Tag: George Obinna

Falcons release two players ahead of Tuesday’s cut deadline

The Falcons released offensive lineman Bryce Hargrove and linebacker George Obinna on Monday afternoon.

With the NFL‘s first set of roster cuts looming, the Atlanta Falcons continue to trim their roster. The team must get down to 85 players by Tuesday’s deadline and released offensive lineman Bryce Hargrove and linebacker George Obinna on Monday afternoon.

Obinna, an undrafted free agent out of Sacramento State in 2020, spent his rookie year with Cleveland on the injured reserve list before signing with the Falcons back in June. He recorded two solo tackles during Atlanta’s preseason opener on Friday. 

Hargrove, who started the past two seasons for Pitt at guard, signed with the Falcons after going undrafted back in May. Despite a decent showing against the Titans — allowing just one pressure — Hargrove faced long odds to make Atlanta’s final 53-man roster.

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Browns waive DE George Obinna, now have an open roster spot

Obinna was re-signed to the team last week

George Obinna’s second stint with the Cleveland Browns didn’t even last a full week. The Browns waived the defensive end with injury designation just before Tuesday’s practice session.

Obinna is an undrafted rookie from Sacramento State who was initially signed right after the 2020 NFL Draft. He was waived in July but then re-signed on August 13th.

The roster spot he occupied remains vacant as of Wednesday morning. At just 79 players, the move leaves the Browns with some wiggle room to bring in a potential replacement for injured LB Mack Wilson, who is expected to miss significant time with his hyperextended left knee.

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Browns swap UDFA defenders, bring back George Obinna and cut Jeffery Whatley

Obinna is back after being cut on July 31st

The Cleveland Browns made a move at the bottom of the 80-man active roster, swapping back in one undrafted rookie free agent for another.

The Browns brought back defensive end George Obinna, who was part of the team’s initial UDFA class but was waived on July 31st. To make room for the 6-2, 245-pound pass rusher, the team waived another UDFA, DT Jeffery Whatley.

Obinna returns with a chance to make a name for himself when the team goes into full padded practice on Monday, August 17th. He holds the Sacramento State school record for sacks and was a two-time All-Big Sky performer. His size offers some ability to possibly transition to more of an outside LB pass rush specialist.

Browns waive 4 players to get to 80-man limit

Jermaine Grace is the most notable of the 4 players released

The Cleveland Browns made some moves at the bottom of the roster on Friday. The team parted ways with four players to get to the 80-man roster limit for the start of training camp.

The four players:

  • WR Tony Brown
  • LB Jermaine Grace
  • DE George Obinna
  • DT Justin Zimmer

Zimmer was waived with a non-football injury designation.

Brown and Obinna are undrafted rookies who were hoping to make a quick impression. Grace spent the last couple weeks of the 2019 season on Browns practice squad. He has two separate stints with Cleveland as well as stops in Atlanta, Indianapolis and Seattle since 2017. He was part of the team’s considerable Miami Hurricanes contingency under the prior regime.

The Browns are now at 80 players on the active roster after the moves and the COVID-19 reserve and opt-out lists are factored in.

George Obinna: What the Browns are getting in their new outside linebacker

George Obinna: What the Browns are getting in their new outside linebacker

We have already broken down a few of the players in the Cleveland undrafted free agent haul, but today we are going to dive into a small school prospect that went under many radars (including myself) during the pre-draft process. The Browns are making an effort at being more effective at reaching and pressuring the passer. This signing was another instance of that.

Name: George Obinna

Position: Outside Linebacker

School: Sacramento State

Height: 6-3

Weight: 240 pounds

Strengths: 

Obinna was a defensive end in college and can provide versatility at end if he gains more weight, or also outside linebacker at the next level. Extremely productive college resume as he completely dominated the Big Sky conference earning first-team multiple times. Obinna started since his sophomore season, but also played meaningful minutes as a true freshman. He is a pass-rushing specialist as evidenced by owning the school career record for sacks with 33.5.

Weaknesses: We highlight Obinna’s “versatility” above and this could be true, but you could also make the argument that he wasn’t drafted due to his tweener status. He lacks the ideal size you want in an end and also the ideal athleticism of a classic outside backer. He played at a small school and dominated in large part due to his combination of size and quickness at that level. This is not going to be enough in the NFL.

Overall: Obinna is another prospect that has an uphill battle to make the final roster as he doesn’t have a real position and a defensive coordinator would need to put some effort into finding him a role. It is isn’t impossible for him to grow into the role of either a full-time end or outside backer, but the odds are against him. Obinna does have a chance of sticking due to his potential effectiveness on special teams.

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