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The Cleveland Browns could use some veteran depth on the interior of their defensive line and Ndamukong Suh remains an option for the team.
Suh is one of the more notable names remaining on the free-agent market and would be a big addition for a Browns defensive line that lacks a veteran presence at tackle. The Browns’ 2020 third-round pick Jordan Elliott and free agent pickup Taven Bryan — a former first-round pick of the Jaguars — are penciled in to the starting roles.
Tyler Dragon of USA Today confirmed the Browns’ interest in landing Suh, with the Vikings and Raiders also eyeing the former Super Bowl champion.
“The Browns are another team interested in Ndamukong Suh, per a source. Expect Suh to sign with a club closer to the start of training camp,” Dragon tweeted. “The Vikings and Raiders are two other teams that have talked to the free agent DT.”
The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, playing an integral role on the defensive line. He started 49 contests for the Bucs over that span — not missing a game — totaling 112 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks.
Browns Retooling Defensive Tackle Position
Neither of the team’s starters from last season returned to Cleveland this offseason. Veteran Malik Jackson, 32, was on a one-year deal and didn’t have an overly impressive season in 2021 and Malik McDowell, who started at the other defensive tackle spot, was arrested in January after a bizarre naked encounter with police. He’s not expected back on the Browns and Jackson remains a free agent as well.
Despite a bit of uncertainty, the Browns have said they feel good about the defensive tackle position.
“I feel like right now as a defense, we are kind of in that stage where we are developing young talent. Jordan Elliott played for us. He is a 300-pounder. He is moving around really well,” defensive coordinator Joe Woods said at minicamp on June 1. “I think the lights are starting to come on for him. Signing Tavon Bryan, I remember evaluating him when I was at Denver, and I know he was our No. 1 defensive lineman coming out. He is the same type of guy, as I mentioned earlier with Perrion, who attacks the line of scrimmage and he is athletic for his size.
“With that combination and then you have Tommy Togiai and you have Sheldon Day – I spoke about Perrion earlier – I think between those five guys, I feel like we will have a good rotation inside”
Perrion Winfrey Expected to Play Role for Browns
The Browns are expected to get some production at the defensive tackle position from rookie Perrion Winfrey, who was named to NFL.com’s Projected All-Rookie Team.
Winfrey played two years at Iowa Western Community College and was rated as the No. 1 overall junior college recruit in the country after that stint. He landed with Oklahoma, where he became a key piece of the defensive line. He was named as a second-team All-Big 12 Conference selection last, posting 23 tackles, 11 for loss with 5.5 sacks in 12 starts.
“Even if Winfrey doesn’t win a starting job coming out of training camp, I expect the Browns to get him into the game in sub-packages regularly early in the season to attack the backfield,” Chad Reuter of NFL.com wrote. “His playing time should increase as he progresses through his rookie campaign, in which he’ll accumulate somewhere in the range of six to eight tackles for loss and three to five sacks for the year.”
Suh would be a great presence for Winfrey to learn from, so we’ll see how the Browns handle the position of need.
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