Browns Promote K Cody Parkey
The Browns have called Cody Parkey up from the practice squad, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). Parkey, presumably, will replace kicker Austin Seibert who had a rough outing on Sunday.
This marks a return to Cleveland’s active roster for Parkey, who kicked in 14 Browns games in 2016. Parkey, a 2014 Pro Bowler with the Eagles, made 80% of his field goals that year.
The Browns watched Seibert miss a 41-yard field goal try and an extra point in their 38-6 blowout loss to the Ravens. His two kickoff tries left much to be desired, as well. The Browns used a fifth-round pick on the Oklahoma product just one year ago, but they’re leaving nothing to chance as they try to turn things around in 2020. As a rookie, Seibert nailed 86.2% of his field goal tries and was perfect inside of the 40. His XP completion rate was spotty, however – the youngster missed five of his 35 attempts.
The Browns and Parkey will try to get to .500 on Thursday night when they face the Bengals in Cincinnati.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Many of these roster decisions involve practice squad promotions. Under the new CBA, teams are permitted to promote two P-squad players without corresponding roster moves per week. Teams can carry 55 players on their rosters for game days and can have up to 48 active.
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted: RB D.J. Foster
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Jordan Richards
Chicago Bears
- Promoted: K Cairo Santos
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DE Amani Bledsoe, S Trayvon Henderson
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: CB Robert Jackson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted: G Kenny Wiggins, RB Jonathan Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LB Krys Barnes
- Promoted: LB Tipa Galeai, TE John Lovett
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: RB Nathan Cottrell, TE Ben Ellefson
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted: G Ryan Groy, FB Gabe Nabers
Miami Dolphins
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DB Nate Brooks
Minnesota Vikings
- Promoted: LB Hardy Nickerson
- Signed: DB Nate Meadors
New England Patriots
- Promoted: K Nick Folk, DT Xavier Williams
- Placed on IR: WR Gunner Olszewski
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted: WR Bennie Fowler, DL Margus Hunt
- Released from IR via injury settlement: DE Anthony Lanier
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
- Promoted: RB Josh Adams, WR Josh Malone
Philadelphia Eagles
- Promoted: DT T.Y. McGill, G Sua Opeta
San Francisco 49ers
- Promoted: C Hroniss Grasu, CB Dontae Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted: T Chad Wheeler
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: WR Cyril Grayson, DB Mazzi Wilkins
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: WR Cam Sims
Kevin Stefanski To Call Browns’ Plays
Despite being hired after a successful one-season stay as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator, Kevin Stefanski refused to commit to calling plays for months. He ended the suspense Friday.
The first-year Browns head coach will indeed call plays this season, he announced. This certainly does not come as a surprise, with OC hire Alex Van Pelt last serving in that role 11 years ago in Buffalo.
Stefanski, however, does not have extensive experience calling plays either. He took over as Vikings OC late in the 2018 season, after Minnesota ended John DeFilippo‘s play-calling tenure, and retained play-calling responsibilities after Gary Kubiak‘s arrival last year. The Vikings moved from 18th to 10th in offensive DVOA from 2018-19, and their 38-year-old play-caller parlayed that into the Browns’ HC position — after being passed over for Freddie Kitchens in 2019.
The Browns finished 20th in offensive DVOA last season, with their Kitchens-head coach experiment lasting only one year. This metric has not placed the Browns in the top half of the league since their 10-6 2007 season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/20
Today’s practice squad moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: S T.J. Green
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DL Joey Ivie, DT Tanzel Smart
- Cut: T Brady Aiello, RB Benny LeMay
Houston Texans
- Signed: QB Alex McGough
New England Patriots
- Cut: OL Corey Levin
Washington Football Team
- Signed K Brett Maher
NFC South Notes: Saints, Clowney, Bucs
Before Jadeveon Clowney signed with the Titans, the Saints attempted to orchestrate a sign-and-trade in order to land the star edge rusher — but the NFL put the kibosh on such a maneuver, as Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com write. In the proposed scenario, an unidentified team (widely believed to be the Browns) would have signed Clowney to a one-year deal with a $5MM signing bonus and a $10MM base salary.
