The Browns fortified their defensive line even more Thursday with the signing of veteran defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson.
Richardson, 28, is coming off a season with the Vikings in which he amassed 4.5 sacks and 49 tackles in 16 starts. He was at the center of the NFL's second-best rush defense, which allowed just 83.6 yards per game.
Richardson is the second Pro Bowl defensive lineman added to Cleveland's roster in as many days, joining Giants defensive end Olivier Vernon, who was acquired in a trade Wednesday.
"He's an interior three-technique pass rusher. Ultra competitive, very prideful and is a force to be reckoned with within the inside," Browns general manager John Dorsey said. "In football today, if you can have an interior pass rusher to apply pressure to the quarterback, that helps. He's got some of that ability to do that."
Richardson, a former first-round pick by the New York Jets out of Missouri, has made 87 starts over six seasons, earning the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013 and making the Pro Bowl in 2014. He amassed a career-high 78 tackles as a rookie and had his best sack total in 2014, compiling eight to go along with 67 tackles, a safety and a forced fumble.
After four seasons with the Jets, Richardson joined the Seahawks in 2017, starting all 15 of the games in which he appeared. He had 44 tackles, a sack and his first career interception.
