Tag: William Barnes

Browns tryout OL William Barnes with mandatory minicamp on deck

The Browns hosted an undrafted rookie offensive lineman for a tryout.

With OTAs now in the rearview mirror, the Cleveland Browns are continuing to progress through their offseason workout schedule.

However, before they get to mandatory minicamp next week, the Browns are bringing in undrafted rookie offensive lineman William Barnes for a tryout (according to NFL insider Aaron Wilson). The room is already crowded, so barring an injury the pathway toward Barnes earning a roster spot is slim.

While Barnes went undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft, he brings a world of versatility to the NFL level. Through his five years with the Tar Heels, Barnes started 22 games. The catch? He started games at all of right guard, right tackle, left guard, and left tackle.

His success was not extraordinarily documented though, grading out on the poor end of the scale in all of the overall grade, pass blocking, and run blocking according to PFF.

However, The Browns do not have a roster spot, so they would need to make another move on their 90-man roster to bring Barnes in.

Three Tar Heels return to practice ahead of showdown vs. Pitt

The UNC football program could get a boost with three players returning to practice this week.

The UNC football program could get some reinforcements for Saturday’s showdown with Pitt, fresh off the bye week.

Head coach Mack Brown met the media on Monday to talk about the bye week and the week ahead for the program. In the presser, Brown revealed that offensive lineman [autotag]William Barnes[/autotag], defensive back [autotag]Don Chapman[/autotag] and running back [autotag]D.J. Jones[/autotag] will all return to practice this week. That’s a good sign that they will be available for Saturday night’s game in Chapel Hill.

Barnes was a starter on the offensive line before suffering an injury and getting him back for the stretch run will be huge. With Jones, it’s another piece in the backfield for UNC’s run game which has struggled over the past few weeks.

On the defensive side of the ball, Chapman will get some playing time in the secondary. UNC’s defense has been hit or miss this year, showing flashes of being able to turn it around but also giving up big plays.

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