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Browns Activate CB Greedy Williams From IR

October 15th, 2022 at 12:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Greedy Williams is set to make his season debut tomorrow against the Patriots. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (on Twitter), the Browns have activated the cornerback from injured reserve. The team has also promoted cornerback Herb Miller and wide receiver Chester Rogers from the practice squad.

Williams suffered a hamstring injury that led to him being placed on IR in early September, and he returned to practice earlier this month. After missing the entire 2020 season with a shoulder injury, the former second-round pick started eight of his 16 games for Cleveland in 2021, collecting 41 tackles, 10 passes defended, and a pair of picks. It won’t take long for Williams to make his way back into the lineup, especially with Denzel Ward ruled out for tomorrow’s game with a concussion.

“Everything has been crisp and clean,” Williams said of his recovery (via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal). “Just out there making plays and re-establishing myself. I build that trust back with the team, and they see I am ready. That is all that matters.”

Meanwhile, the Browns will not activate recently acquired linebacker Deion Jones from IR this week. The Falcons sent Jones to the Browns for a minimal trade haul (a sixth-round pick swap in 2024), unloading his through-2023 contract to Cleveland. The Browns designated Jones for return this week.

Cleveland acquired a six-year starter in Jones, 27, but a player who has spent the season on IR. Jones underwent shoulder surgery in May, and although he returned to practice in August and played in a preseason game, the Falcons still stashed him on IR. He is expected to be ready to debut for his new team in Week 7, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com notes (on Twitter).

Miller will likely see a special teams role tomorrow, with the 24-year-old only seeing only nine defensive snaps across 10 games with Cleveland over the past two years. Rogers joined Cleveland’s practice squad in September and has been active for two games, returning two punts and three kicks. The veteran is a year removed from a 30-catch campaign with Tennessee.

Brown C Ethan Pocic Eyed O-Line Coach Bill Callahan In Free Agency

October 14th, 2022 at 9:39pm CST by Adam La Rose
  • The Browns have the league’s top rushing attack, something owing in no small part to the play of their offensive line. That includes center Ethan Pocic, who signed in Cleveland this offseason after five years in Seattle. When weighing the options presented by a modest free agent market, the 27-year-old chose to work with Browns o-line coach Bill Callahan. “As soon as I wasn’t going to get a big contract, a long-term contract, everything was pretty low, league minimum for the most part, I just went to the team with the best coaches and the best players,” he said, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. After the season-ending injury suffered by Nick Harris, Pocic assumed a starter’s role and currently ranks as PFF’s fourth-highest rated center.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Browns To Activate CB Greedy Williams; Denzel Ward Out For Week 6

October 14th, 2022 at 6:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Browns will be without their top cornerback on Sunday against the Patriots, but another starter at the position will make his season debut. The team announced on Friday that Greedy Williams will be activated from IR in advance of their Week 6 matchup. 

[RELATED: Browns Designate LB Jones For Return]

Williams missed the beginning of the season due to a hamstring injury. That added further to the ailments he has battled thus far in his career, and left the team shorthanded in the secondary. The former second-rounder missed one-quarter of his rookie campaign in 2019, then the entirety of the following season with a shoulder injury. His size and college pedigree, not to mention Cleveland’s current CB situation, could see him take on the large role he was expected to carry upon entry to the NFL.

“Everything has been crisp and clean,” Williams told reporters on the topic of his return. “Just out there making plays and re-establishing myself. I build that trust back with the team, and they see I’m ready. That’s all that matters.”

No. 1 cover man Denzel Ward has been ruled out with a concussion, after he exited the Browns’ Week 5 loss to the Chargers early. That will leave a significant hole in the team’s defense, as Ward has notched one interception (returned for a touchdown) and six pass breakups this season. Williams could immediately take on his perimeter duties, though the team will no doubt seek to ease him back into action. The Browns will also have Greg Newsome and Martin Emerson available as starters at corner.

