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Report: Former Bills DE A.J. Epenesa signing with Cleveland Browns

Danby: Daniel Hager03/18/26DanielHagerOn3

Former Buffalo Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa is signing a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday night.

Epenesa, who was selected with the No. 54 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Bills, had spent his entire six-year career in Buffalo. Across that span, the Iowa alum recorded 135 tackles, 29 TFL, 24.0 sacks, and 17 pass deflections.

The former Bill joins a Cleveland Browns organization coming off a 5-12 campaign. This offseason, they hired former Baltimore Ravens DC Todd Monken as their new head coach.

“Perseverance, because it’s hard,” Monken responded when asked about turning around an NFL team at his introductory press conference. “I mean, winning’s hard. I mean, it is hard, but the reward is unbelievable. And that’s what was fun about the thoughts of being the head coach here. I mean, if you like a challenge, let’s go. Let’s get this to where we’re the standard.

“And the time is now; the timing is now. It’s hard, it’s perseverance, mental toughness, surrounding yourself with the right people, staffing, and then player-wise, that want to run into that smoke. Because not everybody wants to run in that smoke. Not everybody wants to look at it like it’s 4th & 1 every day. And it is, it’s fourth-and-one every day.”

Monkey replaced former head coach Kevin Stefanski, who led the Cleveland Browns from 2020-2025. Under his guidance, Cleveland posted a 45-56 record and made two postseason appearances. Stefanski even earned NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2020 and 2023. Following this past season, however, the decision was made to move on from Stefanski in favor of Monken.

Epenesa joins a Browns defense that ranked fourth in the NFL in yards allowed per game (283.6 YPG) and 14th in points allowed per game (22.3). Led by future Hall of Fame defensive end Myles Garrett, Cleveland was considered one of the most dominant defenses in football last season. Due to a lack of offense, however, the Browns finished with a 5-12 record.

Led by Monken, Cleveland is seeking a return to the postseason. The addition of Epenesa will go a long way in ensuring the Browns, once again, boast one of the best defenses in the NFL. Whether or not their offense will show improvement this year, however, is yet to be seen.