2015 Year in Review: The Cleveland Browns

A look back at the Top 50+ most memorable moments or stories during the year 2015, in relation to the Cleveland Browns.

By Chris Pokorny@DawgsByNature Dec 30, 2015, 9:28pm EST

January 2015 After just one season with the Browns, the team parted ways with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains. Shanahan's system started hot in 2014 for Cleveland, but once Alex Mack exited the lineup, everything fell apart, and his gameplan when it was time for Johnny Manziel to play was a disaster. It was reported that Shanahan also put together a 32-point presentation, explaining to head coach Mike Pettine why he wanted out. Good riddance. (Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports)
January 2015 While the Patriots dealt with "deflategate" last offseason, the Browns had to deal with "text-gate." The NFL begun an investigation into alleged text messages sent from a "high-ranking personnel member" to a coach on the Browns' sidelines during a game this season. That high-ranking personnel member was later revealed to be general manager Ray Farmer, and it was speculated that it was one of the reasons why former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan wanted out of Cleveland. (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)
January 2015 The team announced plans for Phase II of their renovation of FirstEnergy Stadium. While Phase I in 2014 included the new scoreboards, improved sound system, more escalators, and relocation of certain seats, Phase II was set to focus more on the look-and-feel of smaller things, that, collectively, would create a very noticeable change (a new field-level hospitality area, new concession stands, and better signage). (Browns.com)
January 2015 Cleveland hired John DeFilippo as their new offensive coordinator, after previously being the Raiders' quarterbacks coach. Head coach Mike Pettine had shown interest in DeFilippo back in 2014, before the hiring of Kyle Shanahan, so the belief was that the two could work together on better terms. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
January 2015 After serving a 10-game suspension in 2014, fans were looking forward to having Josh Gordon back in full force for 2015. Unfortunately, near the end of January, news broke that Gordon was going to be banished from the NFL for a minimum of one year for alcohol consumption. It wasn't a major offense, but it was part of the terms of his reinstatement into the NFL, and apparently he, nor his teammates who were drinking on a plane with him, were aware of it. (Joe Haden on Instagram)
January 2015 For the first time in seven years, season ticket prices were seeing a big jump in Cleveland. Prices for non-club level seats increased from $19-85 to $25-110 per home game. Browns team president Alec Scheiner told the Plain Dealer that the increase was overdue, but that news did not sit well with fans, who have remained loyal despite the on-the-field product remaining near the bottom of the NFL. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
February 2015 Super Bowl XLIX lived up to the hype as the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. Seattle led the game 24-14 heading into the final quarter of play, but QB Tom Brady was able to orchestrate two touchdown drives to take the lead. QB Russell Wilson found himself in a different spot than a year ago, needing to lead a touchdown-scoring drive. After a miracle tipped-ball reception by WR Jermaine Kearse for a 33-yard gain down to the 5 yard line. A 4-yard run by RB Marshawn Lynch put the ball at the 1 yard line. With 0:20 left in the game, the Seahawks tried to pass the ball on a quick slant, and rookie undrafted free agent cornerback Malcolm Butler jumped the pass for the stunning interception for one of the most shocking endings to a game in Super Bowl history. (Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports)
February 2015 A day after the Super Bowl, it was announced that Johnny Manziel had entered rehab. Even to this day, it's not known what Manziel entered rehab for, even though many believe it was due to alcohol. Fans were happy that Manziel was trying to get his life together, but at the same time, it put the team's quarterback situation in even more disarray leading toward free agency and the draft. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
February 2015 Jason La Canfora posted an article that served as an evisceration of how dysfunctional the Cleveland Browns organization was, fueling a lot of fan and media discussion for the month of February. Some of the accusations seemed to be leaked from former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, but one of the unusual and bizarre stories that emerged was that team president Alec Scheiner was gaining influence on the football side of things, to the point where he'd even sit in and watch film with head coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
February 2015 The Browns unveiled their new logos, and after making a big production out of the unveil leading up to it, the changes weren't too drastic. In fact, the only thing that changed on the primary logo was that it became a darker shade of orange, making Cleveland's reveal easy to poke fun at across the NFL. Additionally, DBN obtained a leaked version of the logo prior to it's unveil, but only chose to leak a very small snippet of it about three minutes before the unveil. (Browns.com)
February 2015 With Brian Hoyer set to be an unrestricted free agent and Johnny Manziel still in rehab, the Browns went out and signed veteran quarterback Josh McCown to a 3-year, $14 million deal. That investment signaled the end of Hoyer's reign in Cleveland, and indicated that the team was probably going to start McCown over Manziel in 2015. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
