Cleveland Browns Waive Tight End Wright, Add Barnett to Defense in Historic Move
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TE to go from Browns to LSU in historic twist The Browns are waiving tight end Dae'Quan Wright, who has an agreement in place for the 2026 season to play for LSU if he clears waivers, agents Drew Rosenhaus and Kyle Lincoln told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
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Bleacher ReportFormer Ole Miss tight end Dae'Quan Wright—who recently entered the NCAA transfer portal—has been released by the Cleveland Browns, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
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According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Browns defensive end Alex Wright will be placed on season-ending injured reserve after suffering a torn Achilles this past week. Cleveland reportedly will sign veteran defensive end and former first-round pick Derek Barnett to a one-year deal worth up to $5.5 million, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
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ESPNSources: Browns starting DE Wright out for year The Browns are placing starting defensive end Alex Wright on season-ending injured reserve with a ruptured Achilles, and now will sign veteran defensive end Derek Barnett.
Reuters SportsBrowns place DE Alex Wright on IR, add Derek Barnett - Reuters Browns place DE Alex Wright on IR, add Derek Barnett Reuters
Yahoo SportsBarnett spent the past three seasons with the Houston Texans. He is expected to challenge for a starting job now that defensive Alex Wright has been lost for the season due to a ruptured left Achilles tendon injury. Wright suffered the injury during a joint-practice session with the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, and the injury was confirmed over the weekend.
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The addition of Barnett is a nice band-aid, though. Barnett is a former first-round pick (No. 14 overall) of the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2017. He recorded 21 total stops with 13 solo tackles and five sacks last season with the Texans. Prior to that, he also had five sacks and two forced fumbles in 2024 with Houston. He has recorded at least five sacks in four of his nine NFL seasons.
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Bleacher ReportThe No. 14 pick in the 2017 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, Barnett won a Super Bowl title in his rookie year. He spent the last two-plus seasons with the Houston Texans after being claimed off waivers in 2023. He appeared in all 17 games in 2025 and produced 21 tackles and five sacks.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Yahoo Sports Alex Wright Lost for the Season Due to Achilles Rupture Initially, it was believed Wright had suffered a left calf injury, which would have been problematic, but obviously is nowhere near as severe as a torn Achilles tendon. Now, the starting defensive end will undergo an extensive rehabilitation process, while further weakening what was already shaping up to be a mediocre defense.
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02 Bleacher Report Schefter reported Sunday that Cleveland is waiving the tight end, who will join LSU if he clears NFL waivers.
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Sources (4)
- bleacherreport
- espn
- reuters-sports
- yahoosports