The 2016 season was the Cleveland Browns' 64th in the National Football League (NFL), their 68th overall and their first under head coach Hue Jackson and de facto general manager Sashi Brown. The Browns failed to improve upon their 3–13 record from their previous season, finishing 1–15, the worst record in franchise history, until it was immediately surpassed by the subsequent season's infamous 0–16 record. The Browns failed to make the playoffs for a franchise-record 14th straight season and ninth straight season with a losing record.
Despite the team's performance, offensive tackle Joe Thomas became the fifth player in league history to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons.
Offseason
Front office changes On January 3, just hours after the Browns' final game of the 2015 season, the team fired general manager Ray Farmer, who had been the general manager the past two seasons. Team owner Jimmy Haslam also announced that the team's general counsel Sashi Brown would become the team's vice president of football operations.
On January 5, the Browns hired former New York Mets executive Paul DePodesta to be their chief strategy officer. DePodesta brought over 20 years of experience in the Major League Baseball front offices, but had never held an executive position in the NFL before this.
On March 4, the Browns announced the resignation of team president Alec Scheiner, effective March 31.
Coaching changes On January 3, the Browns fired head coach Mike Pettine. In two seasons with the Browns, Pettine had a record of 10–22, but went just 4–19 after a 6–3 start to the 2014 season.
On January 13, the Browns hired former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson as head coach. Jackson was the Bengals' offensive coordinator for the past two seasons and was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011, in which they posted an 8–8 record.
Roster changes
Free agents Pos Player Tag 2016 Team Signed SS Johnson Bademosi Detroit Lions March 10 WR Travis Benjamin San Diego Chargers March 9 ILB Tank Carder Cleveland Browns March 7 K Travis Coons Cleveland Browns April 4 QB Pat Devlin FS Tashaun Gipson Jacksonville Jaguars March 9 WR Darius Jennings Cleveland Browns April 6 OLB Cam Johnson Cleveland Browns FS Don Jones Cleveland Browns March 17 C Alex Mack Atlanta Falcons March 9 DE Jamie Meder Cleveland Browns March 7 T Darrian Miller RB Raheem Mostert Cleveland Browns March 7 G Austin Pasztor Cleveland Browns April 4 WR Terrelle Pryor Cleveland Browns March 17 LB Craig Robertson New Orleans Saints March 22 T Mitchell Schwartz Kansas City Chiefs March 9 ILB Scott Solomon
Releases Pos Player Released 2016 Team Signed WR Dwayne Bowe March 16 LB Karlos Dansby March 16 Cincinnati Bengals March 29 QB Johnny Manziel March 11 SS Donte Whitner April 2 Washington Redskins October 5 WR Brian Hartline May 23
Signings Pos Player 2015 Team Signed G Alvin Bailey Seattle Seahawks March 11 LB Demario Davis New York Jets March 16QB Robert Griffin III Washington Redskins March 24 S Rahim Moore Houston Texans March 16 LB Justin Tuggle Houston Texans March 11
Draft
2016 Cleveland Browns draft Round Selection Player Position College 1 15 Corey Coleman WR Baylor 2 32 Emmanuel Ogbah DE Oklahoma State 3 65 Carl Nassib DE Penn State76 Shon Coleman T Auburn 93 Cody Kessler QB USC 4 99 Joe Schobert OLB Wisconsin 114 Ricardo Louis WR Auburn 129 Derrick Kindred FS TCU 138^ Seth DeValve TE Princeton 5 154 Jordan Payton WR UCLA 168 Spencer Drango T Baylor 172^ Rashard Higgins WR Colorado State 173^ Trey Caldwell CB Louisiana–Monroe 7 250 Scooby Wright III ILB Arizona Notes The Browns traded their original 1st round selection (No. 2) to the Philadelphia Eagles for the Eagles' 1st (8), 3rd (77), and 4th (100) round selections, as well as the Eagles' 1st round selection in 2017 and 2nd round selection in 2018. The Browns would then trade the No. 8 and its 6th round (176) selection to the Tennessee Titans for their 1st (15) and 3rd (76) round selections and a 2nd round selection in 2017. The Browns traded their 3rd (No. 77) and 5th (141) round selections to the Carolina Panthers for their 3rd (93), 4th (129), and 5th (168) round selections. The Browns traded their 4th round selection (No. 100) to the Oakland Raiders for their 4th (114) and 5th (154) round selections. The Browns traded their 7th round selection (No. 223) to the Miami Dolphins for their 7th round selection (250) and CB Jamar Taylor. ^As the result of a negative differential of free agent signings and departures that the Browns experienced during the free agency period, the team received three compensatory selections for the 2016 draft: selection 138 in the fourth round, and selections 172 and 173 in the fifth round. Free agent transactions that occurred after May 12, 2015, did not impact the team's formula for determining compensatory selections for the 2016 draft.
Josh Gordon's reinstatement and rehab On April 1, wide receiver Josh Gordon applied for reinstatement following an indefinite suspension by the NFL due to repeated violations of the league's substance abuse policy, causing him to miss the entire 2015 season. On April 11, it was revealed that Gordon had failed another drug test, and on April 12, the league announced that Gordon's appeal had been denied. He was eligible to reapply on August 1.
On July 25, the NFL announced that Gordon would be reinstated on a conditional basis, and can stay with the team during a four-game ban to begin the season.
