NFL Draft week is usually full of rumors, but light on actually tangible news. Teams aren't looking to shake up their roster with all the uncertainty ahead, typically waiting until after the draft to make any free-agent signings they haven't finalized yet.
But the Cleveland Browns apparently thought there was one opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.
On Monday, free agent cornerback Nik Needham revealed that he is signing with the Cleveland Browns. This is the kind of low-risk, high-reward signing that could really pay off.
From former #Dolphins CB Nik Needham’s IG. #Browns are signing the cornerback, who has been fighting back from a 2022 Achilles tear. pic.twitter.com/emzatXt6vK
— Chris Easterling (@ceasterlingABJ) April 21, 2025
Nik Needham Appears to Sign With the Cleveland Browns
Before the team made the deal official, Needham posted a picture of the Cleveland Browns locker room and then followed it up with a Dawg emoji on Twitter.
Needham hasn't exactly been a household name in recent years, thanks to the torn Achilles he suffered in 2022. He has yet to play a full season since then, most recently spending the 2024 season on the Dolphins' practice squad.
So the potential downside of this move is obvious. He may well simply not be the player he once was, and he's a training camp body who might fight for a practice squad spot. But that's the kind of signing a team will usually wait until after the draft to make (since a late-round rookie or undrafted free agent can fill that exact role). This signals the Browns are still intrigued by his upside.
Needham was an undrafted free agent back in 2019, and he started 27 games across his first four and a half NFL season before the injury. He had a career year in 2021, holding opposing QBs to a career-low 73.4 passer rating when targeted in coverage, and that's the kind of form Cleveland will hope he can return to.
It's also easy to see why the Browns like Needham's physical tools on the outside, as he checks in at 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds — which compares more closely to Martin Emerson than Denzel Ward.
In all likelihood, this is going to be a cheap, one-year contract without much guaranteed money. If Needham can regain some of the form that made him look so promising back in 2021, he would prove to be an absolute steal. And if he can't, it won't cost the Browns much to simply cut him before the season, with the option to bring him back on the practice squad.