HEADLINES

Cleveland Browns News & Rumors

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/23

March 20th, 2023 at 10:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

The Giants are giving Leonard Johnson a three-year deal, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. The former Duke prospect suffered a torn ACL while training for the 2022 draft; the Giants worked him out Monday and saw enough to take a flier. While Ford made two starts for the Falcons last season, the ex-UDFA is best known for his special teams work. He saw action on 83% of Atlanta’s ST plays last season, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter) the Bengals are giving him a one-year deal worth up to $2.25MM.

Both Scharping and Lonnie Johnson are former Texans second-round picks. The Texans waived Scharping on roster-cutdown day in August, but the Bengals claimed him. Although Scharping only played 30 snaps for Cincinnati last season, the team will keep him around for another run at a backup gig. Months before bailing on Scharping, the Texans traded Johnson to the Chiefs. But Kansas City did not see much from the acquisition in camp and waived him. The Titans picked up Johnson via waivers, using him as a backup. Johnson has experience at both cornerback and safety, and The Score’s Jordan Schultz adds he agreed to a one-year Saints deal (Twitter link).

Browns To Bring Back QB Josh Dobbs

March 20th, 2023 at 8:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

8:17pm: The deal will save the Browns some at their QB2 spot. Dobbs agreed to a one-year deal worth $2MM fully guaranteed, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

6:26pm: Josh Dobbs spent much of last season in Cleveland, but he ended up in two other cities to close the campaign. Following Jacoby Brissett‘s Washington exit, the Browns are bringing his former understudy back.

The Browns are signing Dobbs to a one-year deal, according to his agent (on Twitter). This will be the second time in Dobbs’ career he will have reunited with a team. The ex-Steelers draftee enjoyed multiple stints in Pittsburgh as well, but he is now positioned to become Deshaun Watson‘s backup.

Originally added in April 2022 to back up Brissett while Watson served a suspension, the length of which being unknown at the time Dobbs signed. Dobbs ended up playing that role for 11 games. Brissett proved durable in Cleveland; Dobbs did not take a snap with the Browns last year. But he outplayed Malik Willis with the Titans, helping Tennessee provide Jacksonville a Week 18 scare despite being down many pieces on offense.

Between Cleveland and Nashville, Dobbs wound up in Detroit. But the Titans signed him off the Lions’ practice squad soon after the Lions picked him up. Ryan Tannehill ended up being lost for the season at that point, requiring more help in Tennessee. Despite being with the team barely a week, Dobbs overtook Willis as the Titans’ starter for the season’s final two games. In Week 18, he completed 20 of 29 passes for 179 yards in a 20-16 loss to the Jaguars.

The Browns have restructured Watson’s contract, adding a void year (2027) to it and spiking the starter’s cap numbers from 2024-26 into a new financial stratosphere. Watson is now tied to $63.9MM cap numbers in those seasons, and although the 2022 trade pickup’s 2023 cap figure dropped from $54.9MM to $19.1MM, it still makes sense for the Browns to add a low-cost backup. It should be expected Dobbs’ deal will check in south of Brissett’s 2022 money ($4.65MM).

Dobbs’ relevant NFL work almost all came in January. Despite arriving in the league as a 2017 fourth-round pick, Dobbs threw only 17 passes over his first five seasons. But the quarterback/rocket scientist worked in Kevin Stefanski‘s system for eight months last year and finished the season with some surprising contributions to the AFC South race. Although the Browns have former Vikings third-rounder Kellen Mond in their quarterback room, Dobbs’ role last year points to the elder passer having the leg up for the 2023 QB2 gig.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/19/23

March 19th, 2023 at 12:59pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:

Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Las Vegas Raiders

Washington Commanders

Browns To Sign TE Jordan Akins

March 17th, 2023 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jordan Akins visited the Browns on Friday, and the veteran tight end will not leave Cleveland without a contract. The Browns are signing Deshaun Watson‘s former Texans teammate, according to his agency (on Twitter).

