Category: Latest Browns News

Bryan Cox Jr.: What the Browns are getting in their new DE

A scouting report on new Browns EDGE Bryan Cox Jr., who will play a bigger role with Myles Garrett suspended

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By now you have probably heard that Myles Garrett is suspended and it appears it is going to be a long time before he dresses on Sundays again. Last week the Cleveland Browns signed Bryan Cox Jr. and despite being a pure reserve acquisition, it appears the young man may be thrust into duty and forced to see meaningful minutes. Garrett is an elite end, but below is a bit of what Cox can provide.

Height: 6-3

Weight: 265 pounds

Previous Team: Carolina Panthers

Cox went undrafted after the 2017 NFL Draft, which was a bit surprising after he completed a fairly solid collegiate career at Florida. Carolina snagged the DE/OLB right up and after failing to make the final roster in 2017 was placed on their practice squad until being called up early in the same season. Cox was on the Carolina active roster for the entire 2018 season, but failed to make the final cut for 2019 and has bounced back and forth from active to practice until he was snagged by Cleveland on November 13.

It is surprising that Cox was available mid-season as he does provide unique versatility with the ability to slide down to the inside as well as provide pressure from the edge. Many of the asthma issues that hampered Cox early in his career appear to have gone away, which also makes it more surprising that he was available for the Browns to snag. At only 25 years old, Cox has a few intriguing athletic traits that show potential for a potentially high ceiling.

Cox is not an NFL starter and although he has a few intriguing traits, it is more realistic for him to develop into a situational pass-rusher only. His injury history is not clean as he has numerous issues especially with asthma specifically and although it appears that is behind him, it is not a guarantee that it won’t be an issue in the future. Cox is an inconsistent player and inconsistency is why he went undrafted and why he has spent the majority of his professional career on practice squads.

You do not want Cox to start, because he can be a liability. Despite there being a few interesting traits and more than enough boxes are checked, Cox is not a finished product and is not ready for the big show. The reality is, Cox may be forced into action due to all of the suspensions and he can thrive in certain situations in limited snaps and that will be key moving forward.

Browns-Steelers rematch in Week 13 moved to 1 p.m. kickoff

The game was scheduled for 4:25 p.m. but has been moved up

The hotly anticipated rematch between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13 will kick off earlier than expected.

The Browns and the NFL announced the game in Pittsburgh on Dec. 1 will kick off at 1 p.m. ET. It was originally scheduled as a 4:25 p.m. ET kickoff. The game will remain as a CBS broadcast.

No official reason has been given for the time change. However, given the heated ending to the Week 11 Browns win in Cleveland, the earlier time slot takes away some of the prominence of the game. The NFL is likely trying to minimize the spotlight on Mason Rudolph’s rematch against a Browns team and national fan reaction that very strongly feels he instigated the chaotic violence in FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday night.

Two AFC games remain in the late-afternoon window, with the Chargers at Denver and the Raiders playing the Chiefs in AFC West matchups in Week 13.

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How the Browns will replace Myles Garrett during his suspension

Olivier Vernon, Chad Thomas and others will need to step up

Now that Myles Garrett has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL, the Cleveland Browns will be without their top defensive lineman for the rest of the 2019 season. Replacing the NFL’s current sack leader will not be easy.

Getting Olivier Vernon back into the lineup at full strength will be the biggest help. Vernon has missed the last two games with a knee injury. Prior to that, he was consistently providing pressure off the edge opposite Garrett. In fact, he had more QB pressures on the season than Garrett did through Week 9.

Vernon has not shown the ability to finish his pressures this year, racking up three sacks. That will need to change. He is the best-suited Browns player to become the alpha pass rusher.

Chad Thomas has stepped up nicely in Vernon’s absence, but the pressure is now on the second-year EDGE to be a full-time starter. Thomas has a sack in each of the last two games and also broke up a 4th-down pass attempt (that Mason Rudolph essentially threw into him), so he is making some impact. It will be interesting to see if he can do it more consistently and eliminate the stretches where he’s too easily blocked.

Chris Smith will also need to step up. The veteran reserve has been very quiet in limited duty. Newcomer Bryan Cox Jr. is a bigger, stouter version of Genard Avery, who was traded away earlier this season.

There is still a chance the Browns could look outside the current team. Garrett’s suspension does leave a vacant spot on the 53-man roster. With no defensive linemen on the practice squad, there will probably be a move to at least add someone there.

Myles Garrett issues a statement of apology through the Browns

Garrett apologized to Mason Rudolph, Browns teammates and fans and the NFL at large

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Myles Garrett has now apologized for his disturbing actions in the Browns’ 21-7 win over the Steelers that led to his ejection and indefinite suspension from the NFL.

Garrett released a statement via the Cleveland Browns’ PR department. In it, the defensive end apologized to Steelers QB Mason Rudolph, his teammates, the fans and the NFL as a whole.

Garrett’s statement:

“Last night, I made a terrible mistake. I lost my cool and what I did was selfish and unacceptable. I know that we are all responsible for our actions and I can only prove my true character through my actions moving forward. I want to apologize to Mason Rudolph, my teammates, our entire organization, our fans and to the NFL. I know I have to be accountable for what happened, learn from my mistake and I fully intend to do so.”

