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Browns release Ogbo Okoronkwo; announce eight open training camp dates

The statement “a team can never have too many pass rushers” does not apply to the 2025 Browns.

The Browns on June 26 released defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo with one year remaining on his contract. They also signed kicker Andre Szmyt.

Okoronkwo signed with the Browns as an unrestricted free agent in 2023 — the first year Jim Schwartz was the team’s defensive coordinator. Okoronkwo, who played three years with the Raiders and one with the Texans before signing with the Browns, had 4.5 sacks and made 31 tackles in 14 games in 2023. He played in 16 games with five starts last year and registered three sacks and 23 tackles.

Okoronkwo, 30, was scheduled to make $2.235 million in 2025. Releasing him now gives him the chance to latch on with another team before training camps start next month.

“Love to the Land!” Okoronkwo posted on his X account.

The Browns did not draft a defensive end in 2025, but they did sign former Buccaneers first-round pick Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in free agency. Tryon-Shoyinka registered 15 career sacks and 138 tackles in four seasons with Tampa Bay. He played in 15 games with 11 starts last year and posted two sacks with 24 tackles.

Also, Alex Wright is expected to be 100% by the start of training camp. Wright suffered a torn triceps in the fifth game last year and missed the rest of the season. The 2022 third-round draft pick from Alabama-Birmingham posted five sacks and made 25 tackles in 2023.

Szmyt is officially in his first NFL season out of Syracuse. Originally signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2023, Szmyt spent part of 2024 on the Browns’ practice squad and was a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL. He was with the Browns during minicamp earlier this month.

The Browns are confident Dustin Hopkins will have a bounceback season. After hitting 33 of 36 field goal tries in 2023, he made only 18 of 27 last season. The 66.7% success rate was the lowest of his 10-year career.

“With any player, it’s a new season,” special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone said during minicamp. “Everything that you’ve done in the past, obviously those things contribute and matter, but we’re starting with a clean slate.

“I feel like he’s in a good space mentally. He’s hit the ball well in the spring to this point. We’re just going to keep working it like we have and understand that it’s a process.”

Szmyt provides a safety net if Hopkins falters.

• Only eight training camp practices will be open to the public this summer. None will be open after Aug. 4. Eight isn’t many compared to when training camp was held at Lakeland Community College in the 1980s, but it is still an uptick from last year when only six were open to fans.

Here are the dates and times for the open practices this year at the training complex located at 76 Lou Groza Boulevard in Berea:

July 25, 2 p.m.; July 26, 9:30 a.m.; July 28, 2 p.m.; July 29, 2 p.m.; July 30, 9:30 a.m.; Aug. 1, 2 p.m.; Aug. 2, 9:30 a.m. and Aug. 4, 2 p.m.

Tickets are free and will be available to the public beginning July 3 at 10 a.m. Browns Season Ticket Members will have an advanced 24-hour window to reserve their tickets July 2. Each account is limited to four tickets to one individual session and cannot be claimed for multiple sessions. To reserve training camp tickets, go to clevelandbrowns.com and click on “Tickets.”