Clowney then would have been dealt to the Saints in exchange for a second-round pick, per the NFL scribes. The mystery team would have absorbed the $5MM signing bonus on its salary cap, giving the cap-strapped Saints the breathing room they would have needed in order to acquire Clowney. But the league office gave word it wouldn’t approve a deal that amounted to trading cap space.
“We felt like we got close,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said, via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “We weren’t able to match the money, and that’s one of the challenges every year. Mickey (Loomis) and Khai (Harley) did a great job working with (Clowney’s agent).” The Ravens may have also attempted a sign-and-trade strategy to land Clowney, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk indicates Baltimore tried to arrange a similar strategy involving the Jaguars. Tennessee ultimately landed Clowney on a one-year, $13MM pact that includes $2MM in incentives.
- Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans is dealing with a hamstring injury and could be a game-time decision for Sunday’s tilt against the Saints, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Evans ended last season on injured reserve with a hamstring issue, but he hadn’t missed any time during camp, so the injury must have flared up recently. If Evans is forced to miss Week 1, Chris Godwin could see even more targets than usual, while Justin Watson and Scotty Miller would likely become more involved in Tampa Bay’s offense.
- The Buccaneers‘ backfield split became extremely murky following the addition of Leonard Fournette, but head coach Bruce Arians says Ronald Jones is still the club’s starter, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. Of course, Arians has been anything but fully truthful when it comes to running back touches over the years, but Jones should at least get the first snap of 2020. Arians said Fournette will have a “situational role” in Week 1 (Twitter link via Pewter Report), while LeSean McCoy should still be a factor on passing downs. Tampa Bay also worked out a number of running backs, including veteran Kenjon Barner, earlier this week, tweets Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com.
- Saints owner Gayle Benson has thankfully recovered after contracting COVID-19 in August, as Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk writes. The 73-year-old Benson was not forced to spend any time in the hospital while quarantined, and was still able to take part in team business.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/9/20
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad updates here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DL Michael Dogbe
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Deone Bucannon
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Jordan Devey, DE Chris Slayton
- Released: RB Antonio Williams
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LB Keandre Jones, G Keaton Sutherland
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: T Greg Senat
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: RB Elijah McGuire, T Eric Smith
Detroit Lions
- Signed: RB Kerrith Whyte
- Released: WR Victor Bolden
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Robert Foster, LB De’Jon Harris
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Ibraheim Campbell
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OT Jaryd Jones-Smith
New England Patriots
- Signed: G Corey Levin
- Released: FB Paul Quessenberry
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DE Marcus Willoughby
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DT T.Y. McGill
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Anthony Rush, WR John Ursua
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: LB Cameron Batson, LB Malik Jefferson
Cody Parkey Lands On Browns’ P-Squad
After bringing Cody Parkey in for a workout and a subsequent visit, the Browns are indeed keeping the veteran kicker around.
Parkey agreed to join Cleveland’s practice squad. He represents kicker insurance behind incumbent Austin Seibert, whom the Browns — under the previous John Dorsey regime — drafted in the fifth round last year.
This marks a return to Cleveland for Parkey, who kicked in 14 Browns games in 2016. He made 80% of his field goals that year. The Browns have used different kickers in each of the past six seasons, though Seibert looks likely to snap that streak. He will have Parkey, a 2014 Pro Bowler with the Eagles, representing continual competition, however.
Former Titans third-round wide receiver Taywan Taylor also landed on the Browns’ practice squad. Taylor, who posted 466 receiving yards in 2018, was with the Browns last year and in training camp this year.
Following their Tuesday addition of tackle Greg Senat to the practice-only crew, here is the Browns’ squad:
- T Brady Aiello
- S Elijah Benton
- WR Ja’Marcus Bradley
- G Michael Dunn
- QB Garrett Gilbert
- CB A.J. Green
- RB Dontrell Hilliard
- CB Robert Jackson
- RB Benny LeMay
- LB Montrel Meander
- S Jovante Moffatt
- K Cody Parkey
- OL Greg Senat
- FB Johnny Stanton
- WR Taywan Taylor
Browns To Sign Kareem Hunt To Extension
The Browns have reached agreement with Kareem Hunt on a two-year, $13.25MM extension, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The new deal will keep the running back under contract through the 2022 season. 