They will not, however, have both elements of their starting pass-rush tandem. After returning to game action last week, Jadeveon Clowney will once again be sidelined in Week 6. That will mark the second missed contest this season for the veteran, although Myles Garrett was able to log a usual snap share in his return from a car accident last Sunday.

With a number of moving parts on their defense, the Browns will join New England in trying to improve to .500 on the campaign, while, in Williams’ case, looking to move past a plethora of injury concerns.

Deshaun Watson Hit With Another Lawsuit

October 14th, 2022 at 11:50am CST by Sam Robinson

11:50am: The NFL will monitor this lawsuit, according to spokesman Brian McCarthy (via Cabot). While McCarthy indicated Watson’s status is unchanged as of now, the prospect of additional punishment under the league’s personal conduct policy could be on the table.

8:58am: Deshaun Watson is facing another civil lawsuit from a woman alleging sexual misconduct during a massage therapy session. The woman accuses the then-Texans quarterback of pressuring her into oral sex during a December 2020 appointment, Claire Geary and Camryn Justice of News5Cleveland.com report.

This marks a 26th lawsuit filed against the Browns QB, who is midway through an 11-game suspension that came as a result of the dozens of lawsuits that emerged between March 2021 and June 2022. Watson, 27, entered the week with one outstanding lawsuit, which will be addressed — barring a settlement — in 2023. This latest matter may come up at that point as well.

The unnamed accuser, who is represented by attorney Anissah Nguyen, alleges Watson contacted her via Instagram and arranged an appointment at a Houstonian hotel room. Following a session in which the accuser claims Watson attempted to have sex with her and, per the lawsuit, pressured her into oral sex, he paid her $300 — more than double her usual massage rate — according to News5Cleveland. The accuser filed the lawsuit in Harris County (Texas).

Nguyen seeks to depose Watson this year, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Given the agreement Watson’s counsel and Tony Buzbee — the attorney for the other civil accusers — reached regarding Watson being deposed in-season, it would not surprise if a similar understanding pushed a Watson deposition in this case to 2023 as well.

Two grand juries, the first in Harris County, did not proceed with criminal charges against Watson last year, leading to the trade sweepstakes taking off. Jointly appointed disciplinary officer Sue Robinson subsequently ruled Watson committed nonviolent sexual assault, which led to the NFL appealing and pushing for a full-season suspension. An NFL-NFLPA settlement in August produced Watson’s 11-game suspension. Because this new civil suit alleges similar behavior and is from the timeframe as the others, Watson’s suspension is not expected to be impacted, Cabot and Dan Labbe of cleveland.com note.

The most recent Watson accuser’s suit states she is seeking “minimal compensatory damages” but indicates she has “suffered severe depression and anxiety” as a result of her encounter with Watson. As other suits against Watson alleged, this one accuses him of continually pressuring the accuser to “massage his private area.” While Watson settled with 23 accusers, the Texans settled with 30 women who alleged the former Houston starter committed sexual misconduct and/or sexual assault during massage therapy sessions. A June report indicated Watson saw at least 66 masseuses from fall 2019 to spring 2021. That report indicated Watson arranged for massage sessions at the Houstonian.

Watson, who has denied any wrongdoing amid this high volume of accusations, returned to the Browns’ facility this week. While his tone shifted from contrition back to defiance following the settlement, the recently traded passer is undergoing mandatory counseling during his suspension. Successfully navigating the treatment program will lead to Watson returning to Browns practice Nov. 14 and debuting for his new team in Week 13 in Houston.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/12/22

October 12th, 2022 at 5:44pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/22

October 12th, 2022 at 5:29pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

  • Waived: CB Thomas Graham Jr.

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Browns Designate LB Deion Jones For Return

October 12th, 2022 at 8:31am CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns made the rare move to trade for a player on injured reserve, but Deion Jones‘ status changed Wednesday morning. Cleveland designated the veteran linebacker for return.

Jones will be eligible to practice for his new team today. The former Pro Bowler is not yet on the Browns’ 53-man roster, but he is moving in that direction. The team could have him in uniform against the Patriots.

