RG3 Suffers Sprained Shoulder
- Robert Griffin III said he sprained his shoulder during the Browns‘ 29-10 loss to the Eagles today. “I can move my left arm. I’m in pain, but it will be OK, just have to monitor it,” Griffin said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We’ll see more tomorrow and see how my shoulder is feeling and just move on from there.” Griffin, who made his first start since 2014 on Sunday, finished the game and expects to play in Week 2.
Browns Exec: RG3 Not Just Short-Term Option
The Browns signed quarterback Robert Griffin III to a two-year, $15MM deal over the offseason, and while RG3 has been labeled as a “bridge QB” — an option for Cleveland until it can acquire a franchise passer in the draft — executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown views RG3 as part of the Browns’ future. Speaking Friday to reporters, including Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Brown outlined his vision for Griffin’s time in Cleveland.
“To be fair to Robert, he’s young in his career in terms of his development as a quarterback,” said Brown. “We will develop him over time. He’s under contract here two years, but we don’t look at it as certainly just a two-year venture or a week-to-week venture.
“This is something we’re going to have to stick by him, put the right pieces around him and help him learn how to play that position as well. So it’s not a short-term kind of look at him.”
Clearly, Brown has no choice but to exhibit confidence in Griffin at this stage of his Cleveland career, and it’s always possible that the Browns perform much better in 2016 than most observers expect. But Cleveland is likely to finish last in the AFC North — the Football Outsiders’ Almanac gives the Browns a mean win projection of 5.2 wins (last in the NFL) and a 41% chance of winning less than four games. Those totals would entitle Cleveland to a top-five draft pick once again, and it would difficult for the club to pass up on a quarterback.
The Browns do have other signal-callers available on the roster, including veteran Josh McCown and third-round rookie Cody Kessler. But every indication is that RG3 will be given a long leash, as Cleveland isn’t in a position to seriously contend anyway. Even Brown didn’t bristle at the notion that his team is “tanking,” though he may prefer a different term.
“The external noise we know is coming and will be there, whether we’re successful or not and we can’t let that bother us,” said Brown. “That just wouldn’t be part of anything we would embrace or be part of. So I appreciate that folks have not seen a strategy quite like this before, but I’d hardly call it tanking.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Browns’ Desmond Bryant Accepts Pay Cut
Browns defensive end Desmond Bryant has agreed to take a pay cut for the 2016 season, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Bryant, who will miss the 2016 season with a torn pectoral muscle, will now earn $1.25MM instead of the $6MM he was slated to make. 
[RELATED: Browns Didn’t View Carson Wentz As Top 20 QB]
The Browns and Bryant have been negotiating his salary for more than a month. Since Bryant suffered his injury away from the Browns’ facility, the Browns were not obligated to pay him any of his would-be $6MM base salary since they placed him on the non-football injury list. However, Bryant was working out to stay in shape on his own time, which is expected of players in the offseason. If the Browns refused to pay him anything, there likely would have been in a messy battle with the NFLPA with far reaching implications for the whole league.
Bryant, 30, had been expected to start at defensive end. He is signed through the 2017 season, but the Browns can easily get out of his contract once he gets healthy. Bryant is due a $7MM base salary in 2017, and will only have $1MM remaining in signing bonus proration. Therefore, if Cleveland doesn’t think Bryant is going to be worth his salary next season, it can release Bryant and save $6MM against the salary cap.
Last season, Bryant appeared in 14 games and racked up 6.0 sacks with 33 total tackles.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Browns Didn’t View Wentz As Top 20 QB
This offseason, the Browns had an opportunity to stand pat with the No. 2 pick in the draft and potentially solve their quarterback situation for years to come. However, in April, the Browns struck a deal with the Eagles to add to their stockpile of picks. Everyone assumed that the Browns were not sold on Carson Wentz, but it turns out their evaluation of the North Dakota State QB was harsher than you might expect. Also, as executive Paul DePodesta hinted to Tony Grossi of ESPN.com, the Browns might have kept the pick if they thought Jared Goff would slip. 