The five-year veteran played with Watson for three seasons and has spent his entire regular-season career in Houston. The Texans reacquired Akins after the Giants cut him before he played a game with the team. Now, he will head to the Browns.

Cleveland is giving Akins a two-year deal worth up to $5.2MM, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. Even if that is the max value, it still tops the league-minimum accord the Giants gave him during the 2022 offseason. It represents decent money for a tight end who, despite only being a five-year vet, is entering his age-31 season. The Texas Rangers drafted Akins out of high school in 2010, choosing him in the third round, and the future tight end toiled in the minor leagues for four years before picking up football again.

Akins’ failure to make the Giants’ 53-man roster last year still preceded a career-high receiving yardage total upon his Texans return. The sixth-year tight end is coming off a 495-yard, five-touchdown season. Touchdown No. 5 ended up reshaping multiple franchises’ futures. Akins caught a game-winning touchdown on fourth-and-20, giving Lovie Smith a victory over the Colts in his final game as Texans HC. That result gave the Bears the No. 1 overall pick, and it allowed them to receive a monster trade haul from the Panthers for the selection.

Role in that seminal play (for draft purposes) notwithstanding, Akins has three 400-plus-yard seasons on his resume and has been the most productive Texans tight end over the past several seasons. The Browns, of course, have already paid a tight end near-top-market money, and Akins will fill in behind David Njoku. Harrison Bryant is also going into the final season of his rookie contract; Bryant totaled 239 receiving yards and one touchdown last season.

The Browns also added defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Hurst is coming off a missed 2022 season; he went down with a torn bicep in July. Hurst, who played two seasons with the Raiders and one apiece with the Chargers and 49ers, has mostly worked as a rotational defensive lineman. The second-generation NFLer did start 10 games for a rebuilding Raiders team as a rookie in 2018. Hurst registered 7.5 of his eight career sacks during his first two seasons.

Browns Signing DT Trysten Hill

March 16th, 2023 at 7:47pm CST by Ely Allen

The Browns continue to reshape their defensive line, signing former Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The addition is one of several changes the team has made as Cleveland attempts to improve on a defense that gave up the eighth-most rushing yards in the league last year while tallying the sixth-fewest sacks.

A second-round pick out of UCF in 2019, Hill’s career has suffered from his inability to stay on the field. During a disappointing rookie season, Hill was a healthy scratch for nine games due to poor etiquette at the team facilities. The young lineman had been sent home for arriving late to practice and falling asleep during a presentation from guest speaker and NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. Despite an injury to the team’s starting defensive tackle, Hill’s issues off the field were bad enough to keep him out of the lineup.

In his sophomore season, due to an injury to starter Gerald McCoy, Hill started the year as the team’s starting defensive tackle. An ACL tear would end his season after five games, though. Hill was finally able to return from the injury in November of the following year but was suspended for a game weeks later after punching then-Raiders lineman John Simpson in a postgame altercation. Between personal behavior, injuries, and suspensions, Hill has only appeared in 31 of a possible 66 games over his career.

As Hill continued to slide down the depth chart in Dallas, the Cowboys decided to waive the young tackle after failing to find a trade partner that might take him. He was claimed off the waiver wire by the Cardinals the next day, allowing him to compete for snaps with Leki Fotu, Jonathan Ledbetter, and Michael Dogbe. He functioned in a backup capacity for most of the rest of the season before being placed on injured reserve to end the season.

In Cleveland, Hill will serve as a depth piece on a retooled Browns defensive line that is losing Taven Bryan, Chase Winovich, and Jadeveon Clowney to free agency. The Browns targeted replacing some of that loss by signing veteran defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson earlier this week. The team was also considered a favorite to sign former Broncos defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones, as well, until the young defender agreed to a deal with the Seahawks.

Right now, favorites for playing time on the Browns’ defensive front are Tomlinson, Jordan Elliott, and Perrion Winfrey. Hill will compete with a number of other backups for playing time in rotation with those three. Cleveland will be a clean slate for him to attempt to make up for the shortcomings of his past NFL history.