Were Jones not close to returning from his shoulder injury, it would not make much sense for the Browns to make this trade. So the six-year starter will likely be in position to be activated immediately. The Browns still have all eight of their IR-return activations remaining. Jones, 27, joins new teammate Greedy Williams in being designated for return.

Hovering as a trade candidate for months, Jones underwent shoulder surgery back in May. That paused the prospect of the Falcons trading him, but the team restructured his contract to make a move easier. Despite the Falcons taking Jones off their active/PUP list in late August, they stashed him on IR to start the year. The Browns swooped in three weeks ahead of the trade deadline.

The Browns lost veteran linebacker starter Anthony Walker for the season in Week 3 and have been gashed by two backfields since. The Falcons and Chargers each topped 200 rushing yards in their respective wins over the Browns. The latter outing — one that featured a 173-yard Austin Ekeler rushing day — prompted Cleveland to acquire Jones that night. The Browns added ex-Jones Falcons teammate Tyeler Davison, a seven-year defensive tackle, to their practice squad Tuesday. Cleveland can promote Davison to its active roster before Week 6 as well.

Drafted during the Dan Quinn–Thomas Dimitroff Falcons regime, Jones became an instant starter. He played a key role in helping Atlanta to Super Bowl LI and earned a big-ticket extension in 2019. Jones remains tied to that deal, which runs through the 2023 season. Although he adds to Atlanta’s bloated dead-money total, the LSU product — because of the late-summer restructure — checks in at just $1.74MM on Cleveland’s payroll. With that cap hit spiking to $13.2MM in 2023, this amounts to an audition season for Jones alongside Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in Cleveland. Walker’s deal expires at season’s end.

Jones’ 137 tackles last season were one shy of his career-high total. Nevertheless, the Terry Fontenot–Arthur Smith regime made it known his 2022 status with the team was tenuous. The Falcons signed former Dean Pees charge Rashaan Evans and selected Troy Andersen in Round 2. Jones has five 100-plus-tackle seasons and has five career pick-sixes. Only Hall of Famers Derrick Brooks, Bobby Bell and ex-Brown Karlos Dansby have more among linebackers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/11/22

October 11th, 2022 at 7:20pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Browns To Sign DT Tyeler Davison

October 11th, 2022 at 12:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not long after trading for Deion Jones, the Browns are adding another former Falcons defensive starter. Tyeler Davison is joining Cleveland’s practice squad, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Although Davison will begin his Browns run on their P-squad, the team plans to promote the veteran starter soon. Davison, who has started 86 games with the Falcons and Saints from 2015-21, has not been with a team since his Atlanta release in March. The Colts auditioned Jones on Monday, Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star tweets.

These Atlanta imports will arrive after Austin Ekeler shredded the Browns’ defense for 173 rushing yards in Week 5. A week earlier, the largely Cordarrelle Patterson-less Falcons used the ground game to hand the Browns a loss. Cleveland now ranks 28th against the run. The team lost second-year linebacker starter Anthony Walker against the Steelers in Week 3 and did not do much to add help at its needy defensive tackle spot this offseason, despite holding the NFL’s most cap space for months.

Davison, 30, will not eat into Cleveland’s cap room much, and he is a bit removed from his best seasons. Pro Football Focus viewed Davison as a plus run-stopper during the late 2010s but was not especially high on the veteran’s work during his final two Falcons seasons. Atlanta released Davison after decreasing his playing time last year. The 309-pound defender played 43% of the Falcons’ defensive snaps in 2021. While it represented a slight playing-time reduction, it was nearly in line with his previous starter years in the NFC South.

The former Saints fifth-round pick signed a three-year, $12MM Falcons deal during Dan Quinn‘s time in Georgia. The Falcons were running a 4-3 scheme at that point; the Saints ran a 4-3 set during Davison’s four-season New Orleans run. The Browns use a 4-3 scheme and moved on from their two primary D-tackles from last season — Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell — in the offseason. Davison may not supplant starters Taven Bryan or Jordan Elliott immediately, but he should provide a decent depth piece for a defense that features proven performers at every other position.

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