Happy Sunday, and welcome to NFL Scouting Combine week!
The annual event will once again take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, as NFL teams gather information on 319 college players during a series of interviews, medical evaluations, workouts, and drills.
There is also time for general managers and head coaches to meet with the media, so we should be hearing from Andrew Berry and Todd Monken at some point. Our own Jared Mueller will be on the ground in Indianapolis, so if you have a question that you would like Berry or Monken to answer, let Jared know at this link.
For those interested, drills for the position groups are (all times EST):
- Defensive linemen and linebackers on February 26 at 3 p.m.
- Defensive backs and tight ends on February 27 at 3 p.m.
- Quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs on February 28 at 1 p.m.
- Offensive linemen on March 1 at 1 p.m.
It will be a busy week, so be sure to check in at Dawgs By Nature early and often to find out what is happening.
For now, let’s start the day with the latest edition of the Sunday Dawg Chow.
Dawgs By Nature
- Browns: Sad news about the career of this talented LB (Thomas Moore) – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s return from a neck injury suffered in 2024 is reportedly doubtful.
- The Browns, money, and the strange geography of NFL stadiums (Thomas Moore) – The Cleveland Browns planned move to Brook Park highlights the realities of the modern NFL.
- Browns rumor: Top free agent to CLE ‘could heat up,’ ‘keep an eye on’ the Browns (Jared Mueller) – Free agency for the Cleveland Browns will be interesting with rumors likely to fly.
- Browns free agency: Newly available LB a veteran option for Cleveland? (Barry Shuck) – Cleveland Browns free agency could see a lot of lower-level moves, and linebacker Logan Wilson, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, could be among those.
- 3 free agents the Browns should pursue in NFL free agency (Abby Mueller) – The Cleveland Browns have some major roster holes that they can help repair in NFL free agency, with WR Alec Pierce being a potential fix.
- Browns NFL Draft: Miami’s Keionte Scott could be Rutenburg’s prized slot corner (Matthew Wilson) – Miami Hurricanes CB Keionte Scott could be exactly what the Browns are looking for in 2026.
- Browns history: 14 QBs ranked among top 100 in college football throughout the 2000s (Matthew Wilson) -Across the 2000s, quite a few Browns QBs cracked college football’s Top 100 players of all time at the position.
Cleveland Browns
- Myles Garrett Exclusive: Browns Star Talks All-Time Sack Record, Retirement, Shedeur Sanders (Casino Guru News) – Myles Garrett is not done breaking sack records as he also wants to break Bruce Smith’s all-time sack record of 200.
- 3 big questions as Mike Rutenberg takes over Browns’ defense (ESPN) – The Cleveland Browns accomplished a major goal in hiring former Atlanta Falcons defensive passing game coordinator Mike Rutenberg to replace Jim Schwartz as defensive coordinator: They maintained continuity.
- 5 prospects the Browns should watch closely at 2026 NFL combine (Beacon Journal) – The NFL scouting combine will get underway on Feb. 23 in Indianapolis. The event sort of symbolizes the kick-starting of the real pre-draft process for teams, with all of the college games and all-star games completed.
- What do we really know when it comes to new Browns DC Mike Rutenberg? (Terry Pluto) – Talking to myself about the Browns hiring Mike Rutenberg as their new defensive coordinator.
NFL
- How does an NFL player decide to retire? ‘I’m not done’ (ESPN) – Inside the visitors locker room at Texas Stadium, Emmitt Smith stared at his No. 22 Arizona Cardinals jersey and, through tears, said to himself: “I’m in the wrong place.”
- Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba not ‘pressed’ but believes he deserves to be highest-paid WR (NFL.com) – Seattle won Super Bowl LX with a roster built out by homegrown talent and savvy signings, leaving the Seahawks with the sixth-most cap space in the league to go along with a Lombardi Trophy heading into the offseason. As is often the case, though, the bill is set to come due — and there’s likely no larger payday on the horizon for the team than Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
- 2026 NFL Free Agency: Top landing spots for the five best safeties (Pro Football Focus) – As NFL franchises evaluate and reload their rosters this offseason, we’re identifying key pieces at each position and plugging them into teams based on scheme and usage. Here are the best fits for each of the top five free-agent safeties of the 2026 NFL offseason.
- Should the Bengals franchise tag Trey Hendrickson? (Cincy Jungle) – Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson are entering an offseason of uncertainty. After the last two offseasons have been surrounded by contract disputes, holdouts, and “bandaid” contracts, many expect the situation to reach some sort of final conclusion when the new league year begins March 11.