Browns To Place Cody Parkey On IR
The Browns will officially have a new kicker in 2021. Cleveland will place kicker Cody Parkey on injured reserve with a quad injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski announced on Monday.
Since Parkey is being moved to IR before final roster cut-downs, it means he won’t be able to play for the Browns this season. He kicked in 15 games for the Browns in 2020, connecting on 19 of his 22 field goal attempts. He went 43/47 on extra point attempts. Parkey has been the regular season kicker for four different teams in the past four seasons.
He was with the Dolphins in 2017, the Bears in 2018, the Titans in 2019, and then the Browns last year. He began his pro career in 2014, and was the Eagles’ kicker in his rookie season, so he’s bounced around a fair amount. Parkey has kicked in plenty of games, but he’s perhaps most well known for his infamous ‘double doink’ missed kick in the playoffs with Chicago a few years ago.
The move will leave Chase McLaughlin as the only kicker on Cleveland’s roster. Although beat writers were quick to point out that Stefanski stopped short of declaring McLaughlin the new full-time kicker, it appears it’ll be him unless they decide to add a last-minute veteran to the mix. McLaughlin kicked in three games with the Jaguars and one with the Jets last year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/20/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DB Luq Barcoo
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: TE David Wells
- Placed on IR: TE Ryan Becker
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Montrel Meander
- Waived: RB Corey Taylor, WR JoJo Ward
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Damon Hazelton
- Waived: CB Dominique Martin
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Nasir Adderley, CB Ryan Smith
- Signed: WR Michael Bandy
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: DB Terrell Bonds
New York Jets
- Signed: S Bennett Jackson
- Placed on IR: S Zane Lewis; Lewis suffered a torn patellar tendon, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets
Browns’ David Njoku Wants Extension
It sounds like David Njoku wants to stick with the Browns after all. Despite his previous trade demands (and flip-flops on the matter), the tight end says he wants to move forward with Cleveland
“I’ve been here (Cleveland) for four years going on five,” Njoku said on Friday. “I don’t know anything different. I want to keep being here.”
Njoku pushed for a trade last summer and doubled down prior to the 2020 trade deadline. He also made it sound like he wanted out as recently as February. However, it seems like Njoku is now in a good place with the Browns.
The Browns signed Austin Hooper to a big contract last year and drafted Harrison Bryant, which reduced Njoku’s role in the offense. He finished out 2020 with just 19 catches for 213 yards and one touchdown. That was a far cry from his best work in 2018 — 56 grabs for 639 yards and four TDs. In between, he lost most of 2019 to injury.
While he’s shown plenty of flashes of potential, the U of M product has yet to live up to his first-round status. But, despite all the drama and the crowded TE chart, the Browns still opted to exercise his fifth-year option. For now, he’s got one year and ~$6MM to go on his deal.
Browns Sign Willie Harvey Jr.
The Browns have signed free agent linebacker Willie Harvey Jr. (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Harvey, who spent time with the Browns a couple years back, could help fill in for Jacob Phillips following his biceps tear.
[RELATED: Browns’ Jacob Phillips Done For Year?]
Harvey had a standout career at Iowa State and was widely expected to be a Day 3 pick in 2019. Instead, he went undrafted and wound up signing with the Browns as a UDFA. The 230-pound defender had a solid preseason for the Browns, compiling 10 tackles and one pass defended. He didn’t make the final cut, but he did manage to earn a promotion from the taxi squad and see time in a couple of games that year.
Harvey hasn’t seen live action since ’19, but Phillips’ (likely) season-ending injury could open the door for him. Plus, with Sione Takitaki‘s hamstring trouble, he should be able to get some preseason snaps. The Browns will face the Giants on Sunday before wrapping their exhibition slate against the Falcons on Aug. 29.
Browns’ Jacob Phillips Done For Year?
Browns linebacker Jacob Phillips is likely done for the year with a biceps tear (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Philips will know more about his outlook following surgery to repair the tendon.
[RELATED: Browns’ Delpit Suffers Injury Setback]
Phillips, a 2020 3rd-round pick of the Browns, was expected to be a core contributor on defense. He was in the midst of a solid camp and trending in the right direction after missing a good chunk of his rookie year with a knee sprain. The Browns planned on using him as Anthony Walker‘s primary backup at middle linebacker with some possible action on the weakside.
Without Phillips, the Browns will be counting on 2021 second-rounder Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to pick things up quickly. They’ll also be keeping their fingers crossed for fellow ‘backer Sione Takitaki as he recovers from a (less severe) hamstring injury.
Grant Delpit Suffers Injury Setback
- The Steelers are preparing Schobert for a big workload. The former Browns linebacker is slated to start, be Pittsburgh’s dime ‘backer and wear the green dot that signifies he will communicate with coaches pre-snap, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com tweets. Quite the plan for a player who has been with the team less than a week, but Schobert played 99% of his team’s defensive snaps in each of the past two seasons. Pittsburgh’s designs for Schobert will mark a transition for Devin Bush, but Steelers DC Keith Butler said (via The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette; subscription required) the team wants the former first-round pick to focus solely on returning to full strength. Bush is coming back after suffering an ACL tear last October.
