Tag: 2020 NFL free agency

Browns bring back OT Greg Senat

Senat comes back to Cleveland

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The Cleveland Browns weren’t happy when they lost practice squad offensive tackle Greg Senat during the season. The Dallas Cowboys poached Senat before the Browns could protect him on the squad.

So it’s no surprise that the Browns quickly snatched up the intriguing youngster when the Cowboys let him hit free agency. Cleveland announced Senat re-signed with the team on Friday.

Terms of the deal are undisclosed beyond it being a one-year contract. Senat played just three snaps in Dallas in 10 games after being signed off the Browns practice squad.

Originally a sixth-round pick by the Ravens in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Wagner, Senat impressed the Browns in a training camp audition and has developmental upside to stick around as a reserve tackle.

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Alexander Hollins: What the Browns are getting in their new WR

Scouting report on new Browns WR Alexander Hollins

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Alexander Hollins is not a familiar name for most NFL fans, but the newest Cleveland Browns wide receiver is ready to make a bigger impression. The Browns added Hollins this week, and the second-year wideout will join the active roster once he clears COVID-19 protocols.

What are the Browns getting in Hollins?

Now in his second season out of Eastern Illinois, Hollins spent his rookie campaign with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. Most of the 2019 season was on the Vikings’ practice squad, but he did see action in five games down the stretch, playing under offensive coordinator (and now Browns head coach) Kevin Stefanski.

Hollins caught two passes on four targets for 46 yards in 71 total offensive snaps. He also had limited special teams duty.

He’s an impressive, albeit slightly-built athlete. At 6-0 and a listed 166 pounds that appears generous, Hollins is both quick and fast. He clocked a 4.48 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2019 and also posted a 6.89 3-cone drill. That’s an impressive combo that helped him dominate the FCS level with the Panthers.

In college, he was a big-play wideout with a knack for making tough catches in the end zone. He extends well to present a big catch radius, and Hollins has strong hands. Despite being skinny and with small hands, Hollins reliably caught the ball and held on through contact well.

The lack of bulk showed more in blocking and in working the middle of the field. He’s not scared, but he’s also not scaring anyone. It was difficult to see how his impressive agility metrics translated to route-running, too. He only showed one gear on deeper routes.

He’s a nice pickup for the Browns this late in the season for his familiarity with Stefanski’s offense and his reliable hands. In all likelihood, Hollins is auditioning for a shot at making the team in 2021.

Lions hold tryout for free agent OL Evan Brown

Brown can play guard or center and has NFL experience

The Detroit Lions held an official tryout on Friday for free agent offensive lineman Evan Brown.

Brown played five games for the Cleveland Browns in 2020 before being let go after Week 8. The second-year lineman from SMU played exclusively on special teams. Brown was with the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants as an undrafted rookie in 2019, playing a total of 38 snaps on the line.

He’s primarily a center but Brown can also play either guard position. He’s got good agility for a 302-pounder and has some special teams experience with all three of his prior NFL stops.

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.

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 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 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.

Lions hold tryout for 3 players including QB Kyle Lauletta

Lauletta was a 4th round pick in 2018

There were three extra football players in Allen Park on Tuesday as the Detroit Lions auditioned three street free agents.

Quarterback Kyle Lauletta and two wide receivers, Gary Jennings and Damion Willis, tried out for the Lions. Lauletta was a fourth-round pick of the New York Giants in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Richmond. He played extensively against Detroit in the two teams’ joint practices and preseason game that summer. He was most recently with the Atlanta Falcons practice squad.

Jennings is another fourth-round pick who didn’t work out. The Seattle Seahawks bailed on their 2019 fourth-rounder midway through his rookie season. Jennings, a speedy former QB, has also been with the Miami Dolphins.

Willis is the only tryout who has played in an actual game. He started three games for the Bengals as an undrafted rookie in 2019. He spent the summer with the Cleveland Browns before being waived.

None of the players have been signed as of Wednesday morning.