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Larry Ogunjobi suspended 1 game for his role in the Browns-Steelers brawl

Ogunjobi will miss the team’s Week 12 game against the Bengals

Cleveland Browns starting defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi has been suspended one game for his role in the massive brawl at the end of the team’s Thursday night win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He will miss the team’s Week 12 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ogunjobi pushed Steelers QB Mason Rudolph to the ground after the Myles Garrett helmet-swinging incident. He has also been fined an undisclosed amount by the NFL.

Garrett has been suspended indefinitely. Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey has also been suspended three games for punching and kicking Garrett on the ground.

The full initial statement from the NFL announcing the series of suspensions, including Ogunjobi’s:

Nick Chubb is the NFL’s first 1,000-yard rusher of 2019

Nick Chubb is the NFL’s first 1,000-yard rusher of 2019

Browns running back Nick Chubb ran for 92 yards on 27 carries in the team’s 21-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. The production carried Chubb over the 1,000-yard mark for the season in the team’s 10th game.

With that, Chubb became the first running back to break the 1,000-yard rushing barrier in the NFL in 2019. Chubb finished the night with 1,011 yards. Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook sits at 991 after already playing 10 games.

It’s a sweet situation for Chubb, who briefly crossed the 1,000-yard threshold as a rookie in 2018 before losing yards on his final carries to take him back down to just 996.

Odell Beckham Jr.: ‘It feels like we lost the game’ with Myles Garrett’s act

What should be a great night for the Browns instead feels empty and sickening

What should be a joyous celebration for the Cleveland Browns instead felt like a wake. The 21-7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night was completely overshadowed by the disgusting brawl involving Myles Garrett hitting Steelers QB Mason Rudolph over the head with his own helmet in the final seconds of the end of the fourth quarter.

The action was a stunning display of senseless violence. A visibly shaken Odell Beckham Jr. watched the full incident for the first time while on the set of the NFL Network postgame show. The Browns wideout later addressed the media.

“It’s not what direction we’re headed in as an organization,” Beckham said, still unsure of how to fully process the ugly scene. “It just was not where we’ve been going. And it does feel like we lost the game.”

That sentiment was echoed by Baker Mayfield in his conversations with reporters after the game as well. And it’s understandable.

Nobody will remember the Browns win. This will be the Myles Garrett violence game. Neither Beckham nor Mayfield defended the action, nor should they. What should be a great night instead feels empty and sickening.

Myles Garrett: ‘I made a mistake, I lost my cool and I regret it’

Myles Garrett: ‘I made a mistake, I lost my cool and I regret it’ after his ejection in the Browns win over the Steelers

“I made a mistake, I lost my cool and I regret it,” a contrite and calm Garrett said at his locker after the Cleveland Browns’ 21-7 win over the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cleveland Browns defensive end was starting to realize just how much of an understatement he was making.

Garrett was ejected from the game for a violent attack on Steelers QB Mason Rudolph where he took Rudolph’s helmet off and proceeded to strike him over the head with it. The incident late in the fourth quarter dominates what was otherwise an impressive and much-needed win for the Browns.

The game outcome is secondary, thanks to Garrett’s action. Here’s what the Pro Bowler had to say to the reporters gathered around his locker about his actions, as broadcast on NFL Network,

“Absolutely, that is embarrassing. What I did was foolish and I shouldn’t have allowed myself to do stuff like that. It’s out of character. But in a situation like that where it’s an emotional game like (teammate Larry Ogunjobi, who was also ejected) said, and I can’t allow myself to fall into those emotions.”

Garrett said he will address his teammates tomorrow.

“I’m not just going to address my position group or defense. I’m going to prepare the whole team on what I did. That it could come back to bite us.

I don’t know what kind of repercussions I will face but, I’ve got to be better.”

Garrett was asked what he thinks he might say to his teammates.

“I’ll think of it when I get there, but…embarrassing,” Garrett said. “Foolish. A bad representation of who we want to be and what we’re trying to do with the rest of the season.”

Garrett figures to be suspended for multiple games and heavily fined for his actions.

 

 

Watch: Damarious Randall ejected for helmet-to-helmet hit

Randall hit Dionate Johnson in the side of the head with his helmet and was ejected

Browns safety Damarious Randall has been ejected from the team’s Thursday Night Football game for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless receiver.

Randall ran into Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson after the ball had already missed the target. No. 23 for the Browns clearly initiated contact with his helmet, hitting the side of Johnson’s helmet and injuring the rookie WR. Randall was penalized 15 yards for the personal foul and then ejected from the game after a review while the trainers tended to Johnson.

The wideout left the sideline on a cart and was ruled out for the rest of the night.

This is exactly the type of play the NFL is trying to eliminate from the game.

Jarvis Landry sets the NFL record for most catches in 1st 6 seasons

Landry passed DeAndre Hopkins, as well as Antonio Brown and Randy Moss

Jarvis Landry set an NFL record on Thursday night. In the second quarter of the Browns game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers, Landry hauled in a 6-yard pass from Baker Mayfield.

That catch was the 529th of Landry’s career, now in his sixth NFL season. And with that, he broke a tie with Texans All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins for the most receptions by any player in the first six seasons of his career. He entered the night tied with former Steeler Antonio Brown and one ahead of Hall of Famer Randy Moss.

It was Landry’s third reception of the night, including a touchdown catch to put the Browns up 14-0. That was the 29th TD of Landry’s career, which spans both Miami and Cleveland.