March 2015 The Browns seemed to have nothing going for them at the tight end position, and it didn't seem likely that they'd be able to lure tight end Jordan Cameron back to Cleveland. On the evening of Day 3 of Free Agency, it was reported that Cameron was headed back to the Browns on a 2-year, $15 million deal. As fans and radio show hosts celebrated, a couple of hours later, news broke that the contract wasn't signed, and the Dolphins had jumped in and basically matched the offer. Cameron bailed and was a member of the Dolphins that night, drawing the ire of all Browns fans in the process. (Dolphins.com)
March 2015 In an effort to re-shape their defense, in free agency, the Browns let three starters sign with other teams, including Ahtyba Rubin to the Seahawks, Jabaal Sheard to the Patriots, and Buster Skrine to the Jets (all three teams are likely headed to the postseason). The Browns signed veteran cornerback Tramon Williams for 3 years and $21 million. The team also signed DL Randy Starks to a 2-year, $6.5 million deal. (Kim Klement, Tim Heitman, Troy Taormina, Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)
March 2015 Cleveland addressed the receiver position with a pair of veterans: Brian Hartline for 2 years, $6 million, and Dwayne Bowe for 2 years, $12.5 million. Bowe's deal included $9 million in guarantees, which was very pricey for a guy who didn't seem to have much of a market out there for him. Bowe's "millions earned per catch" became a running theme in 2015. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
March 2015 Another week in Berea: first, a report came out that Jimmy Haslam might be swapping ownership with the Tennessee Titans, but the team was quick to dismiss the report as 100% false. Then, the verdict to text-gate was unveiled: the team's draft picks were preserved, but general manager Ray Farmer received a four-game suspension, effective at the start of the regular season. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
April 2015 Nine days before the start of offseason work for the Browns, Johnny Manziel's stay in rehab ended. One report said, "Manziel wasn't doing yoga twice a week and calling it rehab -- he put real work in [for ten weeks]." Manziel's future continued to come into question, though, especially after his name was connected to a possible trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for Sam Bradford (who had already been traded over from the Rams). (Ken Blaze, Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)
April 2015 The Browns finally unveiled their Nike uniforms, and the response was very lukewarm. 45% of fans loved them, 35% of fans said they looked fine, while 19% of fans said they were awful. Among the highlights were the contrast stitching and the word "Browns" being written up-and-down the pants. (Erik Drost on Flickr)
April 2015 The Browns had the worst-ranked run defense in the NFL in 2014. Nose tackle was the highest need for the Browns in my opinion, and Danny Shelton at No. 12 was a very highly-rated prospect. The selection of Cameron Erving at No. 19 raised eyebrows, though. The team already had five starting-caliber linemen, and Erving's best position was a center, which wouldn't be a need until 2016 at the earliest. (Browns.com)
May 2015 The Browns drafted OLB Nate Orchard, RB Duke Johnson, and DT Xavier Cooper on Day 2 of the draft. S Ibraheim Campbell, WR Vince Mayle, CB Charles Gaines, FB Malcolm Johnson, TE Randall Telfer, ILB Hayes Pullard, and CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu were drafted on Day 3. Mayle and Pullard are no longer with the club, while Telfer and Ekpre-Olomu were on injury lists all season. (Browns.com)
May 2015 The NFL officially changed the rule to turn extra points into 32-yard field goals. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
May 2015 All was quiet when it came to Johnny Manziel since his exit from rehab, until the story of him throwing a water bottle at a heckling fan broke on the final day of May. The word is that a fan wanted Manziel's autograph and pestered him all day. Upset that Manziel wanted to be left alone, the fan started heckling him, and eventually Manziel tossed a water bottle his direction as one of his groupies shoved the fan. Police arrived and the situation was controlled. (@JosephDAustin on Twitter)
June 2015 The 49ers' offseason fire sale continued, as they shipped Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee to the Browns. In the process, Cleveland said goodbye to punter Spencer Lanning in the process, who had become a bit of a fan favorite. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
June 2015 The wait was over -- FS Tashaun Gipson signed his free agent tender on Friday after having not attended any of the team's OTA sessions. That means he would be available for the team's mandatory mini-camp the following week, but he showed up with a hamstring injury, irritating head coach Mike Pettine. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
June 2015 WWE was in Cleveland for an episode of Monday Night RAW. Early in the day, several superstars toured the facilities in Berea. At night, several members of the Browns, including Johnny Manziel, was front row at RAW. Seth Rollins, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion at the time, pointed out Manziel during the live, televised event, and called him "Johnny Idiotface." (@WOIOSports on Twitter)
