The Browns will officially begin their organized team activities (OTAs) on May 27 as the first of three light practices to take place in the final week of May. It's the first time in the offseason that the Browns can all be on the field together, rookies and veterans included.
Attendance for OTAs is still voluntary for the next two weeks until the beginning of mandatory veteran minicamp set for June 10-12. There can be a total of 10 days of OTAs, where no live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are permitted. The Browns will hold OTAs May 27-28 and 30, and June 3-4 and June 6.
As the Browns head into the next phase of the offseason, let's take a look at some key elements to pay attention to as they prepare for the 2025 season.
First look at full quarterback competition
While all four quarterbacks have been in the building at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus – and rookie minicamp gave the first glimpses of QB Dillon Gabriel and QB Shedeur Sanders – the beginning of OTAs will be the first look at the full quarterback room.
During rookie minicamp, Gabriel and Sanders split the reps evenly, both taking reps during all periods. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said they had also added competitive periods into the script to give them as many reps as possible.
Now, the number of quarterbacks doubles but with a similar number of reps as they add Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett into the mix. However, all four will have the chance to compete throughout OTAs and showcase their individual skillsets, as well as their command of the offense.
There is still a long runway between the beginning of OTAs and the 2025 regular season, with the competition to play out over the course of the offseason, training camp and into preseason in order to fully evaluate the quarterback room. With two veterans in Flacco and Pickett and two rookies in Gabriel and Sanders, Stefanski and the coaching staff will have a full evaluation ahead of them to see who earns the starting job in Week 1 of the 2025 season.
A glimpse at Tommy Rees' style of offense
One of the major changes of the 2025 offseason came in the hiring of Tommy Rees as the new offensive coordinator after spending his first year with the Browns as the tight ends/pass game specialist.
The Browns are focused on improving their offense following a disappointing 2024 season, and Rees has played an important role in revamping the offensive scheme in the offseason. Both Rees and Stefanski believe in being sound and explosive and want to build their offense around those core traits. They want their offense to have a level of multiplicity to the scheme.
While OTAs will not feature live contact, they can still provide an early look at the offense with the additions the Browns made to the offensive line and showcase how each quarterback could fit into the offensive scheme.
Development of defensive identity
The Browns did not have as dominant of a defense in 2024 as they did in 2023 and are working to return to that high level of defensive success.
In 2024, Browns gave up an average of 342.1 total yards per game, ranked 19th in the league, with 53 touchdowns allowed. They allowed an average of 212.4 passing yards per game – 12th in the league – and 129.7 rushing yards per game – 21st in the league.
In order to re-create that high level of dominance in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's attack-style defense, they had some changes to their defense during the offseason. They added DT Maliek Collins, DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, DE Julian Okwara and LB Jerome Baker in free agency to their front seven, and drafted DT Mason Graham and LB Carson Schwesinger in the NFL draft. They also re-signed CB Tony Brown II and signed CB Nik Needham, S Rayshawn Jenkins and S Damontae Kazee to build out their secondary.
Those additions join a group of returning players in DE Myles Garrett, DE Ogbo Okoronkwo, DT Shelby Harris, CB Denzel Ward, CB Greg Newsome II and S Grant Delpit – all of whom were a part of the 2023 defense that led the league in numerous categories, including total defense allowed with 270.2 yards per game.
With new faces added to the group, OTAs will provide the opportunity for them to all gel as a unit and re-establish their identity as a defense on all three levels. It also gives players a chance to showcase their talent and help establish their roles in the defense.
