Tag: Austin Watkins Jr

Preseason star Austin Watkins Jr. among two Browns called up from practice squad

The fan favorite from the preseason could see the field against the Ravens

With two wide receivers ruled out for Sunday, Marquise Goodwin and David Bell, the Browns have called up Austin Watkins Jr. from the practice squad. It was a great preseason for Watkins, who made big catch after big catch that left fans wanting him on the active roster.

With the injuries at the position, as well as the trade of Donovan Peoples-Jones, Watkins could see the field on Sunday. He is a big-bodied wide receiver with solid body control and good physicality to make the tough catches in close coverage. In total, he had 16 catches for 257 yards and two touchdowns in the preseason.

In addition to Watkins, the Browns are calling up a familiar face, A.J. Green III, with the injuries at the cornerback position. Green has been with the team for several seasons and has provided some quality starts at times when the team has dealt with injuries before and can play some in the slot if Greg Newsome II can’t play.

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Preseason standout Austin Watkins Jr. returns to Browns on practice squad

The wide receiver will remain with Cleveland

Some fans were upset yesterday when preseason standout Austin Watkins Jr. didn’t make the initial 53-man roster of the Cleveland Browns. But after clearing waivers the team will bring him back as a member of the practice squad. He burst onto the scene out of nowhere this preseason making several highlight catches.

But of course, preseason production can only mean so much when the level of competition you are going against isn’t very high. Nonetheless, Watkins Jr. showed a good skill set of solid route running and body control.

Watkins Jr. is absolutely a player who can come in as an injury replacement if the team is needed and play fine. Though you hope you don’t need him at any point there could be a situation in which stashing a player with experience in the system would be valuable.

Stay tuned to BrownsWire as we continue to update you on all the Browns roster moves with the season drawing near.

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Browns set to release preseason standout Austin Watkins Jr.

The Browns are parting ways with their preseason standout.

The Cleveland Browns will be forced to make tough decisions today as they cut their roster down to 53 players. The first of those has already come down the pipeline as the team is expected to release preseason standout wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. (according to Brad Stainbrook of The OBR). Despite a quiet finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, Watkins Jr. was on track to have as good of a preseason as Victor Cruz did for the New York Giants years ago.

With Marquise Goodwin coming off of the non-football injury list, the wide receiver room got crowded again in Cleveland. And Watkins Jr. is the odd man out in a room where David Bell and Goodwin will now likely be locked into the 53-man roster.

Until the release is official, however, the Browns can still field calls for the services of Watkins Jr. Look out for some news that the third-year wide receiver could be traded before 4 PM today.

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3 players who could follow Joshua Dobbs and be traded before cutdowns

These players could follow Josh Dobbs out of town for future draft assets

General manager Andrew Berry is no stranger to trading players for future draft picks as Thursday he traded backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs to the Arizona Cardinals. Dobbs was a player that the Cleveland Browns might have cut after the emergence of Dorian Thompson-Robinson this preseason. So could there be more players that Berry could trade to get something from them instead of cutting them for nothing?

The offensive line is very deep and they won’t be able to keep all of them so a player from this group could be traded for a day three pick makes sense. Here are the three players I think are the most likely to be traded if Berry decides to move someone else in the manner he did with Dobbs.

WATCH: Austin Watkins Jr. makes another impressive catch in training camp practice

The young wide receiver continues to state his case

Another Cleveland Browns practice and another highlight from Austin Watkins Jr. who continues to impress during training camp. After an impressive performance last week against the Eagles in the preseason Watkins Jr. continued to state his case for a roster spot in Tuesday’s practice. Of course, he isn’t facing the number one defense in camp or the preseason but he has been impressive regardless.

The team will face a tough decision next week as Watkins Jr. has done everything he can to make his case for the roster. If it was up to me I would keep him around because there is no chance you will be able to stash him on the practice squad with the way he has performed.