- Grant Delpit‘s comeback continues to hit snags. Completing a return from the Achilles rupture he suffered last August, Delpit injured his hamstring after just nine practice snaps. The Browns safety has since aggravated that hamstring issue and will miss more time, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com notes. Delpit was already iffy for Cleveland’s Week 1 game in Kansas City. The LSU product missing the start of the Browns’ season now looks likelier.
Browns Release DL Damion Square, Sign WR JoJo Ward
Three months after catching on with the Browns, Damion Square is back in free agency. The Browns released the veteran defensive lineman Thursday, doing so to clear a spot for the signing of wide receiver JoJo Ward.
Square came to Cleveland after six-plus seasons in Southern California. The Chargers kept the backup/occasional starter around from 2014-20, re-signing him in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020. Los Angeles’ new coaching staff did not bring him back for an eighth season.
Square, 32, entered the NFL as an Eagles UDFA before bouncing to the Chiefs and Chargers. He started 24 games for the Bolts, recording 6.5 sacks and logging a 51% defensive snap rate for a 12-4 Charger squad in 2018. The Browns were busy on their D-line this offseason, adding the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley and Malik Jackson. They also have defensive tackle Andrew Billings back from a 2020 opt-out.
Ward was productive at Hawaii, serving as one of Cole McDonald‘s top targets. In two seasons at the Mountain West program, the 5-foot-9 wide receiver totaled 1,999 receiving yards and 20 touchdown catches. A 2020 UDFA whom the Cardinals cut earlier this week, Ward has yet to play an NFL snap. He spent last season on Arizona’s practice squad and signed a reserve/futures deal with the team in January.
A practice squad opportunity may be Ward’s best hope in Cleveland. He will join a Browns receiving corps that does not feature many open spots, with the likes of Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, KhaDarel Hodge and third-round pick Anthony Schwartz in place behind starters Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/19/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DL Jordan Phillips; Phillips tested positive for the coronavirus
Buffalo Bills
- Waived: G Steven Gonzalez
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: OL Marquel Harrell
- Waived: WR Micah Simon
Cleveland Browns
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Kiondre Thomas
Dallas Cowboys
- Waived/injured: P Hunter Niswander
Denver Broncos
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DL Deyon Sizer
Detroit Lions
- Waived: TE Hunter Thedford
Houston Texans
- Released from IR via injury settlement: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: CB Luq Barcoo
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DT Daniel Ross
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Josh Harvey-Clemons
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Bryson Young
- Cut: LB Reggie Walker
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: OL Bryce Hargrove, LB George Obinna
- Reverted to IR: WR J’Mon Moore
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: QB Kenji Bahar
- Placed on IR: CB Khalil Dorsey, CB Iman Marshall
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Gage Cervenka, DB Dionte Ruffin, WR Jester Weah
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: WR Reece Horn, WR Riley Lees
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: TE Stephen Carlson, WR Ryan Switzer
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: OL Jon Dietzen, P Ryan Winslow
Houston Texans
- Waived: WR Isaiah Coulter
- Waived/injured: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LS Matt Overton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: K Austin MacGinnis, LB Derrick Moncrief, T Ryan Pope, OLB Max Roberts, DL George Silvanic
- Released from IR: DB Dayan Lake
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Khalil McClain
- Waived: TE Carson Meier
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived/injured: K Riley Patterson, WR Blake Proehl
New York Giants
- Signed: QB Brian Lewerke
- Waived/injured: QB Clayton Thorson
- Placed on IR: LB TJ Brunson, OL Kyle Murphy, S Joshua Kalu
New York Jets
- Waived: K Chris Naggar
- Activated off PUP list: DL Quinnen Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: LB Donald Payne, DL Eddie Vanderdoes
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: LB Nate Evans, OT Lukayus McNeil, CB Jordan Miller, DT Walter Palmore, WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams, RB Cameron Scarlett
Grant Delpit Week 1 Status In Doubt
After missing his rookie season, Grant Delpit is set to be a key Browns defender this year. But the 2020 second-round pick is behind in his pursuit of making his NFL debut in Week 1.
The final steps of Delpit’s Achilles rehab delayed his training camp start, and Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer adds that the second-year safety has run into a hamstring problem that may well keep him out of the Browns’ Week 1 game against the Chiefs. After suffering the hamstring injury during camp, Delpit has encountered a significant setback in his recovery from that ailment, per Cabot.
This will leave Delpit battling uphill in his quest to play a major role for the Browns early this season, given the reps he will stand to miss in the leadup to Week 1. Delpit, who suffered the Achilles’ tendon rupture in late August of last year, was sprinting by May and expecting full clearance come camp. This latest malady has interfered with the former Thorpe Award winner’s comeback.
The Browns are uniquely equipped to withstand a Delpit absence to start the season. They have returning starter Ronnie Harrison and veteran acquisition John Johnson at safety. However, Harrison has not practiced in two weeks because of his own hamstring injury. Cleveland’s potential three-safety setup set for deployment in sub-packages is down to just Johnson, who is teaming with backups Jovante Mofatt and Richard LeCounte III presently.