Tag: Austin Seibert

Bengals will claim PK Austin Seibert off waivers from the Browns

Seibert and the Bengals visit the Browns on Thursday

Thursday night’s AFC North matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals just got a little more interesting. A day after the Browns dumped kicker Austin Seibert, the Bengals are claiming the second-year pro and will have him at the ready on Thursday.

The move will not be official until the waiver claims are processed later on Tuesday, but the Bengals hold the No. 1 spot on the waiver wire by virtue of their 2019 record. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero first reported the pending claim.

Seibert missed a field goal and an extra point in the Browns’ 38-6 loss in Baltimore. The team opted to trust in veteran Cody Parkey, who was signed on Monday after spending Week 1 on the practice squad.

The Bengals had their own kicking issues on Sunday. Randy Bullock wildly missed a potential game-tying field goal on the final play of Cincinnati’s loss to the Chargers. Bullock appeared to injure himself on the attempt.

 

Report: Bengals claim Austin Seibert off waivers as Randy Bullock insurance

The Cincinnati Bengals added to the roster ahead of Week 2.

The Cincinnati Bengals flexed their No. 1 spot in waiver priority Tuesday to add kicker Austin Seibert, formerly of the Cleveland Browns.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported the move, which comes on the heels of Bengals kicker Randy Bullock missing a short field goal that would’ve sent the team’s Week 1 game to overtime — the Bengals instead lost to the Los Angeles Chargers by three.

The Browns waived the No. 170 pick from the 2019 draft after kicking issues of his own during opening weekend.

The Bengals play the Browns on Thursday night and Bullock is on the injury report due to “calves” after seemingly injuring himself on the missed kick in Week 1.

Report: Browns are signing K Cody Parkey to the active roster

Austin Seibert missed both his kicking attempts on Sunday

Minutes after Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski concluded a Zoom press conference with the media where he was noncommittal about the issue, it seems the Browns are indeed making a move at the kicker position after all.

A report by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com indicates the Browns will sign kicker Cody Parkey off of the practice squad. That would spell the end of the 17-game run for Austin Seibert as Cleveland’s placekicker.

Seibert had a rough Week 1. He missed a field goal and an extra point in the 38-6 loss in Baltimore. His struggles with extra points have become a recurring issue; only Adam Vinatieri missed more than Seibert’s five failed conversions in 2019. Despite the struggles, Seibert earned a place on the All-Rookie team.

Parkey was signed to the Browns practice squad last week. He was the team’s full-time kicker back in 2016.

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Studs and Duds for the Browns from Week 1

Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season is finally in the books and if you are a Cleveland Browns fan it was like every Week 1 in years past.

Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season is finally in the books. If you are a Cleveland Browns fan it was like every Week 1 of years past, with our beloved Browns getting blown out. The Lamar Jackson-led Ravens dismantled Cleveland to a tune of 38-6 in Kevin Stefanski’s coaching debut.

Studs

Nick Chubb: Kareem Hunt was actually the leading rusher with 13 carries for 72 yards, but Chubb ran with more authority and was clearly robbed of opportunities with only 10 carries for 60 yards. The Browns were never in a position to win this contest, but had Chubb gotten more carries, perhaps the bleeding could have been slowed.

David Njoku: Writing this puts a smile on my face. Njoku has taken over the role of the most polarizing player on the Browns roster with half of the fan base screaming for him to be traded. The fact is Njoku is good and he proved that against Baltimore. Njoku was the second-leading Browns receiver with three receptions for 50 yards and the only touchdown.

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Tavierre Thomas: The first sack of the season goes to none other than defensive back, Tavierre Thomas. He is not an All-Pro caliber player and still had some lapses in this contest, but this is a guy who played three defensive snaps all of last season and was forced to played a lot in the opener. Thomas plays with high energy and demonstrated that this week.

Duds

Austin Seibert: Another controversial player, it feels like some fans are rooting against Seibert due to the franchise using a draft pick on him in 2019. This portion of the fan base is smiling today. Siebert missed an extra point and a 41-yard field goal and Twitter is on fire rooting for his exit.

Odell Beckham Jr.: I saw someone compare Beckham to Greg Little and I couldn’t help but laugh, but that is the perfect summary of what OBJ did on Sunday. The offense went from not including him into the plan to Baker Mayfield forcing every pass in his direction. Although some of that is not his fault, the awful drop on 3rd-and-2 will go down in history.

Baker Mayfield: Mayfield was forcing too many of his passes in the second half to OBJ and they were not wise choices. He looked frantic and inaccurate. Although I think that is fair for Week 1 with a shortened offseason, some fans are not as forgiving. Mayfield finished completing 21 of 39 attempts for 189 yards with only one touchdown and an interception.

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Browns bring in 4 kickers for workouts

Austin Seibert made 25 of his 29 FG attempts as a rookie

Austin Seibert has been the only placekicker on the Cleveland Browns roster for nearly a year. Since beating out Greg Joseph in a training camp battle last summer, it’s been all Seibert.

The Browns decided that might need to change. Or perhaps they were motivating the second-year kicker from Oklahoma. Either way, the team brought in four free agent kickers for a workout on Wednesday.

Veterans Nick Folk and Kai Forbath are the most notable of the foursome, none of whom were signed as of press time. Matthew McCrane and Cody Parkey also visited with the Browns.

