Every year, the Cleveland Browns have at least one former player, coach or affiliate play in the Super Bowl. Outlined below are players, coaches or front office personnel who are former members of the New England Patriots or Seattle Seahawks Browns. The brackets represent their time span in Cleveland.
At the end of this article, we’ll take a quick look at the Browns’ roster composition once the season ends.
new england patriots former browns player
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QB Josh Dobbs (2022, 2023) – The Patriots don’t really need him this season, but if something happens Derek Meyerthe spotlight was suddenly on the veteran quarterback, who spent one year as a backup in Cleveland before re-signing and being traded the following year. He never actually played a regular season game for Cleveland.
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RB Ernest Johnson (2019-2022) – Another former undrafted player, Johnson appears ready for better days after his time in Cleveland. However, his role has been stagnant since leaving the Browns. Still, he’s technically a member of the Patriots’ practice squad but has been called up as a returner for the Patriots in the past two playoff games.
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TE Austin Hooper (2020-2021) – Hooper was one of the Patriots’ backup tight ends this season, catching 21 passes for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns in the regular season. He has one catch for 14 yards this postseason.
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Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Elliot Wolf (2018-2019) – He was the assistant general manager of the Browns John Dorsey. He has been with the Patriots since leaving Cleveland and was essentially considered the Patriots’ general manager after leaving Cleveland bill belichick Leaving in 2024.
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Senior HR Director Alonzo Highsmith (2018-2019) – He was the Browns’ vice president of player personnel and was essentially tied to Wolfe, as the two were linked for most of their careers.
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head coach Mike Vrabel (2024) – After ending his tenure as Titans head coach in 2023, Vrabel serves as Browns coach and personnel advisor in 2024. Now, he’s the Associated Press Coach of the Year and trying to win a Super Bowl.
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quarterback coach Ashton Grant (2020-2024) – In 2020-2021, Grant was the first Browns recipient of Coach Bill Walsh’s scholarship. From 2021-2022, he was promoted to offensive quality control coach, and then from 2023-2024, he was promoted to offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach.
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Tight End/Passing Game Coordinator Thomas Brown (2009-2010) – I don’t remember Brown, but apparently he was a running back that Cleveland signed with them in 2009 before being called up for one final regular season game. He was fired in the 2010 offseason but had a successful coaching career.
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cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton (2006) – I do remember Hamilton! Mainly because he was a draft pick (seventh round in 2006). However, he only stayed with the team for one year.
seattle seahawks former browns player
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wide receivers coach Freeman Jackson (2002-2006) – What a road it was for Jackson, the former undrafted Browns member, to earn a Super Bowl ring. During his time in Cleveland, he stuck around for a while, but always in a role that fans thought, “Man, it would be cool to see him in a bigger role.”
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safety coach Jeff Howard (2020-2022) – He is Kevin Stefanski’s He was on the original staff when he was here as the Browns’ defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator.
Browns roster breakdown by year
You can view the Browns roster composition in this PDF file. Browns’ longest-tenured player is OG Joel Bitonio Beginning with the 2014 season, followed by DE Myles Garrett and TE David Njoku Starting in 2017. You can see how many first-year players the 2025 team has.
