The team will need to make a corresponding move, so it's expected to announce those transactions Friday afternoon.
Paea, 28, has started 41 of the 66 NFL regular-season games in which he has appeared. He'll give the Browns depth on their defensive line, which has been depleted by the loss of starting end Desmond Bryant to a season-ending torn pectoral muscle in July and the four-game, performance-enhancing drug suspension end Armonty Bryant will serve to begin the season.
Paea, 6-foot-1 and 310 pounds, entered the league in 2011 as a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears out of Oregon State and had his best professional season in his contract year with them, starting all 16 games in 2014 and compiling career highs in tackles (33), sacks (six) and forced fumbles (two).