The Cleveland Browns signed defensive end Benton Whitley, the team announced, adding a 6-4, 255-pound edge prospect who will wear No. 61 in Cleveland. Whitley joins the Browns in his third NFL season after brief stops with multiple organizations.
Whitley played his college football at Holy Cross and entered the league when the Los Angeles Rams signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He has appeared in six career games and logged game work with the Vikings in 2023 and the Giants during the 2023-24 period, and he spent time last season on Tampa Bay's practice squad.
The signing gives Cleveland another defensive-line option on its roster and brings a player with recent NFL game experience across several clubs. At 6-4 and 255 pounds, Whitley fits the physical profile of an edge player the Browns can develop behind their established rotation.
Whitley’s résumé is short on game tape. Despite entering his third NFL season, he has just six career appearances — a limited sample that makes it hard to project immediate impact. That small body of work is the clearest constraint on how quickly he can factor into meaningful snaps.
Practically, the move supplies the Browns with depth and a developmental candidate who has cycled through the Rams, Vikings, Giants and Buccaneers organizations. The club also confirmed Whitley will wear No. 61, a detail the team included in its announcement.
The club did not disclose whether Whitley will be active for Cleveland’s next game or how the coaching staff plans to use him within the defensive-line rotation. The signing itself is final; his role and availability have not been assigned.
The single consequential unanswered question now is clear: will the Browns activate Whitley for game duty and, if so, where will he fit on the defensive front? His limited in-game experience makes that the key factor determining whether this signing is a short-term depth move or the start of a longer-term carve-out into the rotation.
