Tag: Andy Janovich

FB Andy Janovich already cut by Texans

It was a little surprising when the Browns released Janovich this offseason, that the Texans just did despite guaranteed money on his deal confirms Cleveland made the right decision:

A minor but interesting move made by the Cleveland Browns earlier this offseason was releasing FB Andy Janovich. Janovich was set to make a little over a million dollars and had been the team’s starter for the past two seasons.

While the Browns may have been looking to go cheaper at a seldom-used position, the move was a bit of a head-scratcher.

It didn’t take long for Janovich to catch on with another team as the Houston Texans, who have a lot of former Browns including Terrance Mitchell, Pharoah Brown and Tavierre Thomas, signed the fullback.

Despite having $700,000 in guaranteed money, Janovich was a part of Houston’s second round of roster cuts this week. Along with former Cleveland linebacker Tae Davis, the Texans moved on from what now looks to be a mistake signing this offseason.

The move by Houston helps validate Cleveland’s decision to release Janovich this offseason. If he isn’t good enough to help a rebuilding roster, he isn’t good enough to help the Browns push for the playoffs.

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Texans release FB Andy Janovich among 4 total transactions

The Houston Texans made four total transactions, including the release of fullback Andy Janovich.

The Houston Texans have a head start on their cut down from 85 players to 80.

The Texans released fullback Andy Janovich and linebacker Tae Davis on Sunday. Janovich had one target in the Texans’ 24-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 19 at SoFi Stadium. Davis had one tackle on special teams.

Houston also waived offensive lineman Myron Cunningham, an undrafted free agent from Arkansas.

The Texans also placed receiver Chester Rogers on the reserve/injured list. Rogers had three punt returns for 30 yards and a fair catch against the Rams along with a kickoff return for 20 yards.

The Texans have to get to 80 players by 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Aug. 23. The next roster cut down is to 53 players on Aug. 30.

Expect the Texans to carry a fullback in 2022

Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith says the team will carry a fullback in the 2022 season.

Fullback may be a dying breed across the NFL, but the position has a preserve with the Houston Texans.

According to coach Lovie Smith, the Texans are expected to carry a fullback on the roster as they deploy offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s system. Houston is placing a big emphasis on the run game, and one of the battering rams for the ground attack is fullback.

“Our offense, we want to be a team that can run the football,” Smith told reporters June 14 after mandatory minicamp at Houston Methodist Training Center. “We’re going to have a fullback on our roster, so, we wanted to establish that.”

The Texans currently have Paul Quessenberry and Andy Janovich on the roster as fullbacks.

Quessenberry played one game for the Texans last year in Week 16 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Houston had a depleted roster due to many players entering the COVID protocol, and Quessenberry played one offensive snap and 17 special team snaps in the 41-29 victory at NRG Stadium.

Janovich has been in the NFL since 2016 as a sixth-round pick for the Denver Broncos. The former Nebraska product carried 13 times for 51 yards and three touchdowns along with catching 22 passes for 233 yards a score through 50 games with the Broncos from 2016-19. The 6-1, 238-pound fullback played the past two years with the Cleveland Browns, catching five passes for 22 yards and carrying four times for four yards and a score through 27 games.

“You’ve seen our plays that we run,” Smith said. “You can’t get good physical work of course without pads, but the players know now their roles and how we’re going to win football games. That’s what we’ve seen, and I’m excited about what our offense will look like this fall.”

If the Texans are carrying a fullback, it also means other fullbacks across the league may have a home in Houston after the finalization of 53-man rosters at the end of preseason.

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FB Andy Janovich won’t be retained by the Browns

“One of the best at his position” and an important special teams player, the Browns move on from their starting fullback:

The Cleveland Browns are expected to make a few moves between now and the start of the league year. It started with placing the franchise tag on TE David Njoku as a part of negotiating a long-term contract.

