The 1995 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 50th season overall and 46th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. It ultimately became their final NFL season until

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, their final season at

Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball an ...

, and

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick (; born April 16, 1952) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Additionally, he exercises extensive authority over the Patri ...

's final year as Browns head coach. The team finished 5–11, fourth in the AFC Central, though most of the season was overshadowed by the

Cleveland Browns relocation controversy The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy - colloquially called "The Move" by fans - was caused during the 1995 NFL season by the announcement from then-Browns owner Art Modell that he intended to move the Cleveland Browns of the National Foot ...

. The team was documented in

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...

's ''

A Football Life ''A Football Life'' is an American documentary series of 116 episodes, developed by NFL Films and aired on NFL Network that documents the lives of select National Football League (NFL) players, coaches, owners, and teams. Friends, teammates, famil ...

''. After finishing 11–5 in 1994 and winning a playoff game for the first time since 1989, the Browns were favored by many to reach Cleveland's first ever Super Bowl. The Browns started by winning three of their first four games and were 4–4 halfway through the season. On November 6, the day after the Browns recorded their fifth loss, a 37–10 blowout against the

Oilers Oiler may refer to: Ships * Replenishment oiler * Tanker (ship) Sports * Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team * City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team * Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta, ...

, owner

Art Modell Arthur Bertram Modell (June 23, 1925 – September 6, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise for 35 years and established the Baltimore Ravens franchis ...

announced that he intended to move the team to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

at the end of the season. Stunned by this news, the team collapsed and only won one of their remaining seven games and Belichick was fired after the season. As part of the agreement reached in February 1996 to allow Modell to move, the city of Cleveland was allowed to keep the Browns name, franchise history and all memorabilia and agreed to build a new stadium by 1999. In return, Modell was allowed to take the player contracts from the Browns, as well as the bulk of his organization, to Baltimore, but his franchise, later named the Baltimore Ravens, would be considered a 1996 expansion team. The NFL agreed that the Browns would be reactivated no later than 1999, by way of an expansion draft or relocated team.

Offseason

NFL draft

Draft trades made

* Traded

Eric Metcalf Eric Quinn Metcalf (born January 23, 1968) is a former American football player who was primarily known as a return specialist, but played running back and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta F ...

and 1x26 to

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

for pick 1x10 * Traded 1x10 to

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

for 1x30, 3x94, 4x119, and 1996 1st Rounder. * Traded 4th Round pick to

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

for 5x136 and 1996 6th Rounder. * Traded 4x119 to

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

for 5x147 and 1996 5th Rounder. * Traded 7th Round pick to

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

for 7x231.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

The Browns' record was 4–5 on November 6, the day that owner Art Modell announced the team would be moving to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

for the 1996 season. Cleveland ended the season losing six of their final seven games. The Browns became the first NFL team to be swept by an expansion team, losing twice to the

. Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 16 vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The game marked the final game at Cleveland Stadium and the franchise's final game until

Standings

Relocation to Baltimore

Modell announced on November 6, 1995, that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

—a move which would return the NFL to Baltimore for the first time since the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

relocated to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

after the 1983 season. The very next day, on November 7, 1995, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved an issue that had been placed on the ballot at Modell's request, which provided $175 million through a 10-year extension of the existing

sin tax A sin tax is an excise tax specifically levied on certain goods deemed harmful to society and individuals, such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, candies, soft drinks, fast foods, coffee, sugar, gambling, and pornography. In contrast to Pigovian ta ...

to refurbish the outmoded and declining

. After the move was announced, protests were held in Cleveland and even at Browns away games, and several lawsuits were filed, including a

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

by the city, which would have required the Browns to remain at the stadium until the end of the 1998 season. A compromise was reached in early February 1996. Modell was granted permission by the league to move the team, but only personnel. The Browns franchise, including its history, colors, logos, and other intellectual property, remained in Cleveland and the NFL officially regards the franchise as suspended for the 1996, 1997, and 1998 seasons. Modell's organization, later named the Baltimore Ravens, is officially regarded as a 1996 expansion team. The NFL agreed to revive the Browns no later than the 1999 season, by way of an expansion draft or another team relocating. The city of Cleveland agreed to drop its lawsuits and build a new stadium by 1999, funded by the sin tax passed to renovate Cleveland Stadium. The old stadium was demolished in late 1996 and early 1997 and

Cleveland Browns Stadium FirstEnergy Stadium is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, primarily for American football. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and serves as a venue for other events such as college and ...

was built on the same site, opening in August 1999. While multiple teams threatened to move to Cleveland or were mentioned as considering it, the league chose in 1998 to return the team via an

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansion ...

and the team resumed play in

References

External links

1995 Cleveland Browns
at Pro Football Reference (Profootballreference.com)
1995 Cleveland Browns Statistics
at jt-sw.com
1995 Cleveland Browns Schedule
at jt-sw.com

at DatabaseFootball.com {{DEFAULTSORT:1995 Cleveland Browns Season

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Cleveland Browns seasons