[RELATED: Saints, Kamara “Extremely Close” To Deal]
The Browns gave Hunt a second NFL chance in 2018, despite disturbing video of him striking a woman at a Cleveland hotel. In that same year, he also got into a physical altercation with a man in Ohio. Many criticized the Browns for their decision to claim Hunt, but he has delivered for them on the field. With a 4.2 yards-per-carry average in Cleveland, Hunt has shown the talent that made him a national star in Kansas City.
Hunt was previously slated to be a free agent after earning $3.26MM in base pay this year. In the early stages of the pandemic, an pre-season extension seemed unlikely to go down. However, the two sides were able to come to terms on a number that satisfied the 25-year-old and didn’t break the bank for the Browns.
Hunt’s ~$6.5MM/year new money average roughly ties him with Chargers tailback Austin Ekeler towards the back of the Top 10 for RBs. Both players will be nudged down the list once Alvin Kamara finalizes his megadeal with the Saints.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/6/20
Here are Sunday’s minor moves. The players who landed on injured reserve are eligible to come off teams’ respective lists after three weeks. For 2020, teams can also activate an unlimited number of IR players — as opposed to the two-man max of 2019.
Atlanta Falcons
- Claimed (from Washington): T Timon Paris
Cincinnati Bengals
- Claimed (from Dolphins): G Deion Calhoun
- Signed: CB Torry McTyer
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed (from Cowboys): DE Joe Jackson
- Claimed (from Bills): DT Vincent Taylor
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on IR: WR Ventell Bryant
- Signed: CB C.J. Goodwin, LB Justin March-Lillard
- Released: LB Joe Thomas
Houston Texans
- Re-signed: T Brent Qvale, LS Jon Weeks
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed (from Eagles): TE Noah Togiai
Las Vegas Raiders
Minnesota Vikings
- Claimed (from Giants): LB Ryan Connelly
New York Giants
- Claimed (from Chiefs): T Jackson Barton, S Adrian Colbert
- Claimed (from Browns): WR Damion Ratley
- Waived: S Sean Chandler, OL Chad Slade
- Placed on IR: LB David Mayo, S Xavier McKinney
Philadelphia Eagles
- Claimed (from Lions): RB Jason Huntley
- Placed on IR: S Will Parks, WR Quez Watkins
San Francisco 49ers
- Released from IR via injury settlement: J.J. Nelson
Seattle Seahawks
- Claimed (from Titans): LB D’Andre Walker
- Waived: DB Linden Stephens
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: C A.Q. Shipley
Browns Get Down To 53
The Browns became the second team after the Panthers to officially announce their initial 53-man roster, waiving 24 players to get down. Here’s everybody they cut, with a recap on some notables at the bottom:
- QB Kevin Davidson
- QB Garrett Gilbert
- RB Dontrell Hilliard
- RB Benny LeMay
- FB Johnny Stanton
- WR Ja’Marcus Bradley
- WR Damion Ratley
- WR Taywan Taylor
- T Brady Aiello
- T Alex Taylor (waived/injured)
- C Jon Toth
- G Michael Dunn
- G Willie Wright
- DE Robert McCray
- DE Chad Thomas
- DT Daniel Ekuale
- LB Solomon Ajayi
- LB Willie Harvey
- LB Montrel Meander
- CB A.J. Green
- CB Robert Jackson
- CB Donovan Olumba
- S Elijah Benton
- S Javonte Moffatt
One of the biggest names on this list is Thomas, who the Browns drafted 67th overall in 2018. He barely played as a rookie, but he started eight games and had four sacks last year. The Browns are loaded along the defensive line, so it would’ve been tough for him to find snaps. He’s a definite practice squad candidate assuming he doesn’t get claimed.
Taylor flashed some potential with the Titans and had 466 yards with Tennessee in 2018, but failed to make a dent after getting traded to Cleveland last year. Ratley is another receiver who got cut, and he started three games each of the past two years. The 2018 sixth-rounder from Texas A&M had 200 yards and a touchdown last season.
Gilbert spent last season as Baker Mayfield‘s backup after he lit it up in the ill-fated AAF, but he was made expendable by the offseason addition of Case Keenum. He should get another shot elsewhere or on the practice squad.