detroit’s defence for five years, usually racking up around 14 starts and 98 tackles a season, and he’s done it for a pretty reasonable $6 million a year. But if Glenn really wants his old guys, and the Jets are calling, that might be all she wrote for Anzalone in Detroit.

There’s more. Zack Rosenblatt from The Athletic said on “Jets Final Drive” that the Jets are “actively” looking for players who already get Aaron Glenn’s style, guys like Anzalone and cornerback Amik Robertson. So that’s another sign the Jets are circling.

And things got even messier this week when Anzalone got into it with the Lions’ social media team. SI.com’s Christian Booher said Anzalone called out the team for leaving out his career-high nine pass breakups in a Valentine’s Day video that highlighted defensive plays, but none of his made the cut. He even pointed out that other free agents got featured, while he didn’t. He posted about it, then ended up deleting the comment, but you get the sense he wasn’t thrilled.

All signs are pointing to some big changes for Detroit’s defence and possibly a new home for Anzalone.