Tag: Browns roster moves

Browns sign LB Jordan Kunaszyk after a tryout

Browns sign LB Jordan Kunaszyk after a tryout and waived LB Kelly Silas with injury designation

The Cleveland Browns have churned the bottom of the roster once again in GM Andrew Berry’s aggressive pursuit of more talent. On Tuesday, the Browns signed free agent LB Jordan Kunaszyk after a successful tryout with the team.

Kunaszyk, 25, is entering his fourth NFL season. He spent the last two seasons playing for the Washington Football Team (now Commanders) after playing his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers. Kunaszyk has appeared almost exclusively on special teams across his three seasons, seeing action on just 19 defensive reps in 26 career games.

The Browns had room for Kunaszyk, who played collegiately at California, after waiving rookie LB Silas Kelly with an injury designation.

Kunaszyk was one of four players to have an official tryout with the Browns. They chose to sign the veteran LB over fellow LBs Leon Jacobs and Omari Cobb, as well as TE Ethan Wolf.

Browns claim two DBs off waivers

The Browns claimed S Luther Kirk and CB Reggie Robinson off waivers on Tuesday

The never-ending Cleveland Browns roster churn continued on Tuesday. The Browns claimed two defensive backs off waivers from other teams.

Per the NFL’s transaction wire, the Browns claimed safety Luther Kirk from the Atlanta Falcons and cornerback Reggie Robinson II from the Houston Texans. Cleveland had created room on the 90-man roster earlier this week by waiving DB Julius Faulk and terminated the contract of RB Tre Harbison with injury status.

Kirk is in his third NFL season, though he’s spent almost all that time on practice squads. He saw action for five special teams reps for the Falcons in 2021. The 6-2 Illinois State product also spent time with the Vikings and Cowboys.

Robinson was a fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys after a productive career at Tulsa. He played sparingly for the Cowboys as a rookie and missed the 2021 season on injured reserve with a toe injury suffered in a preseason game. The Cowboys waived him last week and the Texans claimed Robinson, only to have Houston waive him on Monday.

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The Browns are releasing center JC Tretter

Cutting Tretter saves the Browns over $8 million in cap room for 2022

JC Tretter’s time in Cleveland is coming to an end. The Browns are releasing their longtime starting center.

Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the news, which was quickly confirmed by several Cleveland sources.

The move saves the Browns $8.235 million in salary cap room. Tretter had one year remaining on his contract with Cleveland. He had started every game but one since joining the Browns prior to the 2017 season. Tretter also serves as the NFLPA president, a situation that sometimes pitted him against teammates or the team.

The Browns do have an in-house replacement in Nick Harris, now entering his third season.

Kevin Stefanski, Austin Hooper among Browns returning from COVID-19

Coach Kevin Stefanski and TE Austin Hooper among Browns returning from COVID-19

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The Browns have kept everyone on pins and needles with their abundance of roster moves over the last few days. And the Browns remain quite busy on Wednesday.

In addition to the Greg Newsome II news — the rookie CB is back from concussion protocols but added to the reserve/COVID-19 list — the Browns announced that head coach Kevin Stefanski is back in the building after clearing the required COVID-19 protocols.

Coach Stefanski isn’t the only member of the Browns to return. Cleveland also activated TE Austin Hooper and LB Jacob Phillips from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Practice squad WR Jojo Natson has also cleared protocols and returns to the team.

The Browns also made the earlier reports official and waived punter Jamie Gillan, who was still on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Browns are waiving P Jamie Gillan

The Cleveland Browns are waiving P Jamie Gillan and rolling with veteran Dustin Colquitt for the rest of 2021

The Cleveland Browns are dropping the hammer on punter Jamie Gillan. As first reported by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Browns are waiving Gillan on Wednesday.

Gillan is currently on the Browns’ reserve/COVID-19 list and has missed the last two games. Replacement Dustin Colquitt has performed outstandingly in Gillan’s absence and will finish the season with the job.