June 2015 Shortly after he converted from quarterback to wide receiver, the Browns signed Terrelle Pryor, a project that fascinated fans and dominated headlines for the remainder of the offseason. Pryor later ended up making the final roster, but was cut before the first game. The team re-signed him later in the 2015 season. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
July 2015 Although he wasn't a very well-known figure, in July, the team fired Jamil Northcutt, the Director of Player Engagement. Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland speculated that Northcutt became one of the intermediary sources of tension between GM Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine and the rest of the coaching staff during the 2014 season. (OleMissJournalism)
August 2015 Wilbert Montgomery called out his group of running backs during the first few days of training camp, citing a lack of desire and that "nobody wants the role" of starting running back. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
August 2015 The last time the Cleveland Browns scrimmaged with another team in training camp was a decade ago in 2004 when they did it against the Buffalo Bills under Butch Davis. In 2015, they traveled to St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York to scrimmage with the Bills for two days. The team also held their annual Orange & Brown Scrimmage at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Even though the Browns gave out 70,000 tickets, the actual attendance was reported to be 49,734. (Erik Drost on Flickr)
September 2015 With the team having guaranteed money invested in Phil Taylor, it seemed like a sure-thing that his roster spot was safe. Instead, during the team's first batch of roster cuts, Taylor and defensive lineman Ishmaa'ily Kitchen were both cut, showing that the team had a lot of faith in rookie Danny Shelton. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
September 2015 The suspension of Ray Farmer officially began, and his interim, Bill Kuharich, didn't waste time making a few surprising moves: the team traded 2014-leading-rusher Terrance West to the Tennessee Titans and defensive end Billy Winn to the Indianapolis Colts. They also signed (and extended) quarterback Austin Davis and claimed running back Robert Turbin off waivers from the Seahawks. (Andrew Weber, Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
September 2015 Offensive line coach Andy Moeller was suspended indefinitely for an alleged domestic assault incident in early September. A few weeks later, the team announced a mutual parting of ways with him. (Handout/Getty Images)
September 2015 After a tumultuous rookie season, things didn't exactly get off on the right foot for cornerback Justin Gilbert. Just two days before the Week 1 opener, Gilbert was involved in an extended road rage incident and also reportedly threw tobacco juice at another vehicle. (Brunswick police)
September 2015 In Week 1, on their first offensive series of the first quarter, QB Josh McCown was leading the team on a 17-play drive that went over 10 minutes of game clock. On 3rd-and-goal from the 14 yard line, McCown saw daylight up the middle and took off. He was drilled at the 1-yard line, though, sending him into the air like a helicopter as the football popped into the end zone with the Jets recovering for a touchback. Adding salt to the wound, McCown was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Manziel finished the game and got the offense off to a fast start, but five turnovers and penalties galore doomed the Browns in a 31-10 loss to the Jets. (Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)
September 2015 Let him fly! In Week 2, with QB Johnny Manziel under center, WR Travis Benjamin had three touchdowns as the Cleveland Browns held off the Tennessee Titans by a final score of 28-14. The Browns jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Titans rookie Marcus Mariota tried staging a comeback, but Cleveland put the nail in the coffin in their home opener with a dazzling 50-yard touchdown pass from Manziel-to-Benjamin with under three minutes to go. (Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports)
September 2015 In Week 3, with Josh McCown back under center, the Browns trailed 27-10 in the fourth quarter. A field goal trimmed it to 27-13, and with 6:28 to play, a touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin made it a 27-20 game. The defense forced a three-and-out, but Benjamin muffed the ensuing punt. Another three-and-out was forced, and Cleveland had a chance to rally one more time. On 3rd-and-14 from the 35-yard line, McCown looked to the left and then came back to his right with a throw as he was facing pressure. Benjamin was somewhat open in Cover-2 coverage, but the ball was underthrown and late as S Charles Woodson made the interception to seal the victory. The Browns fell to 1-2. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
October 2015 In Week 4, the Browns suffered a heart-wrenching loss to the San Diego Chargers on the road by a final score of 30-27. In a game of back-and-forth lead changes and ties, Chargers rookie kicker Josh Lambo connected on a 34-yard field goal with no time left on the clock. This game after he had missed a 39-yard attempt two seconds earlier, but Browns CB Tramon Williams had jumped offsides, giving San Diego a second crack at it. Lambo didn't miss the second time, and replays later showed that Williams was not offsides. The Browns fell to 1-3 as GM Ray Farmer was set to return from his suspension. (Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
October 2015 In Week 5, Josh McCown threw for 457 yards, 2 touchdowns, and ran for 1 touchdown in a 33-30 overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens. It was the first time in Browns history a quarterback has thrown for 300+ yards in three straight games. It was the most passing yards ever by a Browns quarterback in a single game, as he surpassed Brian Sipe's previous record of 444 yards in 1981. The Browns improved to 2-3. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
