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21 hours ago
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The Maxx Crosby deal wasn't the only one to be undone this offseason by a bad physical.
The Cleveland Browns and A.J. Epenesa are no longer going to be joining forces on a free agent contract.
Epenesa was a free agent this offseason from the Buffalo Bills. He was set to join Cleveland.
This is what ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi shared on Sunday night on X:
"The Browns won’t be signing DE A.J. Epenesa as was initially reported, per source. Team wasn’t comfortable finalizing the deal after his physical."
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It's not clear where Epenesa goes from here. It seems unlikely he'll get much more than a small prove-it deal at this point if his health is really a legitimate question mark.
Epenesa is a former second-round pick out of Iowa, with the Bills taking him in the 2020 NFL Draft at the No. 54 overall spot.
He played 91 games in six seasons for Buffalo, recording 24.0 sacks in total.
In 2025, he had a quieter year, getting just 2.5 sacks in 16 games.
His best seasons were 2022-2024, when he had 6.5, 6.5 and 6.0 sacks in those three consecutive seasons.
The Bills don't seem likely to bring him back, but that door is technically opened again now.
Cleveland may want to find a different pass rusher, but there are fewer options out there now that this took a little while to develop.
It's certainly an odd spot for everyone to find themselves in here.
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