Staff
Final roster
Preseason
Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 12 at Green Bay Packers L 11–17 0–1 Lambeau Field Recap 2 August 18 Atlanta Falcons L 13–24 0–2 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 3 August 26 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–30 0–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap 4 September 1 Chicago Bears L 7–21 0–4 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 11 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–29 0–1 Lincoln Financial Field Recap 2 September 18 Baltimore Ravens L 20–25 0–2 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 3 September 25 at Miami Dolphins L 24–30 0–3 Hard Rock Stadium Recap 4 October 2 at Washington Redskins L 20–31 0–4 FedExField Recap 5 October 9 New England Patriots L 13–33 0–5 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 6 October 16 at Tennessee Titans L 26–28 0–6 Nissan Stadium Recap 7 October 23 at Cincinnati Bengals L 17–31 0–7 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 8 October 30 New York Jets L 28–31 0–8 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 9 November 6 Dallas Cowboys L 10–35 0–9 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 10 at Baltimore Ravens L 7–28 0–10 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 11 November 20 Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–24 0–11 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 12 November 27 New York Giants L 13–27 0–12 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 13 Bye 14 December 11 Cincinnati Bengals L 10–23 0–13 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 15 December 18 at Buffalo Bills L 13–33 0–14 New Era Field Recap 16 San Diego Chargers W 20–17 1–14 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 17 January 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–27 1–15 Heinz Field Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Philadelphia Eagles
The Browns opened their 2016 regular season with a road game against the Philadelphia Eagles and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, whom the Browns had passed up in the 2016 draft. The Eagles won 29–10 and with the loss, the Browns started the season 0–1. This would be their 12th straight regular season opening loss.
Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Browns scored on their first three drives and led 20–2 early in the first quarter. The 18-point lead at the end of the first quarter was the Browns' largest lead after the 1st quarter since 1960. However, the Browns' offense stalled the rest of the game. The Ravens would score the final 23 points of the game to win 25–20. The Browns had a chance to score a go-ahead touchdown on a drive with less than a minute to play, but things went wrong after a controversial taunting penalty was called on Pryor following his catch at the Ravens' 10-yard line with under 30 seconds to play. McCown would throw an interception on the next play to seal the loss.
With the loss, the Browns fell to 0–2.
Week 3: at Miami Dolphins
Cody Kessler made his debut as the Browns' starting quarterback. The Browns led 13–10 at halftime. However, the Dolphins scored two consecutive touchdowns to go up 24–13 early in the fourth quarter. The Browns, sparked by Pryor, rallied to tie the game. The Dolphins attempted a game-winning drive in the final minute of regulation. However, Dolphins QB, Ryan Tannehill, fumbled the ball, and the Browns secured possession. The Browns had a chance to win it at the end of regulation. However, recently signed Browns kicker, Cody Parkey, missed the 46-yard field goal, sending the game to overtime. It was his third miss of the day. Both teams traded punts on their opening possession in overtime. On their second possession, the Dolphins, who got the ball around midfield to start the drive, reached the endzone after a few plays and won the game.
With the loss, the Browns fell to 0–3.
Week 4: at Washington Redskins
The Browns came to Washington for a matchup against the Redskins. The Browns had a 20–17 lead going into the fourth quarter but the offense once again stalled with a Josh Norman interception and two touchdowns by the Redskins' offense would win the game for the Redskins.
With the loss, the Browns started their season 0–4 for the first time since 2012. Wins by the Jaguars, Bears, and Saints would make the Browns the only team in the NFL without a victory through Week 4.
Week 5: vs. New England Patriots
With Tom Brady back from his four-game suspension due to his alleged role in Deflategate, the Browns hosted the Patriots. The game turned out to be a disaster for the Browns as Brady and the Pats destroyed the Browns defense.
Their second loss to New England since 2013 dropped the Browns to 0–5.
Week 6: at Tennessee Titans
With the loss, the Browns dropped to 0–6 and became the first NFL team to start 0–6 since the Oakland Raiders in 2014. It was the Browns' first 0–6 start since the 1999 season.
Week 7: at Cincinnati Bengals
With their fourth straight loss to the Bengals, the Browns started 0–7 for the first time since 1999.
Week 8: vs. New York Jets
Hoping to stop a 10-game losing streak dating back to last year, the Browns hosted the Jets in an AFC duel. The Browns led 20–7 at halftime. However, they gave up 24 unanswered points to fall behind 31–20 in the 4th quarter. They also committed two turnovers in the 4th quarter. The Browns scored late in the 4th quarter to cut the deficit to 31–28, but a comeback could not be secured as the Jets secured the onside kick, ran out the clock, and dropped the Browns to 0–8. It was only their second 0–8 start in franchise history and the first 0–8 start since the 1975 season. With the loss, the Browns failed to have a winning record for the ninth consecutive season. They also tied a franchise record (first set in between the 2011 and 2012 seasons) for most consecutive losses (11) in franchise history. They would also be the first team to start 0–8 since the 2014 Raiders.
Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Attempting to stop their 11-game losing streak, the Cleveland Browns hosted the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys routed the Browns 35–10.
With the loss, the Browns dropped to 0–9 for the first time since 1975 and clinched their ninth consecutive losing season. They also lost their 12th consecutive game, setting a new franchise record for most consecutive losses.
Week 10: at Baltimore Ravens