Tag: J.T. Hassell

Chad Thomas, Donovan Olumba among cuts not returning to the Browns practice squad

There were a few surprise omissions from the Browns practice squad list

There are only 16 spots on the practice squad for the Cleveland Browns. As of Monday morning, 14 of those are filled. And the two open spots appear destined for DT Eli Ankou and TE Pharaoh Brown, who were waived on Sunday when the Browns signed Joe Jackson and Vincent Taylor.

The Browns stuck close to home in filling out the practice squad. All but one of the 14 members of the initial practice squad spent training camp in Cleveland. The other, PK Cody Parkey, was the team’s kicker in 2016.

But there are some notable omissions from the practice squad list. Defensive end Chad Thomas is the biggest.

Thomas entered training camp as the No. 3 DE, or at least competing for that role with newcomer Adrian Clayborn. After a promising second season where he bagged four sacks and played well in Myles Garrett’s absence down the stretch, the arrow was pointing up for Thomas. He didn’t fare badly, not by any account from Berea. But he did fall behind Porter Gustin, one of the surprise standouts of training camp.

There didn’t appear to be interest on either side for the relationship to continue,

The same is true for CB Donovan Olumba, another training camp standout. He was cut earlier in the week and still has yet to latch onto another team. Olumba was the most surprising cut from the 53-man roster in my eyes, and it sure seemed a given he would return to the practice squad given the myriad injuries in the Browns secondary. He too remains a street free agent, unsigned as of yet.

It seems the Willie Harvey experience is also done in Cleveland. Harvey made the 53-man roster in 2019 as an undrafted rookie, but he failed to recapture the magic in 2020. He’s another unexpected omission from the list. Safety J.T. Hassell, who played capably as an undrafted rookie late last year, is another.

Maybe the team was looking for something different with these players or those positions. That certainly seems the case with Thomas, a John Dorsey pet pick that doesn’t fit the new Andrew Berry/Kevin Stefanski scheme or structure all that well. Or maybe the player(s) decided to seek out greener pastures elsewhere.

2020 Browns roster cuts: Tracking each player released before deadline

2020 Browns roster cuts: Tracking each player released before and at the 53-man deadline

One of the hardest jobs for a GM and coaching staff is cutting the roster down. Saturday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline means the Browns must trim down to just 53 players on the active roster.

It’s a monumental task for rookie GM Andrew Berry and fellow rookie head coach Kevin Stefanski. They’ve already gotten a head start, making a handful of cuts even before the Friday night scrimmage at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Here’s a list of who has been cut by the Browns in advance of the deadline and at the final cuts. We’ll keep updating as the names are made official.

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Browns waive 4 players in advance of roster cutdown deadline

J.T. Hassell is the only player waived with any NFL experience

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The Cleveland Browns have until Saturday at 4 p.m. ET to trim the active roster down to just 53 players, but they got a jump on the action on Thursday. The Browns announced they have waived four players.

Safety J.T. Hassell, cornerback Donnie Lewis Jr., wide receiver J’Mon Moore and defensive tackle Ricky Walker were all waived by the team. All are subject to waiver claims by other teams. If they go unclaimed, the Browns would be able to bring them back to the practice squad once that is established following the cutdowns.

Hassell is the only one of the cuts with any NFL experience. The safety played in four games for the Browns in 2019, recording seven tackles while appearing almost exclusively on special teams. Lewis was the team’s seventh-round pick in 2019 but has now failed to make the team in two seasons.

Cleveland’s roster now stands at 75 players.

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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.

J.T. Hassell promoted from Browns practice squad to active roster

Hassell was a big hitter and special teams ace in preseason

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The Browns stayed within the building to replace injured safety Morgan Burnett. Instead of signing a free agent from outside, GM John Dorsey and the Browns chose to promote safety J.T. Hassell from the practice squad on Wednesday.

Hassell is an undrafted rookie from Florida Tech who made his mark as a hard-hitting thumper in the preseason. He’s a converted collegiate linebacker, which gives him a similar skillset to the one Burnett brought as a downhill safety in Steve Wilks’ defense.

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Hassell has spent the entire season on the Browns’ practice squad. In addition to promoting Hassell, Cleveland signed safety A.J. Howard to the practice squad to replace him. Howard is in his second NFL season and has bounced around several teams, most recently the Philadelphia Eagles.