The Cleveland Browns have looked far and wide now for added veteran help on the defensive front, and search has now led them to veteran Tyus Bowser, the controversial former Ravens second-rounder who spent the first six years of his career in Baltimore before an infection and a persistent knee injury in 2023 led him to be waived and to eventually sue the NFL players union this spring for not adequately supporting him with an appeal after the injury.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday that Bowser is visiting Browns training camp for a workout. After his career with the Ravens ended, and after he missed the 2023 season, Bowser attempted a comeback and played briefly in 2024 with the Seahawks and the Dolphins.
Schefter wrote: “Veteran edge Tyus Bowser, who last played for the Miami Dolphins in 2024, worked out today for the Cleveland Browns.”
Browns Have Been Searching for Edge Help
From the Browns point of view, Bowser is a veteran with 98 games and 28 starts to his credit. While he has never been a star in the league–he was only a full-time starter once, in 2021, when he recorded 7.0 sacks–he is a solid depth option at a position where the Browns have been trying to add a piece. He did play for Baltimore, but left before new Browns coach Todd Monken became the offensive coordinator there in 2023.
The Browns had planned to sign Bills veteran edge AJ Epenesa but he did not pass the team’s physical. Epenesa signed with the Eagles in June.
Earlier this month, the Browns had also worked out star pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney, who was in Cleveland for two sometimes-rocky seasons in 2021 and 2022. The team made an offer for Clowney, but he chose to sign with the Texans, the team that made him the No. 1 pick in 2015.
Tyus Bowser Suing NFL Union
So, now it is potentially Tyus Bowser, who will need to show the Browns not only that he can still pressure quarterbacks, but that his knee is sound. It was the knee injury, which was deemed non-football related in the summer of 2023, that eventually torpedoed Bowser’s time in Baltimore and his relationship with the players association.
In his lawsuit, Bowser alleged he contracted a staph infection during treatment at the Ravens’ facility, and that the infection caused Baltimore to release him. The decision to release Bowser was supposed to go to arbitration in October 2024, according to the lawsuit filed this spring in Texas, except that the union’s lawyer postponed the hearing and eventually dropped the arbitration case without informing Bowser.
Thus, if the Browns sign Bowser in his comeback attempt, he will be in the awkward position of suing the union that is also representing him.
Browns Will Check Tyus Bowser’s Knee Closely
The important thing for the Browns there is that it was the infection, not Bowser’s chronic knee swelling, that led to his being cut by Baltimore. Bowser is 31 now, and the Browns are in the midst of a youth movement, but GM Andrew Berry said that doesn’t mean Cleveland is not looking for veterans.
“You can’t look at roster construction in a vacuum,” Berry said at the start of training camp. “Certainly, we’ve had a bit of a youth movement here, but that doesn’t necessarily mean every transaction is going to be a 24-year-old player or something along those lines. Other things come into play, the role and fit, the financial cost and how it fits into the broader construction of either the position group or the side of the ball.”
Browns Work Out Controversial Edge Rusher in Comeback Attempt