Browns Pivot to Travis Bell After Clowney Chooses Houston

Andrew Berry spent last week trying to land Jadeveon Clowney. He got a facility visit, expressed optimism publicly, and watched Clowney sign with the Texans instead. On Monday, Berry added free agent defensive tackle Travis Bell and waived UDFA running back TJ Harden. That's the pivot.

It's a modest move, and it's worth being honest about what it is. Bell comes in with recent UFL experience and fills a roster spot at a position that, as I noted yesterday, has no viable depth behind Maliek Collins. Collins remains out with his knee injury and still has no public return timeline. Bell isn't a solution to that problem — he's a body at a position that currently has none.

The broader picture hasn't changed. The Browns went into this offseason with one defensive tackle who played meaningful snaps in 2025, and that player is hurt. The Clowney pursuit, whatever its merits, was aimed at the edge anyway. Bell addresses interior depth in the most literal sense. Whether he can hold up if Collins misses regular-season time is a different question entirely, and training camp will start answering it soon enough.