The Cleveland Browns will have several tough decisions to make over the next few days as the organization addresses its salary cap issues.
Cleveland officially met the league’s salary threshold entering the 2025 NFL season as the team restructured Deshaun Watson’s contract yet again.
The organization also shed some of its contracts, and another player is now expected to part ways with the Browns during the offseason, NFL insider Ian Rapoport said.
The insider revealed that Cleveland will not re-sign defensive player James Houston, allowing him to become a free agent next week.
“The Browns are not tendering pass-rusher James Houston, who they had claimed this past season from the Lions. He has flashed, especially when he had eight sacks as a rookie,” Rapoport said.
The defender played only three games for the Browns last year after Cleveland acquired him off waivers.
Houston entered the league in 2022, going to the Detroit Lions as the team’s sixth-round pick that season.
The 2022 season has served as his best to date.
Houston played in seven games during his rookie campaign, earning eight sacks and 12 tackles overall for the Lions.
He played in only two games for Detroit the following season.
Detroit waived him in 2024 after he played eight games, and Cleveland claimed him in late November.
The Browns have several players returning for the 2025 season along the defensive line, including defensive ends Myles Garrett, Sam Kamara, Isaiah McGuire, and Alex Wright.
Cleveland’s linebacker position offers a little uncertainty as Devin Bush will become a free agent next week, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s availability for the upcoming season has not yet been revealed.
