Tag: Nate Wieting

Giants waive RB Jordan Chunn, TE Nate Wieting

The New York Giants have waived RB Jordan Chunn and TE Nate Wieting in order to make room for RB Corey Clement and WR/TE Kelvin Benjamin.

After inking both running back Corey Clement and wide-receiver-turned-tight-end Kelvin Benjamin following their tryouts with the team during rookie minicamp, the New York Giants have waived a pair of players to make room.

The two players getting the axe are running back Jordan Chunn and tight end Nate Wieting, both of whom signed reserve/futures contracts with the Giants back in January.

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With Benjamin and Clement now in the fold, the Giants are stacked with competition at both positions. Of the two, Clement has an easier path to the 53-man roster, while Benjamin faces an uphill battle and both tight end and wide receiver.

Still, head coach Joe Judge seems impressed with what Benjamin brings to the table.

“He’s a big guy. He’s always been a big receiver. He’ll work receiver. He’s working a little bit flex tight end as well. I wouldn’t really kind of, you know, pin him down to any one position at this point. We’re going to use the weekend to move him around to different spots and see how it works out,” Judge said on Friday.

Both Chunn and Wieting will now be subject to waivers. It’s possible, albeit it unlikely, that they return to the Giants sometime in the future.

Giants place Graham Gano on COVID-19 list among 3 roster moves

The Giants also signed a punter/kicker and added a tight end to the practice squad.

The New York Giants have announced three roster moves on Tuesday, including placing kicker Graham Gano on the Reserve/COVID-19 list after he tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.

Gano, who has been sensational for Big Blue this season and recently signed a three-year contract extension, is the second Giants player to test positive for the virus during the 2020 campaign, with offensive lineman Will Hernandez being the first.

In addition to placing their kicker on the COVID-19 list, New York has signed punter/kicker Ryan Santoso and added tight end Nate Wieting to the practice squad.

Santoso played in three games with the Tennessee Titans in 2019, serving as a kickoff specialist. He didn’t attempt either a field goal or punt during his short tenure in Nashville.

The Minnesota product was a kicker for two of his four years in college, making 29 of his 39 field goal attempts. He made all but one of his 77 extra point tries.

It remains to be seen if Santoso will be the choice to replace Gano should he miss the Week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals out of the bye, or if the Giants will explore more options at the position.

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Browns sign free agent OG Michael Dunn

Browns sign free agent OG Michael Dunn and waive UDFA TE Nate Wieting

It didn’t take long for Kevin Stefanski’s prophecy to come true. Cleveland’s head coach said earlier this weekend that the team was looking to sign more offensive line talent to fill in the gap left by three players opting out. On Sunday, the team made it a reality.

The Browns have signed free agent offensive lineman Michael Dunn. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.

Dunn last played in the XFL in March. He was the starting right guard for the Seattle Dragons. The 6-5, 315-pound Maryland product does have NFL experience, playing on the practice squads for the Rams (in 2017) and Jaguars (2018) as well as preseason of 2019 with the Miami Dolphins. Dunn also played in the AAF.

He has the ability to fill in at both guard and tackle, effectively filling the role left open when Drew Forbes opted out.

To make room for Dunn on the team’s 80-man roster, the Browns waived undrafted rookie TE Nate Wieting.

Nate Wieting: What the Browns are getting in their UDFA TE

Wieting has some durability issues but showed NFL skills at Iowa

The Cleveland Browns added 15 undrafted free agents following the 2020 NFL Draft, and the tight end from Iowa is one of the most intriguing. With expectations that Cleveland is going to be using two tight end sets in the base offense it will require more depth. The Browns did add Austin Hooper in free agency and Harrison Bryant during the draft to join David Njoku, Pharaoh Brown and Stephen Carlson. Is there room for another?

Name: Nate Wieting

Position: Tight End

School: Iowa

Height: 6-4

Weight: 244 pounds

Strengths: Wieting is a great addition as an undrafted free agent considering most pundits viewed him as a late-round prospect. He is clearly a hard worker ready to grind as evidenced by his rise from walk-on to full-time starter and he is coming from TEU, where even the most unheralded tight ends contribute at the next level. Wieting flew under the radar for a ton of reasons, but he has excellent blocking ability and appears to have an extremely high floor.

Weaknesses: We discussed Wieting flying under the radar and the fact that most viewed him as a draftable prospect, but it is pretty obvious his injury issues are the main reason he didn’t hear his name called. He only missed two games this past season due to a calf injury, but he found his way to the sideline quite often throughout the year. His best attribute is as a blocking tight end, but he lacks the ideal strength you look for in a blocking specialist and this is evident as he fails to put guys in the dirt despite being in the right position.

Overall:

Wieting is good enough to hang in the NFL in a reserve role and key special teams contributor, but he is unlikely to ever develop into a key piece on offense. It is hard to predict what the Browns are going to do with him. They may view Wieting as a reliable enough blocker and asset special teams, which should help his cause, but the tight end room is getting crowded.

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Browns announce their 2020 UDFA class with 15 new players

Browns announce their 2020 UDFA class with 15 new players

The Cleveland Browns have agreed to terms with 15 rookie free agents who went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft in April.

Most of the names had previously been linked to the Browns, but none of the UDFA deals were officially confirmed by the team until Tuesday’s press release. That includes Oklahoma State CB A.J. Green, who received a hefty signing bonus to join the Browns.

 

Name Position College
Solomon Ajayi LB Liberty
Elijah Benton S Liberty
Ja’Marcus Bradley WR Louisiana
Tony Brown WR Colorado
Kevin Davidson QB Princeton
Drake Dorbeck T Southern Mississippi
A.J. Green CB Oklahoma State
Brian Herrien RB Georgia
Jameson Houston CB Baylor
Ben LeMay RB Charlotte
Jovante Moffatt S Middle Tennessee State
George Obinna DE Sacramento State
Alex Taylor T South Carolina State
Jeffery Whatley DE South Alabama
Nate Wieting TE Iowa

This group joins the six players drafted by the Browns to make up the rookie class of 2020 in Cleveland.

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