Browns To Sign S Juan Thornhill

March 15th, 2023 at 5:48pm CST by Ben Levine

The Browns are adding a two-time champion to their secondary. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter), Cleveland is signing safety Juan Thornhill. The defensive back is signing a three-year deal worth $21MM, including $14MM in guaranteed money that will be paid out in the first two years of the contract.

The former second-round pick out of Virginia spent the first four seasons of his career in Kansas City, starting 52 of his 65 games. This included a rookie campaign where he earned PFWA All-Rookie Team honors after starting all 16 games for the Chiefs.

This past season, Thornhill started all 16 of his appearances, missing only one game and finishing the year with 71 tackles, nine passes defended, and three interceptions. The 27-year-old started another three playoff games en route to a Super Bowl championship, compiling another 13 tackles and three passes defended. Pro Football Focus ultimately ranked Thornhill 20th among 88 qualifying safeties, including the 12th-best mark at the position in pass coverage.

Thornhill is headed to Cleveland to fill the starting safety spot vacated by John Johnson, who was released by the Browns at the end of February. The team had been linked to former Bengals safety Jessie Bates at the time but should be perfectly satisfied with nabbing Thornhill instead. Thornhill should slide in right next to starting safety Grant Delpit. The only other safeties currently on the roster are undrafted second-year safeties D’Anthony Bell and Bubba Bolden.

The official loss of Thornhill makes safety a priority for Kansas City. They return free safety Justin Reid, who is signed through the 2024 season, but the only other safety on the roster for the Chiefs is a backup from last year, Bryan Cook, whose only start last year came when Thornhill was inactive.

The Chiefs will likely have to turn to the draft or free agency to fill the hole left by Thornhill. The Browns, on the other hand, have found a reliable starter to place next to Delpit as he continues to develop. It’s a strong move for a team who finished fifth in the league last year in passing yards allowed to upgrade at a position they needed to fill.

Browns Release DE Jadeveon Clowney

March 15th, 2023 at 5:33pm CST by Ben Levine

For the fifth-straight offseason, Jadeveon Clowney is on the market. The Browns announced that they’ve released the defensive end.

After joining the Browns for the 2021 season, Clowney re-signed with the organization last offseason. While that contract technically featured some future seasons, the Browns would have had to commit more than $40MM to the defensive end if he was still on the roster on Friday. As a result, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that Clowney’s second contract with the organization was always intended to be a one-year deal.

The former first-overall pick helped rehabilitate his image in 2021 following a disappointing, zero-sack performance with the Titans in 2020. Clowney started all 14 of his appearances for Cleveland in 2021, with his nine sacks proving to be his best mark since the 2018 campaign.

However, things slightly went down hill in 2022. Clowney wasn’t nearly as productive in his 12 games (10 starts), collecting only a pair of sacks and four QB hits, his lowest total in that latter mark since his four-game rookie campaign. Further, after publicly questioning his playing time and hinting that he wouldn’t be back in Cleveland for the 2023 campaign, Clowney was sent home by the organization and was inactive for the season finale. The defensive lineman later apologized for his comments, but it seemed pretty clear that Clowney’s stint in Cleveland had all but come to an end.

Still, considering Clowney’s pedigree, there’s a solid chance he finds another gig this offseason. Despite his numbers being down, Clowney still finished as Pro Football Focus’ 27th edge rusher (among 119 qualifiers), with the site giving him a particularly high grade for his running defense.

Meanwhile, the Browns also officially announced that they’ve released safety John Johnson. We heard back in February that the Browns were planning to part ways with the veteran.

Browns, LB Sione Takitaki Agree To Deal

March 14th, 2023 at 2:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although Sione Takitaki‘s ACL tear affected his value, the Browns will give him a chance to recover and re-establish himself next season. They are signing the veteran linebacker to a one-year deal, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot first reported the sides were expected to agree to another contract.