The team also tendered three players making them exclusive rights free agents as of Monday:

  • OL Blake Hance
  • OL Michael Dunn
  • WR Ja’Marcus Bradley

As discussed earlier today, there were a lot of rumors floating around the NFL combine that GM Andrew Berry and company would be very busy in free agency as well as before to free up cap space.

One of those moves came down Monday afternoon as the team has decided to not pick up the option year on FB Andy Janovich’s contract:

Cleveland acquired Janovich from the Denver Broncos in 2020 in exchange for a sixth-round pick.

While his primary role was as a blocker, Janovich carried the ball four times for the Browns for four yards and one touchdown. He’s also caught the ball five times for 22 yards.

An important special teams player, Janovich has played in almost 400 snaps in that phase of the game including as the important punt protector.

By not picking up his option, Cleveland saves $1.5 million toward the salary cap. Johnny Stanton becomes the primary fullback for the team at this time and could get a chance to secure that role during training camp.

Browns designate Andy Janovich for return from injured reserve after waiving Johnny Stanton

While all the TMZ-level drama was going on the last two days, the Browns waived a player and designated another to return from IR:

Some business actually got done in the last two days for the Cleveland Browns despite all of the Odell Beckham Jr. drama. While it will not rise to the TMZ-level of the Beckham/Baker Mayfield coverage, the team made two moves that coincide with each other over the last two days.

Yesterday, the Browns waived fullback Johnny Stanton with the expectation that he would be added back to the practice squad if not claimed.

Today, the team designated fullback Andy Janovich for return from injured reserve. Cleveland now has three weeks to activate him from the injured reserve list. With the decision to waive Stanton on the NFL’s trade deadline, it is likely that Janovich will be activated in time for the Week 9 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Janovich hurt his hamstring on October 12th leading to being placed on injured reserve. In his five games this season, he had two rushing attempts for zero yards and a touchdown. Janovich also caught a pass to convert on a two-point try against the Minnesota Vikings.

While replacing Janovich for three games, Stanton had two receptions, one for a touchdown, and two rushes for a total of five yards.

Video: FB Andy Janovich proves his value in a play against Falcons

Just how valuable can a fullback be if he isn’t catching passes or running the ball? This play against the Falcons shows you:

The Cleveland Browns have their initial 53-man roster set as of Tuesday at 4 PM. By Wednesday at 4 PM, there may be a couple of changes to that 53-man roster and we will have the team’s initial 16-man practice squad names.

Fullback Andy Janovich made the team’s initial 53-man and is expected to stick. While Janovich only played in 180 offensive snaps last season, Cleveland sees value in having him on the roster for a variety of reasons.

Primarily is his blocking ability. Last year, according to Pro Football Focus, Janovich graded out at a 90.0 pass blocker while his run blocking was graded down at 63.8.

In a pass-heavy NFL, Janovich must be able to be on the field for both run and pass plays. Last year, 117 of his 180 snaps were run plays giving the defense a clear indication of what is coming when he was in the game.

The benefit to his good pass blocking ability is that when the team runs a play-action fake with him in the game, the defense is expecting a run and the fullback is able to help in protection. We saw that in the final preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons:

 

As Kevin Stefanski has a year of experience as both head coach and play-caller, it will be interesting to see what adjustments are made. Last year, Janovich was only targetted five times in the passing game (two receptions) and ran the ball two times.

Will the fullback’s usage increase or is his value as a blocker enough for Stefanski? We see in the above video just how valuable his blocking is.

Browns activate FB Andy Janovich from reserve/COVID-19 list

Janovich missed the last two weeks after testing positive for COVID-19

Cleveland welcomed the return of fullback Andy Janovich from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. The Browns officially activated the fullback and Janovich will be back on the practice field on Wednesday.

Janovich spent exactly two weeks on the reserve list after testing positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 16th. He cleared all required protocols set forth by the NFL and NFLPA to get back into action.

The Browns replaced him with Johnny Stanton from the practice squad against the Eagles but elected to go without a fullback in the Week 12 win over the Jaguars. Janovich is known for his lead blocking in the run game, though he has also flashed some ability as a receiver in his first year in Cleveland.