“We have to make judgments on the individual players and we’re not always going to be right,” DePodesta said. “But in this particular case, we just didn’t feel it was necessarily the right bet to make for us at this time. Again, it comes down to individual evaluation of a player…Even though you have a desperate need for [a quarterback], you have to resist the temptation of taking that guy just because you have a need if you don’t believe he’s one of those 20 guys at the end of the day. I think that’s the hardest part, just maintaining your discipline because you have the need. That’s what we did this year.”
Soon enough, we’ll know whether the Browns’ signing of Robert Griffin III was a smart move. But, regardless of how RGIII does in Cleveland this year, DePodesta says the team will continue to evaluate options at quarterback. That’s probably the right approach as Griffin will be the Browns’ 25th starting quarterback since 1999.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/5/16
Here are Monday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR Nick Williams (via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)
Buffalo Bills
- Cut: FB Dan Vitale (via the team’s website)
Chicago Bears
- Signed: C Cornelius Edison, DB Demontre Hurst (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: CB Trey Caldwell, P Michael Palardy, RB Terrell Watson (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com)
- Cut: OL Kaleb Johnson
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DB Julian Wilson (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun)
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Isaiah Johnson, WR Paul McRoberts, TE Bryce Williams (via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DB Taveze Calhoun, WR Jordan Williams, K Will Lutz (Twitter links via Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate; Instagram link via Lutz)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB C.J. Smith, WR Paul Turner (Twitter link via Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com)
- Cut: Quentin Gause
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Justin Hamilton (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
Browns Sign Britton Colquitt
MONDAY, 8:25am: Colquitt’s one-year deal with the Browns is worth $1.7MM, tweets Mike Klis of 9News in Denver.
SATURDAY, 5:54pm: The Browns announced that they’ve waived Palardy to make room for Colquitt.
10:12am: It didn’t take long for punter Britton Colquitt to find a new team. Days after being cut by the Broncos, the 31-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Browns, reports ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). As our own Zach Links noted, as a vested veteran, Colquitt wasn’t subject to waivers.
Colquitt is only the latest punter to join Cleveland this offseason. After trading away punter Andy Lee for another punter in Kasey Redfern, the Browns also brought in Michael Palardy. Considering Colquitt’s track record, the team will presumably be going with the 31-year-old. The veteran has averaged 45.2-yards-per-punt during his career, and he’s placed at least 20 punts per season within the 20-yard-line.
Colquitt, who was the Broncos longest-tenured player, was replaced by rookie Riley Dixon in Denver. At the time of his release, his agent said the veteran was willing to take a $1MM pay cut on his $3.25MM salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC North
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed to practice squad:
- LB Brennen Beyer (Link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun)
- WR Keenan Reynolds
- TE Daniel Brown (link via Zrebiec)
- C Matt Skura (link via Zrebiec)
- OT Blaine Clausell (link via Zrebiec)
- DE Kapron Lewis-Moore (link via Zrebiec)
- RB Stephen Houston (link via Zrebiec)
- QB David Fales (Link via Zrebiec)
Cincinnati Bengals
- Claimed:
- QB Jeff Driskel (Link via Adam Schefter)
- Waived:
- LB P.J. Dawson
- Placed on IR:
- Signed:
- CB Chykie Brown
- OL Trey Hopkins
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE Ryan Brown
- RB Tra Carson (Link via Jim Owczarski of the Enquirer)
- DT David Dean
- CB Darius Hillary
- WR Jake Kumerow (Link via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com)
- TE Matt Lengel
- CB Tony McRae
- G Alex Redmond
- WR Alonzo Russell
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed:
- RB George Atkinson
- DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun
- DB Marcus Burley
- DE Tyrone Holmes
- LB Corey Lemonier (Link via Florio)
- Waived/released:
- DB Trey Caldwell
- LB Cam Johnson
- RB Raheem Mostert
- RB Terrell Watson
- DB Rahim Moore
- Signed to practice squad:
- Connor Hamlett (Link via Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal)
- OL Dan France
- WR Darius Jennings
- OL Kaleb Johnson
- QB Kevin Hogan (Link via Ian Rapoport)
- DT Gabe Wright (Link via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com)
- OL Anthony Fabiano (Link via Cabot)
- DB Ed Reynolds (Link via Cabot)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Placed on IR:
- LB Bud Dupree (story)
- Signed:
- LB Steven Johnson (story)
- Signed to practice squad:
- DL Johnny Maxey (link via Aaron Wilson)
- OLB Travis Feeney (link via Jeremy Fowler)
- RB Brandon Brown-Dukes
- RB Cameron Stingily
- WR Demarcus Ayers
- WR Cobi Hamilton
- TE Rashaun Allen
- OT Matt Feiler
- DE Caushaud Lyons
- CB Al-Hajj Shabazz
Waiver Wire Priority For All 32 NFL Teams
Yesterday was the 53-man roster deadline, but the madness will continue today as teams pick through the waiver pile for talented discards. Priority is dictated by the reverse standings with tiebreakers where necessary, which is to say that it will be the same as the 2016 draft order before all the trades. Unlike your fantasy league’s waiver wire, a team does not go to the back of the list upon making a successful claim. That means that the league’s worst teams from 2015 have a significant advantage today as they make late roster additions.
