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CLEVELAND, Ohio The NFL released its 2026 schedule, and the Browns now know the order of their 17 games this season.
I will have these opponent breakdowns over the next several weeks leading up to the start of the season as we look at the biggest addition, subtraction, best draft pick and what they all mean for when they play the Browns.
Todays focus is on the Browns opponent in Weeks 6 and 16: the Baltimore Ravens.
Like the Steelers, the Ravens are going through an unusual coaching change as Jesse Minter takes over for John Harbaugh, who was fired after they failed to make the playoffs last season.
Not only do they have a new head coach, they have a new superstar pass rusher, even though its not the one they were originally getting.
Can the new-look Ravens reclaim the AFC North? Here is a look at the Ravens offseason.
Also, you can check out previous installments of the series below.
Biggest addition: OLB Trey Hendrickson There was a time before the new league year began that the Ravens had agreed to acquire Maxx Crosby from the Raiders for two first-round picks.
But controversially, the Ravens backed out of the deal and turned around to sign Hendrickson, the former Bengals star pass rusher, to a four-year deal worth $112 million.
Hendrickson had been the star of the Bengals defense for the last five seasons, highlighted by winning the NFL sack title in 2024 with 17.5 sacks.
He was limited to just seven games played in 2025 and had only four sacks, his fewest since recording zero sacks across five games in 2018.
The Ravens have to hope Hendrickson can return to the form that produced back-to-back seasons of 17.5 sacks.
They had just 30 sacks as a team in 2025, tied for the third fewest in the NFL.
A healthy Hendrickson could be just what the Ravens need to make their pass rush a weapon again.
Biggest subtraction: Harbaugh Harbaugh had been an institution in Baltimore, spending 18 seasons as the Ravens head coach.
He was 180-113 in the regular season, helped the Ravens win a Super Bowl in 2012 and had a winning postseason record (13-11).
But the 63-year-old Harbaugh was fired after the Ravens lost to the Steelers in Week 18 on a missed field goal as time expired.
He is now the head coach of Jaxson Dart and the Giants.
Even though Jesse Minter is an intriguing coaching prospect and it will be interesting to see how he does leading the Ravens, it will undoubtedly be weird to see a Ravens team not coached by Harbaugh.
Best draft pick: G Vega Ioane If there was a pick outside of first overall that felt like a perfect match for weeks prior to the draft, it was the Ravens and Ioane from Penn State.
Baltimore needed help on the interior offensive line and Ioane was the best guard in the class.
Hes a true plug-and-play type of player because of how good he is in both the passing game and running game.
His hands and power make him a great guard prospect.
Even though the Ravens had the NFLs No.
2 rushing offense in 2025, the interior needed to be better in pass protection.
Between Ioane and veteran John Simpson, Baltimores guard play should be much better, which could compensate for losing Tyler Linderbaum to free agency.
What it means against the Browns Despite how poorly the Ravens season ended, they didnt need too many tweaks.
A healthier Lamar Jackson could have been all Baltimore needed, as he clearly wasnt himself after suffering an early-season hamstring injury.
They also added former Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle to replace Todd Monken, who is now the head coach of the Browns.
That addition should help the Ravens offense pick up where it left off the last couple of years.
The arrival of Minter changes this matchup the most.
The Ravens have declined defensively over the last two seasons.
By bringing in Minter, who was a very good defensive coordinator with the Chargers, and Hendrickson, the Ravens should feature a fiercer defense.
Monken and the Browns will have to be prepared for a better pass rush from Baltimore with Hendrickson in tow.
Catch up on the series - Jacksonville Jaguars, Week 1 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Week 2 - Carolina Panthers, Week 3 - Pittsburgh Steelers, Weeks 4 and 8 - New York Jets, Week 5.