Category: 2020 NFL Free Agency

The Browns Wire Podcast: Free agency review and Browns all-time defensive draft

Reviewing the Cleveland Browns’ moves in free agency so far and drafting an All-Time defensive team.

Who belongs on the Cleveland Browns all-time defensive squad?

Donovan James (@DonJamesSport) & Josh Keatley (@JoshKeatley16) draft their all-time Cleveland Browns team & continue the March QB Madness tournament. It’s a great trip down memory lane for Browns fans and fun to go through the discussion and decision-making process.

Give the Browns Wire Podcast a like on Facebook and follow along with us on Twitter. It’s also available on all of your favorite podcast apps, including iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher and Spotify. Thanks for listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9jEdxzGqxs

Browns work out former Akron EDGE Jamal Davis

Davis has bounced around several NFL teams since 2019

With a crunch on personnel at defensive end, the Cleveland Browns held a private visit with free agent EDGE Jamal Davis.

Davis is a second-year undrafted free agent from Akron. He played in three games with the Dolphins last season, all on special teams. At 6-4 and 244 pounds, Davis is more of a stand-up OLB-type rusher than a 4-3 defensive end. He has also spent time with the Green Bay Packers, Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans.

In related news, Evan Brown had a tryout with the Detroit Lions. Brown was on Cleveland’s active roster through the first eight weeks of the season as a backup offensive lineman. He played 17 total snaps on special teams in his Browns stint.

Top prospects from The Spring League for the Browns to consider

The Spring League got just 3 weeks in before COVID canceled it, but several prospects showed enough to get looks in the NFL

COVID-19 has taken another football league from us! First the XFL and now The Spring League. The Spring League, which occurred in the fall this year, was only able to complete three weeks before being forced to cancel due to COVID complications. With that said, there were a few players who shined and clearly deserve a longer look for the NFL.

Shea Patterson, QB, Blues, 6-2, 212 pounds:

Most fans are already aware of Patterson due to him being the starting quarterback at Michigan last season and going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. Patterson was largely viewed as a mid-round prospect, but his lack of accuracy was obviously too much for teams to overlook. He went undrafted and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs and eventually cut due to roster cutdowns.

Patterson is only 23 years old and there is still time for him to improve. He already looks like a different quarterback. He has gained some positive weight and is still an electric runner, but the most important thing is his accuracy looks improved. He is not going to start in the NFL, but he is young enough and athletic enough for someone to take a deeper look. He ended the season as the second leading passer with a 61% completion rate, 571 yards and six touchdowns.

Channing Stribling, CB, Generals, 6-2, 180 pounds:

Stribling already had a shot with the Cleveland Browns as he was signed as a free agent after the 2017 draft, but he looks like a more properly equipped corner in 2020. Despite only being 25 years old, Stribling has bounced around with five NFL teams, a stint in the now-defunct AAF and XFL. Stribling was re-signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL, but decided to opt out of his contract due to that league canceling its season.

Stribling has always had the ideal length and aggressiveness to play in the NFL, but his lack of acceleration and stiff hips made him a liability. He looked to have cleaned up some of those issues in The Spring League, but that can be a hard thing to judge due to the step down in competition. Stribling is still worth a shot.

Matthew Sexton, WR, Aviators, 5-11, 175 pounds:

Sexton went undrafted out of Eastern Michigan in 2020 and failed to receive a shot in the NFL, but after dominating in The Spring League it seems that may have been a mistake. Sexton is small but has excellent speed; the 4.44 forty time he registered at his pro day was no fluke. Sexton deserves an NFL shot and he has enough athleticism to at least contribute on special teams, especially as a returner.

Ricky Aguayo, K, Jousters, 6-0, 207 pounds:

Aguayo is the younger brother of famed Tampa Bay Buccaneer bust, Roberto Aguayo. Although he doesn’t have the illustrious collegiate career of his older brother, Ricky can hold his own. In week two, Aguayo nailed all five of his attempts including a 50-yarder. Wouldn’t be a bad prospect to bring in for a workout…

Sal Cannella, TE, Generals, 6-5, 228 pounds:

Cannella went undrafted out of Auburn and had very little production with only 10 receptions his senior season, but he was playing wide receiver for the Tigers. He appears to have bulked up and looks considerably more than the 228 pounds he was listed at in college. He didn’t receive an undrafted contract coming out, but after seeing the new an improved Cannella in The Spring League that may have been a mistake.

 

 

Browns work out WR Derrick Willies, 2 others this week

Willies spent 2018-2019 with the Browns including a stint on the active roster

The Cleveland Browns brought in a familiar face for a tryout this week. Wide receiver Derrick Willies was back in Berea for a workout with the team, one of three players the Browns auditioned this week per the NFL’s transaction reports.

Willies made the Browns in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech. He caught three passes for 61 yards in limited duty as a rookie before getting hurt and ending the season on injured reserve. Willies then participated with the Browns in the 2019 preseason but failed to make the final roster. The 6-foot-4 wideout spent the 2019 campaign on the Browns’ practice squad.

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The Browns also worked out Cale Garrett and Marcus Green.