Here is the complete waiver priority order:
1. Titans
2. Browns
3. Chargers
4. Cowboys
5. Jaguars
6. Ravens
7. 49ers
8. Dolphins
9. Buccaneers
10. Giants
11. Bears
12. Saints
13. Eagles
14. Raiders
15. Rams
16. Lions
17. Falcons
18. Colts
19. Bills
20. Jets
21. Redskins
22. Texans
23. Vikings
24. Bengals
25. Seahawks
26. Packers
27. Steelers
28. Chiefs
29. Patriots
30. Cardinals
31. Panthers
32. Broncos
Browns Down To 53
The Browns have officially cut down to a 53-man roster, according to a team announcement.
The team’s cuts include receivers Taylor Gabriel and Marlon Moore. Undrafted out of Abilene Christian in 2014, the 5-foot-8, 176-pound Gabriel appeared in 29 of a possible 32 regular-season games with the Browns and started four. He amassed 64 receptions for 862 yards and a touchdown during that time, with most of those numbers coming as a rookie. Gabriel caught 36 passes on 72 targets and averaged a prolific 17.1 yards per reception in his first year, but that figure fell to a paltry 8.6 on his 28 grabs in 2015.
Moore, a six-year veteran, previously saw action with the Dolphins and 49ers before joining the Browns last season. He pulled in only seven receptions in 14 games in Cleveland.
The full list is below.
Released:
- WR Marlon Moore
Waived:
- DL Kenton Adeyemi
- DL Chigbo Anunoby
- DB Pierre Desir
- RB Jahwan Edwards
- DB Mikell Everette
- OL Dan France
- WR Taylor Gabriel
- DB Charles Gaines
- OL Garth Gerhart
- TE Connor Hamlett
- TE J.P. Holtz
- WR Darius Jennings
- OL Kaleb Johnson
- OL Mike Matthews
- LB Jason Neill
- DB Eric Patterson
- P Kasey Redfern
- LB Justin Tuggle
Browns Trade CB Justin Gilbert To Steelers
1:10pm: The Browns will receive a 2018 sixth-rounder for Gilbert, per a club announcement.
12:44pm: We have not just a trade alert, but an intra-divisional trade alert. The Browns are trading former first-round cornerback Justin Gilbert to the Steelers, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Gilbert, whom the Browns chose eighth overall in the 2014 draft, is one of five first-rounders Cleveland used from 2012-14. None of the players they chose are currently on their roster, as Field Yates of ESPN tweets.
An ex-Oklahoma State Cowboy, Gilbert struggled mightly as a member of the Browns, with whom he appeared in 23 of 32 possible regular-season games and made only three starts. Just nine of those appearances and one start came last year for Gilbert, who amassed 10 tackles and failed to record an interception.
Still only 24, Gilbert will now join contending Pittsburgh, where he’ll attempt to realize his vast potential. The Steelers already have a couple of recent high picks among their top corners in the form of two 2016 selections – first-rounder Artie Burns and second-rounder Sean Davis. William Gay and Ross Cockrell are likely to start, as Roster Resource shows.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.