The “Scottish Hammer” has had an uneven time in Cleveland since capturing the NFL all-rookie punter honors in 2019. He’s had some very good games but they’ve been pockmarked with some untimely poor punts. His entire body of work should earn Gillan another chance with a different team once he’s healthy.

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Browns make it official and waive WR Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham is now subject to waiver claims and is no longer on the Cleveland roster

It took a little longer than expected for the divorce to finalize, but the separation of the Cleveland Browns and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is now complete. The Browns waived the veteran wideout on Monday.

The move has been anticipated since Friday. The Browns revealed their intentions to end the failed chemistry experiment after two-and-a-half seasons where Beckham battled injuries and never quite fit into Kevin Stefanski’s precision-based offense.

Because Beckham’s release comes after the NFL trade deadline, No. 13 is subject to waiver claims from other teams. If that does happen, the claiming team absorbs the remainder of Beckham’s 2021 salary, which is around $8 million for the remaining nine weeks. Another team claiming Beckham would wipe away the negative cap hit for Cleveland.

 

Browns waive OT Alex Taylor

Taylor played 4 snaps on special teams in Week 7

The on-again, off-again relationship between the Cleveland Browns and young offensive tackle Alex Taylor has reentered the “off” mode. The Browns waived Taylor on Thursday.

Taylor was active for the Browns in the Week 7 win over the Denver Broncos and played four snaps on special teams, though none on offense. He signed to the active roster from the practice squad after being lured away from the Chicago Bears’ practice squad in September.

He had spent the summer in Cleveland but was snapped up by Chicago after the final roster cutdowns. Taylor spent most of the 2020 season on Cleveland’s practice squad after signing as an undrafted free agent from South Carolina State.

There is already talk the Browns will re-sign Taylor to the practice squad once he clears waivers.

Browns swap tight ends, sign Connor Davis and release Kyle Markway

Davis started college as a DE and also played OT before switching to TE

The tight end room in Berea got shaken on Friday, with a newcomer stirring into the mix. The Cleveland Browns signed free agent Connor Davis and released Kyle Markway.

Davis is a first-year player who spent most of the 2020 season on the New York Jets practice squad. He stands out at 6-foot-8 and also played in both the AAF and the XFL before joining the Jets. Davis played collegiately at Stony Brook, where he began his career as a defensive end and also played offensive tackle before converting to tight end.

Markway bounced on and off the Browns’ practice squad in 2020 as an undrafted free agent from South Carolina.

 

 

Browns waive K Matthew McCrane, back down to 2 kickers

It’s now Cody Parkey and Chase McLaughlin

There are just two kickers on the Cleveland Browns roster once again. A day after unexpectedly claiming PK Chase McLaughlin off waivers from the New York Jets, the Browns have waived kicker Matthew McCrane.

It’s a one-for-one swap on the team’s 90-man roster with McLaughlin coming in and pushing McCrane out. McCrane spent nearly all of the 2020 season on the Browns’ practice squad after being signed as a free agent in September.

The team thought highly enough of McCrane to place him on the protected practice squad list, preventing other teams from poaching him away. The one-time Steelers kicker never appeared in a game for the Browns.

McLaughlin is now the challenger for veteran Cody Parkey, who finished the season strongly in his second stint in Cleveland.

Browns claim kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers from the Jets

McLaughlin joins Cody Parkey and Matt McCrane on the Browns roster at PK

 

There is more competition at placekicker coming in Cleveland. The Browns claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers from the New York Jets, per the NFL’s transaction wire.

McLaughlin joins incumbent Cody Parkey and Matthew McCrane on the Browns roster at kicker, though McCrane is vulnerable to be waived off the 90-man roster to make room for McLaughlin.

Parkey fared well in his second stint in Cleveland in 2020, making 19 of his 22 field goal attempts and 43 of 47 extra points. He also had an above-average rate of 55 percent touchbacks on his kickoffs. Parkey was perfect in the two postseason games.

McLaughlin is well-traveled. The Browns are his eighth team since he entered the league in 2019, mostly on practice squads over the last year. He’s made 22 of his 28 career field goal attempts, including four of five for the Jaguars in 2020. He was originally an undrafted free agent out of Illinois.