October 2015 Johnny Manziel was back in the headlines for an incident when he and his girlfriend were pulled over after several witnesses called the Avon police due to an argument they saw between the two. Manziel was investigated by the league, but was exonerated from any wrongdoing. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
October 2015 In Week 6, against the undefeated Denver Broncos, Cleveland had them on the ropes. They were down after an early pick six by Broncos CB Aqib Talib, but McCown hit tight end Gary Barnidge for a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, and then ILB Karlos Dansby picked off QB Peyton Manning and walked the tightrope on the sideline for a 35-yard return touchdown. Manning responded with a 75-yard catch-and-run to give the Broncos the lead, but Cleveland tied the game again to send it to overtime. An overtime interception by OLB Barkevious Mingo set the Browns up about five yards away from field goal range, but the offense couldn't move the ball. Denver eventually won on a field goal, dropping Cleveland to 2-4 on the year. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
October 2015 Kevin Jones, who had recently departed his position as a staff writer for Browns.com, wrote an expose on the Browns' defensive struggles. He cited specific issues with the coaching, saying that "Rather than being assigned specific gaps, Cleveland's defensive linemen play different techniques based on how their offensive counterparts are blocking them. The linebackers, then, are expected to guess what technique their teammates are using, scrape through the resulting mess and make the play." (Browns.com)
October 2015 In Week 7, on QB Josh McCown's first pass of the game, he threw a bubble screen to WR Taylor Gabriel. CB Janoris Jenkins read the play, beat his block, and got his helmet on the football right away, forcing a fumble, which S Rodney McLeod scooped up and returned 20 yards for a touchdown. That set the tone for a physical game that out-matched Cleveland, as the St. Louis Rams defeated the Browns 24-6. The loss dropped the Browns to 2-5 on the year. (Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports)
November 2015 In Week 8, the Browns held a 20-7 lead with under a minute to go in the first half against the Arizona Cardinals. 27 unanswered points later, including a disastrous second half, the Browns dropped to 2-6 with a 34-20 loss to the Cardinals. Fans questioned the utilization of RB Duke Johnson, who had a 52-yard catch-and-run in the first half but was largely absent in the second half. The loss dropped the Browns to 2-6 on the year. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
November 2015 The Cleveland Browns almost did the unthinkable -- trading LT Joe Thomas, a future Hall of Famer who has never missed a single snap -- to the Denver Broncos. We were waiting for the news all day, believing that surely, the Browns would not sell on such an elite player, especially after the terrible usage of first-round picks the team has had over the years. Two minutes before the deadline, tweets came out that the Browns and Broncos were racing to beat the deadline to trade Thomas. Fortunately, the deadline passed before a trade could be complete. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
November 2015 In Week 9, Johnny Manziel was back under center on Thursday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals. He showed how long he's come since the first start of his career against the Bengals in 2014, when the Browns were blown out 30-0. The bad news is that the Browns simply couldn't stack up with the Bengals again, falling by a final score of 31-10, as TE Tyler Eifert torched them for three touchdowns. The loss dropped the Browns to 2-7 on the year. (David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports)
November 2015 In Week 10, Ben Roethlisberger was dealing with a foot injury, so backup Landry Jones was set to start. Jones was injured on the team's first series, though, forcing "backup" Roethlisberger into action. He just launched deep pass after deep pass, embarrassing the Browns' secondary en route to a 30-9 victory. The loss dropped the Browns to 2-8 on the year. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
November 2015 Joe Haden and Andrew Hawkins each suffered their second concussions of the season against the Steelers. Several weeks later, they were placed on injured reserve, as both players were hardly able to contribute in 2015. (Andrew Weber, Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
November 2015 Heading into their bye week, head coach Mike Pettine named Johnny Manziel the team's starting quarterback for the rest of the season. During the bye, a video surfaced of Manziel drinking and partying during the bye, and the word is that Manziel lied to the team and tried to recruit people to help cover up the date in which the video took place. Before even getting to start, Manziel was demoted to third-string, and Josh McCown was re-named the starter. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
November 2015 In Week 12, the Browns and Ravens put on one of the wackiest prime time games of the 2015 season, particularly in the closing two minutes of the game. Ultimately, the game ended with the Browns finding a new way to lose: as they set up for a 51-yard field goal to try to win the game, the Ravens blocked the field goal and returned it 64 yards for a touchdown. The 33-27 loss sent the Browns to 2-9 on the year. The game also featured QB Josh McCown having to leave in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. In came QB Austin Davis, and in his first action of the year with the club, Davis found WR Travis Benjamin for a 42-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 27-27 with 1:55 left in the game. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