Browns reopen after determining no more high-risk exposures to COVID-19

The Browns have had two players test positive in the last four days

The Browns are back open for business on Tuesday. After determining there were no further high-risk exposures or close contacts to anyone who tested positive for COVID-19, the Browns reopened the team’s facilities in Berea.

It comes a day after the Browns closed all facilities after fullback Andy Janovich was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The Browns announced on Monday morning that a player tested positive for the virus. It was the second weekday in a row that happened for Cleveland; Chris Hubbard was placed on the reserve list on Friday and team facilities were also shuttered that day.

The Browns will remain operational under the NFL’s intensive protocol policy. That means meetings will be held remotely. There was no scheduled practice on Tuesday, but that would have been done remotely as well.

If no one else tests positive before Wednesday’s scheduled practice, the Browns will exit the intensive protocol and practice as normally operational.

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Browns place FB Andy Janovich on reserve/COVID-19

Janovich joins OL Chris Hubbard on the reserve/COVID-19 list

The Cleveland Browns placed fullback Andy Janovich on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday. Because Janovich is the only player added to the list, it appears he is the previously unnamed player who tested positive for the virus earlier in the day, a result that shuttered the Browns facility for the second time in four days. Neither the team nor Janovich has confirmed he is the person who tested positive, however.

Janovich played on both offense and special teams in Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans.

It’s the second incidence of a Browns player to test positive during the last week. Offensive lineman Chris Hubbard was a confirmed positive test on Friday. Contact tracing at the time determined that no other players were at high exposure.

The rules for being activated off the reserve/COVID-19 list for positive testers are divided into two groups. There are different protocols for players who exhibit symptoms and those who are asymptomatic. From Packers Wire,

Asymptomatic players can’t return until:

– 10 days have passed since initial positive test OR

– 5 days have passed since initial positive test AND two consecutive negative tests are completed separated by 24 hours within a five-day period

– Return is approved by team’s physician after consulting with ICS and NFL’s chief medical officer

Symptomatic players can’t return until:

– 10 days have passed since first COVID-19 symptoms appeared

– At least 72 hours have passed since symptoms last occurred

– Return is approved by team’s physician after consulting with ICS and NFL’s chief medical officer

– Local regulations and requirements are satisfied

It is not known at this time if (blank) has shown symptoms of COVID-19.

Andy Janovich is this year’s Browns nominee for Salute to Service Award

Janovich has been very active in helping veteran’s groups throughout his NFL career

It’s appropriate on Veteran’s Day for the NFL and USAA to reveal the nominees from all 32 teams for the annual Salute to Service Award. This year’s nominee from the Cleveland Browns is fullback Andy Janovich.

The award honors a league member who demonstrates an exemplary commitment to honoring and supporting the military community. Janovich certainly fits that billing.

From the press release explaining Janovich’s worthy candidacy,

Throughout his entire NFL career, Janovich has proactively shown his deep appreciation by honoring members of our armed forces. In both 2018 and 2019, he supported Hunting with Soldiers for My Cause My Cleats. This organization was created in 2007 with the mission of getting Combat Veterans into the outdoors to give them the healing from PTSD that nature can help provide by offering them the opportunity to go hunting and fishing at no cost to them. Janovich also donated his cleats to NFL Auction to benefit Hunting with Soldiers. Since joining the Browns this year, Janovich  has expressed a strong interest in supporting all of the team’s Salute to Service initiatives in 2020. His passion for this important aspect of community relations is also clearly evident through his participation throughout his career. Janovich joined the Broncos’ 2018 Salute to Service Caravan, where he visited military members and their families at Fort Carson Army Base, and he also regularly shows his support through social media in supporting the military, including in an effort to help the NFL and its clubs raise money for the Salute to Service initiative. Although he is new to the Browns, Janovich is extremely excited to work closely with the USO of Northern Ohio for upcoming Browns Salute to Service efforts.