Did Browns decline 'Hard Knocks' assignment?

Multiple reporters mentioned earlier this spring that the Cleveland Browns could decline to be featured on this year's edition of the "Hard Knocks: Training Camp" show because they appeared on the program once over the previous eight years (2018). 

Thus, some understandably assumed that Cleveland turned down the assignment after the league confirmed on Wednesday that the Buffalo Bills will be featured on the show this season.

It appears that isn't the case. 

"The Browns were not invited and did not have to decline," a team source told team insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand. 

Grossi previously said he thought Browns owner Jimmy Haslam would embrace his club being on "Hard Knocks" because "the Browns love the attention." Of the two teams, the Browns should be much more interesting than the Bills from July through the end of August. 

The Bills have been playoff mainstays for over half a decade, have a franchise quarterback in reigning Most Valuable Player Josh Allen and will lack the type of training-camp storylines that attract attention from casual fans who often wait until September to truly begin following the NFL. Meanwhile, the Browns are on track to hold a four-way competition for their starting quarterback job involving Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. 

Flacco is a 40-year-old one-time Super Bowl MVP who may never again receive an opportunity to serve as an NFL Week 1 QB1 after this summer. Pickett is a 2022 first-round draft pick attempting to jumpstart his career with Cleveland. The Browns have been accused of "overdrafting" Gabriel by taking him in the third round of this year's player-selection process, while Sanders' fall to the fifth round of the 2025 draft became one of the most discussed stories of the NFL offseason.

"The Browns were one of the four AFC North teams featured in last season’s 'Hard Knocks: In Season,'" Grossi added. "A league source confirmed that appearance did not exempt the Browns from appearing on 'Hard Knocks: Training Camp.'"

Questions about what Sanders will and won't be as an NFL quarterback will generate plenty of discussions among analysts and fans during the quietest time of the sports year. For whatever reason, the league wasn't interested in using "Hard Knocks" to place a spotlight on Sanders' development.