The Cleveland Browns set a franchise record in 2025 by posting 53 sacks.
That number was supported by defensive end Myles Garrett’s NFL-record 53 sacks, but he was not the only one terrorizing quarterbacks. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins had a career-high 6.5 sacks, while defensive ends Alex Wright, Cameron Thomas, and Isaiah McGuire combined for 10.
It wasn’t all about the sacks, of course, as the primary players along the defensive line also posted 74 tackles for loss.
The only defensive lineman
scheduled to be a free agent is Shelby Harris, who has played in 48 games during his three seasons with the Browns. While Harris may be open to staying with the Browns, he is going to be 35 when the season starts, and general manager Andrew Berry may want to inject some new blood into the unit.
If that is the case, a name to watch could be Christian Wilkins, a player whom Berry has expressed interest in previously, but who also comes with his share of baggage.
A six-year veteran, Wilkins had not played since Week 5 of the 2024 season, when he was with the Las Vegas Raiders, his first year with the team after signing a four-year, $110 million extension.
Wilkins fractured his foot five weeks into the 2024 season and missed the rest of the campaign. The Raiders wanted him to undergo surgery, but Wilkins was not on board with that idea, which led the Raiders to release him just before the start of training camp in 2025.
When healthy, Wilkins can be a solid part of a team’s defensive line rotation. He spent five seasons with the Miami Dolphins after being selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and posted 355 tackles, 43 tackles for loss, and 20.5 sacks while playing in 81 games.
But he is now two years removed from his best season and has played in only those five games since the beginning of the 2024 season.
Once Berry fixates on a player, he never closes the door, so it seems likely that he will at least “kick the tires” to see how Wilkins’ foot is healing and how motivated he still is after missing so much time.
If everything checks out, it would not be surprising to see Berry try to get Wilkins on board with a short-term contract to provide some support for Graham and Collins, and to see if playing on the same line as Garrett can get Wilkins back to the form he flashed in 2023.
What say you, Browns fans? Any interest in Christian Wilkins, especially if it is one of those popular “low-risk, high-reward” contracts? Get the conversation started in the comments!