The 35-year-old Folk is in the top 50 in NFL history in scoring, while Forbath ranks 9th in NFL history in field goal accuracy. Both were affiliated with the Patriots in 2019.

Seibert made 25 of his 29 field goal attempts in his rookie campaign. He did struggle more on extra points, missing five. He made the PFWA All-Rookie team, as did punter Jamie Gillan.

Updated Browns 53-man roster prediction after opt-outs

Updated Browns 53-man roster prediction after opt-outs and additions

The projections for the Cleveland Browns 53-man roster were blown out of the water before the players even got on the field. Two players who were definitely making the final 53-man roster, OG Drew Forbes and DT Andrew Billings, opted out.

Three other Browns also opted out, though only guard Colby Gossett was a serious contender to make the final roster. The shifting on the offensive line changes the projection calculus.

Here’s where we’re at now with the 53-man projection…

QB – 3

Big change here. Garrett Gilbert now makes the final spot after being omitted earlier.

RB – 4

Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, D’Ernest Johnson, Dontrell Hilliard. No change.

FB – 1

Andy Janovich. No change.

TE – 4

Austin Hooper, David Njoku, Harrison Bryant, Stephen Carlson. No change.

WR – 5

Odell Beckham Jr. Jarvis Landry, KhaDarel Hodge, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones. Dropped one here to make room for the extra QB. Sorry, Damion Ratley.

OL – 9

We know the starting five will be (L-R) Jedrick Wills, Joel Bitonio, JC Tretter, Wyatt Teller, Jack Conklin. Chris Hubbard, Nick Harris and Kendall Lamm are the current reserves. I don’t think the ninth lineman is currently in Cleveland, with apologies to Evan Brown and Willie Wright. They’ll both make the practice squad and the liberal new rules on call-ups.

DL – 9

Starters (L-R) are Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Sheldon Richardson, Olivier Vernon. Adrian Clayborn is a lock at DE, as is rookie DT Jordan Elliott. I think Chad Thomas will get every chance to prove he belongs with a new regime. I’ll add in Porter Gustin and Daniel Ekuale, though it wouldn’t surprise me if the ninth guy here is a nose tackle not currently on the roster.

LB – 5

No changes here. B.J. Goodson, Mack Wilson, Sione Takitaki, Jacob Phillips, Willie Harvey. That fifth spot is vulnerable to an outsider.

CB – 6

Swap in newcomer M.J. Stewart at the expense of UDFA A.J. Green, who will stick on the practice squad. Stewart joins Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams, Kevin Johnson, Terrance Mitchell and Tavierre Thomas, who is the Browns’ best special teams player.

S – 4

No change. Grant Delpit, Andrew Sendejo, Karl Joseph, Sheldrick Redwine. There could be a fifth here in J.T. Hassell, who can also double at OLB.

Specialist – 3

Not even a competition this year for PK Austin Seibert or P Jamie Gillan, with LS Charley Hughlett back for more as well.

Studs and Duds from the Browns’ Week 11 win over the Steelers

Which Browns players thrived and which ones struggled in the 21-7 win over the Steelers?

The Cleveland Browns beat back the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-7, behind several standout performances. There were some Browns players who had clunkers too.

Here’s who stood out, good and bad, in the Browns’ big win:

Stud: Joe Schobert

The linebacker had an amazing game, one of the best and most impactful the league will see from anyone all season. Schobert was everywhere.

Schobert forced an incompletion on a key 3rd down by hitting Mason Rudolph’s arm. Several of the veteran LB’s 10 tackles were of the downhill variety and at or near the line of scrimmage. He bagged a sack, had two other QB hurries (both on third downs to force fourth downs), and oh yeah picked off two Mason Rudolph passes. The first of those came here:

Stud: Morgan Burnett

The safety came up big against his old team. Burnett broke up a long pass in the first quarter. He then made a great tackle on 3rd-and-short to force a 4th down before halftime that the Steelers failed to convert. On the next drive Burnett picked off a pass tipped by Denzel Ward and returned it 43 yards, befitting his jersey number. He also made an impact with a blitz. Burnett had his best game as a Brown. Unfortunately, it might be his last; Burnett left the game with an Achilles injury.

Dud: Chris Hubbard

The Browns right tackle is an unfortunate fixture in the duds. Hubbard’s play against his former team was no exception. Hubbard once again struggled to handle the pass rush, this time from T.J. Watt and Jayrone Elliott (among others). It’s still way too common to see Browns run plays end with Hubbard not blocking anyone, too.

Stud: Juston Burris

Filling in admirably with injuries and ejections around him in the defensive backfield, Burris made a big impact on the game. He picked off a pass and also had a strip sack earlier in the game when he slammed into Rudolph on a beautifully executed blitz off the corner.

Stud: Jamie Gillan

The “Scottish Hammer” proved to be a huge weapon for the Browns. He punted eight times, averaging 45.8 yards per punt. Four of his efforts wound up pinning the Steelers inside their own 20-yard line. He could have had two more, but one bounced funny and another was misplayed by his coverage unit. Pittsburgh managed just 18 return yards. Gillan played a huge role in keeping field position in the Browns’ advantage.

Dud: Austin Seibert

The rookie kicker entered Thursday perfect on his field goal attempts on the season. It did not last. Seibert missed his first field goal wide right from 44 yards out. His second attempt was a banana ball slice to the right from 50 yards.

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