Takitaki’s deal is set to check in around $2.6MM. He will return to a Browns team that also has Jacob Phillips recovering from a season-ending injury. The Browns have not re-signed trade acquisition Deion Jones. Takitaki said in January he wanted to stay in Cleveland.

The Browns ran into a number of injury issues at linebacker last season and struggled consistently against the run. Takitaki’s setback came after the team lost Anthony Walker and Jacob Phillips, but the former third-round pick was progressing toward a possible Browns extension prior to his knee tear. Pro Football Focus has viewed Takitaki as one of the NFL’s more consistent linebackers in recent years, rating him just inside the top 30 at the position last season.

Owusu-Koramoah remains Cleveland’s anchor at the position; he stands to be the team’s candidate to sign a lucrative extension among its linebackers. Takitaki could be a future candidate for a mid-tier deal. For now, the BYU product will need to work his way back. He is expected to be ready to go just before the season, per Fowler.

Takitaki, however, is already headed for his age-28 season. He is running short on time to capitalize on his value. The 2023 season, then, stands to be critical. In the wake of the Walker and Phillips injuries, Takitaki logged a 65% defensive snap rate. That came in well north of his previous three seasons, despite Takitaki starting 20 games from 2020-21. He finished with a career-best 71 tackles last season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/13/23

March 13th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

 

Nixon was a first-team All-Pro returner for the Packers this year. He’s signed to a new one-year deal with a maximum value of $6MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Wharton’s new one-year deal is reportedly worth $2.03MM, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. The contract has a guaranteed amount of $850,000 consisting of a $500,000 signing bonus and $350,000 of the base salary (worth $1.01MM total).

Browns To Sign DT Dalvin Tomlinson

March 13th, 2023 at 10:13pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns were viewed as the favorites to sign Cleveland native Dre’Mont Jones, but the Seahawks look to have presented a better offer. Cleveland will still leaving Day 1 of the legal tampering period with a big name at defensive tackle.

Dalvin Tomlinson plans to sign with the Browns, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal will be worth $57MM over four years, representing a longer commitment than the Vikings gave the run-stopping D-tackle in 2021. Tomlinson will receive $27.5MM guaranteed.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah expressed interest in keeping the veteran defender in Minnesota, but he is heading to Cleveland on a deal worth nearly $13MM per year. This will bring a raise for the former Giants second-round pick, who was tied to a two-year, $21MM Vikings pact from 2021-22.

Minnesota moved Tomlinson’s void-years vesting date back, aiming to extend him and not be hit with the void bill. With the Browns beating them out for the interior defender, the Vikings will be tagged with $7.5MM in dead money as a result of the 29-year-old defender’s previous contract structure.

For the Browns, this is an overdue signing. Cleveland struggled against the run last season, which came after the team curiously passed on doing much to staff its defensive tackle positions. Tomlinson, at 325 pounds, is one of the NFL’s best run-defending D-tackles; his contract reflects that. The Browns ranked 25th in rushing yards allowed and in terms of yards per carry (4.7) last season.

Previously a part of a Giants D-line that housed Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence and B.J. Hill, Tomlinson has been a starter throughout his career. Pro Football Focus has rated Tomlinson as a top-30 interior D-lineman in every season of his career. The Alabama product also tallied a career-high 10 quarterback hits last season. A Vikings defense that fared worse than the Browns’ in 2022 will certainly miss Tomlinson, who joins Eric Kendricks and Patrick Peterson in leading the team. The Vikings also may be parting ways with Za’Darius Smith.

Last year, the Browns effectively stood down at defensive tackle. They signed ex-Jaguars first-round bust Taven Bryan and used Jordan Elliott as a 17-game starter. PFF ranked Elliott as a bottom-tier D-tackle last season; Browns contributor Perrion Winfrey joined him in ranking outside the top 115 at the position. Tomlinson now joins Obo Okoronkwo up front for Cleveland alongside Myles Garrett.

Load More Posts