Overview
- The Browns announced Thursday that safety Ronnie Hickman signed the team’s second-round restricted free agent tender, putting him under contract for the 2026 season.
- The tender raises Hickman’s 2026 pay to roughly $5.77–$5.8 million and gives Cleveland the right to match any outside offer while providing second-round draft compensation if they declined an unmatched offer.
- No outside team submitted an offer sheet by the April 17 deadline, leaving Hickman with limited leverage before he accepted the one-year deal.
- Hickman rose from an undrafted 2023 signee to a full-time starter in 2025 when he posted roughly 100–103 tackles, two interceptions and seven passes defensed, which helped prompt the Browns to retain him for continuity.
- His signing creates a three-way competition in Cleveland’s safety room with Grant Delpit, who is in the final year of his contract, and 2026 second-round pick Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, a dynamic that could influence playing time, extensions or trade decisions.