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Updated 53-man roster prediction as Austin Watkins Jr. pleads his case

The Browns are going to have some hard decisions to make, especially around Austin Watkins Jr.

We are nearing the red wedding around the NFL as every team will have to cut their rosters from 90 men down to their initial 53-man roster. And for the Cleveland Browns, a team that has accumulated a great deal of talent, that means some hard decisions will have to be made. The hardest decision, however, will surround 2021 undrafted wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. as he continues to plead his case.

Will he make his first NFL roster? Can he clear waivers and land back on the practice squad? Here is a final 53-man roster prediction as we enter the last week of the preseason.

Austin Watkins Jr. named Secret Superstar of preseason Week 2 by Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar

After another dominant outing, Browns wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. has been named a Secret Superstar of preseason Week 2 by Doug Farrar

Wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr. is another solid game against the Kansas City Chiefs away from making the final 53-man roster of the Cleveland Browns. And after a dominant performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, Watkins Jr. has the attention of Touchdown Wire’s Dog Farrar.

In fact, Watkins Jr. was named to Farrar’s Secret Superstars from Week 2 action of the preseason. Here is what Farrar had to say about the 2021 undrafted free agent:

“An undrafted free agent out of UAB, Watkins has had quite the circuitous career path since the 49ers signed and released him in 2021. It’s not often you see an NFL-to CFL-to-USFL-back-to-NFL journey work out, but maybe Watkins is the exception. The Browns signed Watkins in July, and judging form early returns, he may have found his NFL home. Watkins has had an extra game in which to do it with the Browns’ involvement in the Hall of Fame Game, but he now leads all receivers this preseason with 15 catches and 245 yards, and he’s tied for the lead with two touchdowns. If Watkins keeps that up against the Chiefs next Saturday, he’s going to make it very tough for coaches to check him off the roster when final cuts come.”

Needless to say, eyes will be on Watkins Jr. against the Chiefs.

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Browns: 5 players who have earned roster spots in the preseason

These five players have shown they should make the final roster

Each year there are players that perform in both training camp and the preseason that you don’t always expect. The roster of the Cleveland Browns has come a long way since Andrew Berry took over as general manager as he will have some tough decisions to make come cut downs. The wide receiver room went from lacking talent to having talent in the group that will likely not make the roster as Austin Watkins Jr. continues his surge.

There have been some impressive performances on both sides of the ball from players that weren’t expected to perform as well as they have. These five players have been impressive so far and deserve to make the team’s final 53-man roster.

Podcast: Which Browns stood out and who struggled vs the Eagles?

Who helped their stock and who hurt it on Thursday night?

The Cleveland Browns have their third preseason game in the books as they tied the Eagles 18-18 on Thursday night. Wide receiver Austin Watkins Jr continues his great preseason as he made play after play. He showed great body control to adjust to the ball in the air to go along with nice physicality and route running.

Add Cedric Tillman to the mix and the team has some really tough decisions to make at the position. Another young player making a statement is linebacker Mohamoud Diabate who plays with great range and physicality and his athleticism makes for a good coverage linebacker as well.

The struggles of Cade York continue as he isn’t showing any signs that he is figuring something out. He continues to push the ball right and after getting a second chance at a game-winner he way overcorrected missing it wide left.

We go over these players in more detail in this week’s episode which you can watch by clicking here.

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PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns on offense vs. the Eagles

Who shined the most on offense against the Eagles

After several brutal practices with the Eagles in Philadelphia, the Cleveland Browns faced them in their third preseason game on Thursday night. The Austin Watkins Jr. story continued as he made even more impressive plays this week.

He understands how to attack a defense and mixes good size and body control with reliable hands making his case for why he should make the roster. Whether he makes it here or somewhere else Watkins Jr. will be on an active roster this year.

Outside of that, the offensive line depth continued to play at a high level with the two Ohio State rookies, Luke Wypler and Dawand Jones, playing well again. How did the top offensive players grade out in Philadelphia according to those at PFF?