Browns Held Workout With Former Jaguars, Bears and 49ers Defensive End

After sitting out the last three seasons, former Jaguars and Bears pass rusher Aaron Lynch is looking to make a return to the NFL, working out for the Browns on Monday

Andrew Berry has proven to be pretty creative when building the Browns roster. He's flexing those creative muscles again this offseason.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, former Jaguars and Bears defensive end Aaron Lynch held a workout with Cleveland on Monday. Lynch last played in the NFL in 2020 with Jacksonville. During that season, Lynch stepped away from football due to personal reasons but then returned part-way through the seasons. He then entered another retirement after the season ended.

Comeback? Former #Jaguars, #Bears and #49ers edge rusher Aaron Lynch, who last played for the #Jaguars before entering private business, had a positive workout for the #Browns today, source said. A potential low-risk, high-reward addition to a roster. pic.twitter.com/ZdiTfPwhMH

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2024

Three years later the 31-year-old is looking to make a return to the sport and the Browns appear to potentially be interested in his services.

Lynch appeared in eight games for the Jaguars during his final season in 2020 and recorded just one sack, ironically, against former Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Prior to that, the South Florida product spent two season in Chicago where he appeared in 29 games, compiling 22 total tackles, five sacks and seven tackles for loss as a rotational defensive end. 

His most productive seasons game during his first four years in the league with San Francisco. During his first two years in the league Lynch played in 30 games, starting 14 and registering 12.5 sacks and 22 tackles for loss. Over the next two years he played in only 14 games, compiling 2.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss.

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Should Cleveland decide to go through with signing Lynch it wouldn't be the first time Berry added a player that took a multi-year hiatus from football as DT Malik McDowell experienced something similar. After being drafted by the Seahawks in 2017 a series of off the field accidents and incidents wound up keeping McDowell from playing until 2021 when he was signed by Cleveland. He appeared in 15 games that season for Cleveland but wound up in trouble again that next offseason and was not retained.