Good morning, Dawg Pound. Kelly Kent here with your AFC North pulse check as we head into the summer stretch before training camp. The 2025 season is in the books, minicamp is wrapped, and the division looks completely different than it did six months ago. Let’s break down where each team stands heading into 2026.
Cleveland Browns — 2025 Record: 5-12 (4th, AFC North)
The Browns finished 5-12, scoring just 279 points (16.4 per game, 31st in the NFL) while allowing 379 points. It was ugly, but the foundation for something new is being laid.
Key Offseason Moves:
- The Browns brought in Todd Monken to replace Kevin Stefanski as head coach. The former Ravens offensive coordinator landed a five-year deal.
- The Browns traded reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to the Rams for Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick. It hurts. It’s smart. It’s both.
- Berry added four offensive players in the draft, including receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston and left tackle Spencer Fano.
- Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are the only QBs taking first-team reps, with GM Andrew Berry offering high praise for Sanders’ offseason work.
Division Race Implications: The Browns will attempt to end a 33-season division title drought, having last won the then-AFC Central in 1989. Nobody expects a title run in 2026, but the Garrett trade didn’t break this locker room — in fact, there’s a new swagger about this team, and the Browns seem bought into Monken. The stockpile of future draft capital could set Cleveland up for a serious run in 2027-28. Patience, Dawg Pound. This one’s a long game.
Pittsburgh Steelers — 2025 Record: 10-7 (1st, AFC North)
The Steelers matched their 10-7 records from both 2023 and 2024, made the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and ended their four-year AFC North title drought with a win over the Baltimore Ravens during Week 18.
Key Offseason Moves:
- In the playoffs, Rodgers played poorly in a wild-card loss to the Houston Texans, completing 17 of 33 for 146 yards with a pick-six. The Steelers lost by 24 points in a home playoff game, and then Mike Tomlin stepped away.
- It’s full speed ahead with Rodgers to begin a new era — Pittsburgh’s first year with a new head coach since 2007. Mike McCarthy is at the helm.
- Rodgers returned on a one-year deal worth up to $25 million, reuniting with McCarthy, and announced the 2026 season would be his final season in the NFL.
- Pittsburgh added Michael Pittman Jr. via trade, giving them a long-coveted complementary receiver alongside DK Metcalf.
Division Race Implications: The Steelers are the defending division champs, but they’ve lost six straight playoff games and haven’t escaped the Wild Card Round since the 2017 campaign. Can the Rodgers-McCarthy reunion finally change that? Pittsburgh faces five 2025 playoff teams in the final nine weeks of the schedule, plus the Ravens twice. This is a team built to win now — but the clock is literally running out on Rodgers.
Baltimore Ravens — 2025 Record: 8-9 (2nd, AFC North)
Before the 2025 season, the Ravens were one of the favorites to get to the Super Bowl. However, they finished with a disappointing 8-9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Key Offseason Moves:
- The Ravens hired Chargers DC Jesse Minter as their new head coach on a five-year contract, replacing John Harbaugh, who was fired after 18 seasons.
- Derrick Henry remains one of the league’s premier running backs at 32, having scored 32 rushing touchdowns over the past two years while averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
- The priorities for Minter will be to stop the Ravens from repeatedly underperforming in the playoffs and to connect with quarterback Lamar Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP who is coming off one of his worst seasons.
Division Race Implications: Don’t sleep on Baltimore. The Ravens have the highest projected win total in the NFL for 2026. Minter’s defensive pedigree is elite — he guided the NFL’s fifth-ranked defense in 2025 and in 2024, his first season in LA, the Chargers led the league in fewest points allowed. If he can pair that kind of defense with Lamar and Henry? The Ravens are the biggest threat to run the North.
Cincinnati Bengals — 2025 Record: 6-11 (3rd, AFC North)
The Bengals went 6-11 for their worst season since 2020, derailed again by Joe Burrow’s health. Burrow suffered a turf toe injury and was placed on injured reserve; the Bengals went 1-8 without him.
Key Offseason Moves:
- Trading for Pro Bowl DT Dexter Lawrence and restructuring Burrow’s contract were the headline moves.
- The front office also signed Boye Mafe, Bryan Cook, and Jonathan Allen in free agency. That’s a complete defensive overhaul.
- Burrow called this the “most talented roster” since he’s been in Cincinnati. He said the vibes are similar to the 2019 LSU team he led to a championship.
- The Bengals retained coach Zac Taylor and director of player personnel Duke Tobin.
Division Race Implications: The key to the Bengals ending their three-year playoff drought will remain Burrow’s health. If he goes down again, no amount of offseason additions is likely to matter. But if Burrow stays upright? With Chase, Higgins, and a rebuilt defense, this team has real Super Bowl ceiling. They’re the wild card in this division — and I mean that as a compliment.
The Bottom Line for Browns Fans
Here’s the truth, Cleveland: the Browns are “another great draft away from being another great draft away.” The 2026 season is about development under Monken, evaluating the Watson-Sanders QB battle, and seeing what Jared Verse, the rookie receivers, and a revamped offensive line can do together. The division is loaded with storylines — Rodgers’ farewell tour in Pittsburgh, Minter’s fresh start in Baltimore, Burrow’s all-in push in Cincy — but Cleveland is quietly stockpiling the assets to make a real run in the near future.
The pain of losing Myles hurts. But the return was massive. Stay locked in, Dawg Pound. The rebuild is real, and for once, the Browns have a plan that actually makes sense.
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