December 2015 It was revealed that QB Josh McCown suffered a broken collarbone, ending his season. Head coach Mike Pettine had to decide whether Johnny Manziel's punishment was over, but he held out another week and chose Austin Davis as the next starter. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
December 2015 In Week 13, the Browns were beaten and bruised from start to finish in a 37-3 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It certainly wasn't a memorable day for QB Austin Davis, who was making his first start of the year for the club. Davis didn't have an awful performance, but when the quarterback play isn't the reason you get blown out, it's indicative of just how bad of a football team you are in general. With a loss of that magnitude, sending the club to 2-10, fans wondered if it would be the final straw for owner Jimmy Haslam. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
December 2015 In the first positive Browns news in weeks, the team reached a contract extension with TE Gary Barnidge. Barnidge put together a historic season, in the sense that no player at his age has ever "suddenly" had the type of production that he has. (Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports)
December 2015 In Week 14, the Browns ended their seven-game losing streak with a dominating 24-10 effort over the 49ers. With QB Johnny Manziel back under center, Cleveland dominated the game in all facets, aided by Isaiah Crowell's breakout day of 20 carries for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. The victory improved Cleveland's record to 3-10 on the season and made Manziel's home record 2-0. (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)
December 2015 In Week 15, the Browns began the game with a long scoring drive, capped off by a 7-yard touchdown pass from QB Johnny Manziel to TE Gary Barnidge to take a 7-0 lead. Once the defense hit the field, though, fans knew it was going to be a long game. Not including their drive to run the clock out at the end of the game, the Seahawks scored on five of their six other drives as they simply could not stop QB Russell Wilson's ability to convert third down after third down. Wilson finished the game with three touchdown passes, including two to WR Doug Baldwin and the other to WR Tyler Lockett, en route to a 30-13 victory. The loss dropped the Browns to 3-11 on the year. (Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)
December 2015 In Week 16, the Browns played one of their better defensive games of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs, but they couldn't make enough offensive plays. They ran out of time in the red zone at the end of the game, falling to the Chiefs by a final score of 17-13. The Browns dropped to 3-12 on the year. Despite Manziel having a poor passing day, he rushed for 108 yards on 11 carries, the first time in team history a quarterback has hit the century mark, according to the Browns. The previous record holder was Frank Ryan (80 yards in 1962). (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
December 2015 As the year 2015 ends with the team having one game to play at the start of 2016, rumors began swirling as to what team owner Jimmy Haslam will do. Will he keep his word to not blow things up, or will Ray Farmer and/or Mike Pettine be headed out the door? (Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports)

In celebration of the year ending, I present to you, "2015 in Review: The Cleveland Browns." Please go through the photo gallery above, and make sure you hover over the pictures. I have put custom descriptions for each picture's caption.

If you don't feel like going through the whole list, listed below is the draft I came up with when conceiving this gallery. From the draft to collecting the pictures and writing the captions, this probably took me 10 hours of work, so please share your comments below on some of your favorite moments of the year, or if you feel I left any moments out.

January 2015
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-Kyle Shanahan departs organization, and the 32-point presentation
-NFL investigating text messages to Browns' sidelines
-Browns Announce Plans for Phase II of FirstEnergy Stadium Renovation
-Browns hire John DeFilippo as new offensive coordinator [Intro presser]
-Josh Gordon fails another drug test, banished for another year
-Browns Raise Season Ticket Prices for First Time Since 2008

February 2015
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-Super Bowl 2015 Recap: Patriots Defeat Seahawks 28-24
-Johnny Manziel has Entered Treatment for 'Areas in Which He Needs to Improve'
-Reports of Dysfunction in Berea Dominate February [Pokorny's Defense of the Browns]
-Cleveland Browns New Logos Include an Updated Helmet & Dawg Pound Branding to mixed response
-Browns sign QB Josh McCown, signaling the end of QB Brian Hoyer's reign

March 2015
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-The Jordan Cameron confusion: reports say Cleveland re-signs him, signs with Dolphins hours later
-Cleveland signs CB Tramon Williams, let CB Buster Skrine, OLB Jabaal Sheard, DT Ahtyba Rubin walk in free agency
-Browns sign WR Brian Hartline and The $9 Million Man: Dwayne Bowe
-Browns avoid losing draft pick, Farmer suspended for 'textgate', Browns Say Report About Jimmy Haslam Swapping Ownership With Titans is 100% False