Garrett is a linebacker from Missouri. Green played wide receiver at Louisiana-Monroe and was a sixth-round draft pick by the Falcons in 2019. He led the NCAA in kick return yardage and TDs in his junior season for the Warhawks.

Browns try out 2 OL and a CB during the bye week

CB Stephen Denmark fits the bill of athletic freakshow

The Browns held a tryout for three NFL free agents over the bye week. None of the players have been signed as of yet, though COVID-19 protocols effectively prevent instant signings.

The trio includes a player we here at Browns Wire liked in the 2019 pre-draft process. That would be Stephen Denmark, a cornerback from Valdosta State. The team worked out Denmark before that draft, in which he was selected in the seventh round by the Chicago Bears. He’s a physical traits wonder; at 6-foot-2 and 217 pounds, Denmark clocked a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at his pro day and posted a 43.5-inch vertical leap.

The other two who tried out are offensive linemen:

  • Cordel Iwuagwu OG TCU
  • Javon Patterson OC Mississippi

 

 

Browns bring OT Alex Taylor back for a visit

Taylor was waived from the Browns injured reserve in September

There was a familiar face in Berea on Wednesday making a visit with the Cleveland Browns. Offensive tackle Alex Taylor was back and meeting with the team, per the NFL’s transaction wire.

Taylor has been a free agent since the Browns parted ways with him earlier this season.

Perhaps the most prominent of the Browns’ undrafted rookie class of 2020, the South Carolina State standout offers outstanding length and the movement skills of a former college basketball player. Taylor had issues with functional strength for playing in the NFL and was considered a more long-term developmental prospect.

He was waived off injured reserve on the day of Week 2 game with this week’s foe, the Cincinnati Bengals. Taylor has been free to sign with any other team but has yet to latch on. The Browns do have an opening for a project OT on the practice squad after the Dallas Cowboys signed away Greg Senat recently.

Browns hold tryout for DT Treyvon Hester

Hester played under Browns OL coach Bill Callahan in Washington in 2019

Battling several injuries across the defensive line, the Cleveland Browns worked out some potential depth help on Wednesday. The team held a tryout with defensive tackle Treyvon Hester.

Hester, 28, has played for three NFL teams in as many years since being a seventh-round pick by the Raiders (then in Oakland) in 2017. He played collegiately at Toledo. Hester played 15 games with Washington last season, where current Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan served as interim coach for the end of the season.

In 41 career games, Hester has two sacks and 40 career tackles. He’s of similar style to Browns starter Larry Ogunjobi, who was limited in Wednesday’s practice.

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Browns sign LB Montrel Meander, WR Ryan Switzer to the practice squad

Switzer brings another option as a return specialist

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Montrel Meander is back with the Browns. He never really left even though the team waived the linebacker on Monday.

After clearing waivers, Meander quickly re-signed with the Browns on the team’s practice squad. He spent the first week of the season there before being elevated in the Week 2 game against the Bengals.

He’s joined on the practice squad by a newcomer, though a familiar one for many fans. Wide receiver Ryan Switzer signed with Cleveland’s practice squad on Thursday. Switzer met with the team earlier in the week and cleared COVID-19 protocols to sign with the Browns.

Switzer played 41 games in his first three NFL seasons, 2017 with Dallas (this week’s opponent) and 2018-2019 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is a slot receiver but saw more action as a return specialist. He made the NFL’s all-rookie team as a return man for the Cowboys in 2017 and finished in the top eight in total return yards in each of his first two seasons.

Cleveland lost return specialist JoJo Natson to I.R. with a knee injury in Week 3.

Browns hold tryouts for 7 players

A former XFL star with a Browns past is among the 7 trying out for the Browns on Wednesday

The last day of September provided an opportunity for seven current NFL free agents to show what they’ve got for the Cleveland Browns. The team held a formal tryout for a group of players on Wednesday, as reported on the NFL’s transaction wire.

The seven free agents invited to the audition in Berea:

Blake Countess – CB

Jordan Franks – TE

DeMarquis Gates – LB

Javon Leake – RB

DaMarkus Lodge – WR

Jared Rice – TE

Prince Smith – CB

Notable among the tryouts is Countess, who plays cornerback but also worked as a return specialist at both Michigan and Auburn in college. Gates was once briefly a Brown in the past, signing as an undrafted free agent with the team following the 2018 NFL Draft. He did not make it past rookie minicamp that year, but had an impressive turn in the XFL.

Browns hold visit with free agent WR Ryan Switzer

Switzer was as slot receiver and return specialist for the Steelers the last two years

Scrolling through the NFL’s transaction wire for Tuesday produced an eyebrow raise. The Cleveland Browns appeared almost at the bottom with a free agent visit.

Buried below the practice squad protection designations, the reserve list additions and the officially reported tryouts sat this little nugget:

Ryan Switzer was in Berea for a visit. A fourth-round pick out of North Carolina by the Dallas Cowboys in 2017, Switzer is best-known for his work with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018-2019. He caught 44 passes in those two seasons as well as serving as Pittsburgh’s primary return specialist.

Switzer is a quicker-than-fast slot receiver who could fill in the JoJo Natson role as offensive weapon and return man. Natson was placed on I.R. with a knee injury this week.