Tag: Jordan Akins

Lonnie Johnson Jr. says goodbye to Saints fans in returning to Houston

Lonnie Johnson Jr. says goodbye to New Orleans Saints fans and teammates in returning to the Houston Texans:

This is a surprise loss: Lonnie Johnson Jr. said his goodbyes to New Orleans Saints fans and his teammates on social media Monday, at the start of the NFL legal tampering window. Johnson is going back to the team that drafted him in a deal with the Houston Texans.

Johnson was well-regarded by the Saints coaching staff, who played him last year as the primary backup to Marcus Maye. When New Orleans chose to let the veteran free safety go, Johnson appeared to be a natural choice to compete with second-year pro Jordan Howden as Maye’s replacement. Johnson was limited by a lingering hamstring injury last season but played well when healthy.

Good luck to him. Johnson pointed to the success his old Texans teammates Jordan Akins and Desmond King found in reunions with Houston as reasons for his own return. He’s eager to carve out a niche in DeMeco Ryans’ defense and prove himself. We’ll see how the Saints react.

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PFF’s 10 highest-graded Browns’ offensive players vs. Colts

The offense found a way yet again

Quarterback Deshaun Watson returned to the field for the Cleveland Browns but not for long after a big hit in the first quarter the quarterback would not return. P.J. Walker took over again and though it wasn’t great all the time he was able to be good enough with the running game playing better as well.

In the end, the offense was able to put up over 30 points with some assists from the defense. Rookie Dawand Jones continues to impress and looks like a massive steal for general manager Andrew Berry. Overall the offensive line has shown serious improvements over the last two weeks.

Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. has stacked a couple of nice games after a rough start to the season. The wide receivers and tight ends continue to get open and make plays if the team could just get solid quarterback play.

Here are the top 10 performances on offense according to PFF in the win over the Colts.

Browns announce injury updates on the heels of Pro Football Hall of Fame Game

The Browns have provided an injury update on the heels of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

The Cleveland Browns will suit up for the first time in 2023 as they get set to partake in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game against the New York Jets. With that game just one day out, the team has provided an injury update on several players on the roster.

Here are those updates provided as we get set for our first live action of the 2023 season.

WATCH: Jordan Akins goes above the rim for absurd snag

The chemistry between Deshaun Watson and Jordan Akins has carried over from Houston to the Browns

One of the more underrated additions for the Cleveland Browns this offseason was former Houston Texans tight end Jordan Akins. He has a history with his quarterback Deshaun Watson having played together in Houston. Akins is an underrated athlete with the size and strength to make the tough contested catches, especially in the red zone.

With training camp well under way it is clear that the connection between Akins and Watson is still there. During Thursday’s practice he made an impressive reception going up and over the defensive back to snag a pass from Watson. If this is a preview of what we will see during the season then the passing offense could be impressive.

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Browns: David Njoku lands in the top 10 in Madden 24 tight end rankings

The Browns’ TE1 finds himself as the ninth ranked at his position in this year’s game

With Madden 24 set to release next month, EA Sports continues to release the player ratings position-by-position. With the tight end rankings dropping today, the Cleveland Browns have one player ranked in the top ten in David Njoku who ranks ninth at an 84 overall.

Even though he is ranked in the top ten he is the third highest rated tight end in the AFC North behind the Raven’s Mark Andrews at three, with a 95 overall, and the Steeler’s Pat Freiermuth and eight with an 85 overall. Let’s look at how the Browns’ tight end group ranks out in the game.

Note: UDFA’s haven’t been added so some of the Browns training camp players are not rated.

Who could be the first Browns player to wear the number 0?

Who will be the first Browns player to sport the number 0?

The NFL owners voted to allow players to be able to wear the number 0 on the playing field, beginning this season. So now the question has to be asked: which player for the Cleveland Browns will look the best wearing the new digit? New additions to the roster, like wide receiver Elijah Moore, have the obvious advantage, as they do not have to buy out their remaining jerseys the way that current players do.

However, there are current players on the roster for the Browns that would look phenomenal wearing the number 0 in the brown and orange. Here are four players that would look phenomenal sporting the newly allowed number for the Browns.

Kevin Stefanski happy with direction of offense after free agency

Stefanski is pleased with the offseason additions so far.

Speaking for the first time since NFL free agency began,  head coach Kevin Stefanski had good things to say about the direction of the offense for the Cleveland Browns. Talking about the veteran additions of Marquise Goodwin and Jordan Akins it was clear that Stefanski was happy to have those two weapons added to his arsenal. Not to mention the trade for wide receiver Elijah Moore.

But the most important part of his media availability was his talking about confidence in Deshaun Watson. Stefanski spoke about giving Watson the freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage and it sounded like a head coach that is in step with his franchise quarterback. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights from Stefanski on Monday.

Podcast: The wide receiver debate and Browns free agency recap show

How does free agency so far grade out?

It has been about a week since NFL free agency kicked off and the Cleveland Browns have been hard at work trying to fill roster holes. In this episode, we discuss the great wide receiver debate and how good we think the group on the roster is.

We recap the Juan Thornhill signing and what it means for the team as well as Jordan Akins and the special teams help the team has got for Bubba Ventrone. You can listen to the episode here for the audio version or watch it here for the video version of the show, hope you enjoy this episode!

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Browns sign former Texans tight end Jordan Akins

The Cleveland Browns have signed former Houston Texans tight end Jordan Akins, who helped beat the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18.

The Cleveland Browns have signed the tight end who was responsible for the Houston Texans losing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

The Browns signed Jordan Akins to a two-year contract worth $5.2 million on Friday.

Akins caught a desperation fourth-and-20 pass from quarterback Davis Mills to score a 28-yard touchdown to pull the Texans within one point with 50 seconds to go in Week 18 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Houston beat the Indianapolis Colts when Akins also caught the ensuing two-point conversion to push the Texans ahead 32-31. As a result of the win, and the Chicago Bears losing to the Minnesota Vikings, the Texans weren’t able to secure the top pick in this year’s draft.

The former 2018 third-rounder from Central Florida had a career year with 37 catches for 495 yards and five touchdowns through 15 games, three of which he started. Akins’ efforts made him the first Houston tight end since C.J. Fiedorowicz in 2016 to log 425 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a season.

Then-tight ends coach Ben Berbenich praised Akins on Dec. 29, 2022, for his ability to take over the tight end role despite returning to the team at the end of preseason when Houston was making its roster moves to finalize its 53 and practice squad.

“Jordan has been great since we got him in the building late in training camp. He’s done everything we’ve asked him. He’s given us a spark. When he has the ball in his hands, Jordan can be a special player.”

Akins did not play the first two games of the season, and was eventually signed to the active roster on Oct. 12.

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Browns make another quality move signing TE Jordan Akins to 2-year deal

The good week of free agency continues as the Browns reunite Deshaun Watson with former Texans TE Jordan Akins.

As the first week of NFL free agency continues into the weekend the Cleveland Browns continue to make quality moves.

Looking to upgrade the depth behind David Njoku after a bad season from Harrison Bryant, the team has signed former Houston Texan tight end Jordan Akins. Akins agreed to a two-year contract worth a maximum of $5.2 million.

This will reunite Akins with his former quarterback Deshaun Watson after the pair played together for three seasons in Houston. Akins is coming off his best season as a pro with 37 catches for 495 yards and five touchdowns earning a 72.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.

Akins is a big target in the red zone at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds with reliable hands only having one dropped pass in 49 targets for a terrible Texans team last season.

The team continues to address needs without handing out massive deals taking up loads of space, the really nice week of free agency continues as the Browns look to be contenders in 2023.

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