Browns lose DE Alex Wright for the season to a ruptured Achilles, sign Derek Barnett
Cleveland placed starting defensive end Alex Wright on season-ending injured reserve after he tore his Achilles in practice, and turned to veteran DE Derek Barnett to help fill the pass-rush void.
The Cleveland Browns' search for a pass rush took a significant hit Sunday morning, as starting defensive end Alex Wright was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a ruptured Achilles, and the team moved quickly to sign veteran Derek Barnett.
Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter): ESPN sources: The Browns are placing starting DE Alex Wright on season-ending injured reserve with a ruptured Achilles, and they now will sign former first-round pick DE Derek Barnett. Wright was carted off the practice field Thursday after getting hurt during a one-on-one drill with Bills OT Spencer Brown. Tests later revealed a season-ending ruptured Achilles.
Wright was carted off the practice field Thursday after being hurt during a one-on-one drill against Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown, and follow-up tests confirmed the torn Achilles that will end his 2026 season. The 2022 third-round pick had been a fixture in Cleveland's edge rotation and was expected to take on a larger role this year.
Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter): The Browns already had been looking for pass rush help before the Alex Wright injury, bringing in Jadeveon Clowney and Za’Darius Smith, but both signed elsewhere. Now, with the need even more pressing, they land former Eagles and Texans DE Derek Barnett.
Barnett, the former Eagles and Texans defensive end and a 2017 first-round pick, becomes the latest addition to a defensive front that was already thin at edge. Cleveland had kicked the tires on Jadeveon Clowney and Za'Darius Smith earlier in the process, but both landed elsewhere, leaving Barnett as the answer once Wright went down. Head coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff now have to reshape the edge plan with the regular season less than three weeks out.