Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger believes there will not be many changes to Cleveland's defense in 2026.
New Browns head coach Todd Monken said in his introductory press conference that he plans to keep the same defensive approach with or without Jim Schwartz. A few days after Monken's conference, Schwartz resigned as the defensive coordinator after three seasons in Cleveland.
Speaking with NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero and NFL Media senior national columnist Judy Battista on Friday's episode of The Insiders, Schwesinger expects the defense to be similar with new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg.
"One of the big things for us is we wanted to keep a lot of the scheme the same," Schwesinger said Friday. "So in terms of that, I don't expect there to be a lot of changes. For me, I'm just ready to go in there and kind of just build off what we did last year and really keep the defense rolling and get in there ready to work and learn whatever I've got to learn now and keep doing what we were doing."
Rutenburg, who joins Cleveland after serving as the Falcons defensive pass game coordinator, will be tasked to maintain the Browns' defensive standards.
Cleveland's 2025 defense under Schwartz was on the best units in the NFL. The Browns defense ranked fourth in total yards allowed per game (283.6) as Cleveland witnessed star pass rusher Myles Garrett break the single-season sack record and win Defensive Player of the Year, while Schwesinger earned Defensive Rookie of the Year.
In his rookie season, Schwesinger had 156 tackles -- sixth in the NFL -- including 11 tackles for loss, nine QB hits, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Even with winning some hardware in his first NFL campaign, Schwesinger wants to continue to improve heading into his sophomore season.
"It's just to keep building," he said. "I think each week from last year, I was trying to get better and I think each week I did. So, that's really just the same mindset going into this next year and how I can get better each week from OTAs, to training camp and then once you get into the season every week. I think building on that will lead to success."
