HEADLINES

Ifo Ekpre-Olomu

Browns Cut Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, Put Shaw On IR

September 1st, 2015 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Browns have announced several more roster moves today, but perhaps the most notable transaction of the bunch has yet to be confirmed by the team. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (via Twitter), the club has waived defensive lineman Ishmaa’ily Kitchen.

Kitchen, who turns 27 next month, earned 279 defensive snaps for the Browns in 2014, making 27 tackles. While his play in the middle was unspectacular, the Kent State product was solid enough in his three years in Cleveland that the team felt comfortable tendering him a one-year contract offer worth $1.542MM when he hit restricted free agency. However, that contract was non-guaranteed.

Here are the rest of the Browns roster moves, which the team officially announced in a press release:

Placed on injured reserve:

  • OL Michael Bowie
  • QB Connor Shaw

Placed on reserve/non-football injury list:

  • DB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
  • TE Randall Telfer
  • RB Glenn Winston

The players who landed on IR won’t return for the Browns this year, while the NFI players will be eligible to practice and play starting after Week 6. The club’s announcement indicates that the roster is now down to 79 players, though that number will dip to 78 when Kitchen’s release becomes official. After that, Cleveland will have to make three more moves to get down to the 75-man roster limit.

North Notes: Browns, H. Smith, Steelers

July 30th, 2015 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

The 2015 season will likely be a redshirt year for rookie cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Browns head coach Mike Pettine said on Wednesday, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. At one point, Ekpre-Olomu, who continues to recover from a serious knee injury, was viewed as a potential first-round pick, but Cleveland snagged him in the seventh round in May following his torn ACL and disclocated knee. The Browns will have to wait until the end of training camp to move the Oregon alum to injured reserve if they want to avoid the risk of losing him on waivers.

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two North divisions:

Draft Signings: Browns, Bills, Titans

May 14th, 2015 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Here at PFR, we’re dedicating full posts to each player from rounds 1 and 2 that signs on with their respective teams. All of the other players, from rounds 3-7, are rounded up into posts such as these. The latest signings from rounds 1 and 2..

  • The Browns announced that they have signed defensive back Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, a seventh round choice. The Browns have now agreed to deals with over half of their class, with seven of 12 players in the fold. That group includes second-round linebacker Nate Orchard and first-round defensive tackle Danny Shelton, but does not yet include the club’s other first-rounder, Cameron Erving.
  • The Bills signed third-round guard John Miller and fifth-round running back Karlos Williams, Vic Carucci of The Buffalo news tweets. The Bills now have four draft picks signed and two to go.
  • The Titans (on Twitter) announced that they have agreed to terms on deals with fourth-round fullback Jalston Fowler and fifth-round running back David Cobb. Fowler, an Alabama product, played in 53 games during his collegiate career. He recorded 113 carries for 738 yards and five touchdowns.
  • The Broncos announced (on Twitter) that they have signed fifth-round pick Lorenzo Doss. The cornerback had three interceptions for Tulane in 2014. If both players make the roster, Doss will join former Tulane teammate Taurean Doss in the secondary. Denver tapped Nixon in the seventh round.

Draft Notes: Trades, Ekpre-Olomu, Ajayi, Bengals

May 2nd, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Ben Levine

A few more notes on what we’ve seen from the draft so far:

  • The Jets curiously switched spots with the Jaguars to select quarterback Bryce Petty. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), the Jets made the move because the Browns had made an offer to the Jags for the same pick, presumably so Cleveland could select Petty. However, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal reports that the Browns were not targeting Petty with that selection (via Twitter). The Bengals also inquired about trading up for that pick, writes Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • The Packers made a pretty big leap to move up in the fifth round, where they targeted UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, switching spots in the round and giving up only a seventh-round pick to do so. When asked how the deal came together, Packers Director of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf says the Patriots initiated talks, according to Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette (via Twitter).
  • Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu has dropped further in the NFL Draft than he would have liked due to an ACL injury he suffered in December, but the silver lining is that his insurance policy was triggered after he fell past the first picks of the third round, reports Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. The policy cost Oregon $40,000, and should pay out $3 million in a loss of value policy, but Alper notes that Darren Rovell of ESPN writes that no player has ever successfully collected on a policy of this type.
  • The Dolphins added Jay Ajayi with a fifth-round pick, despite reports that the Boise State running back failed some teams’ physicals leading up to the NFL Draft, writes Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). Ajayi be a one-contract player due to the results of those physicals, according to Beasley.
  • The Bengals have now added two tight ends in the 2015 NFL Draft, in Tyler Kroft of Rutgers and C.J. Azumah of Auburn. They needed depth at that position behind Tyler Eifert, who is returning from injury this season, and those picks signify that former first-round pick Jermaine Gresham will not return, writes Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter).

Pauline On Gurley, Bengals, McKinney, RBs

April 28th, 2015 at 4:21pm CST by Zachary Links

After his citation for marijuana possession, the expectation is that Missouri linebacker Shane Ray could fall out of the first round and that’s an opinion shared by many in his camp, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net writes. Earlier today, we learned that teams that wouldn’t have had a chance to land Ray before are now inquiring on him, with both GMs and owners doing their homework. Here’s Pauline’s latest:

  • The Dolphins are hoping that Todd Gurley doesn’t get selected in the top 10. If the running back is still on the board, Miami will happily snag him at No. 14, per Pauline.
  • As of now, there’s a very good chance the Bengals take an offensive tackle in round one and they’re said to be looking at Jake Fisher and Cedric Ogbuehi, among others.
  • Linebacker Benardrick McKinney spent an extensive amount of time the past few days talking with the Broncos and Cowboys. If Kevin Johnson is unavailable when the Cowboys are on the clock in round one, they will strongly consider either McKinney or Eric Kendricks, Pauline hears.
  • There’s a good possibility that Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is still available when the third round begins. While teams like his film and cover skills, his knee injury from last December has some clubs concerned. Recently, PFR’s Rob DiRe wrote that he expected Ekpre-Olomu to experience a dropoff in draft stock from last year to this year, but not this severe. Had he gone pro last season, the Oregon notable may have had a chance to be a first-round pick.
  • There are a number of running back-needy teams who might wait until the fourth round before drafting at the position, due to the quality and depth available this year. David Cobb and Buck Allen have been brought to Pauline’s attention as fourth round types that can contribute off the bat and Miami junior Duke Johnson is also getting buzz.
  • Alonzo Highsmith, senior personnel director for the Packers, is pushing hard for Denzel Perryman at the bottom of round one. If Green Bay takes the Miami notable, the team would then push Clay Matthews to the outside. The belief is Green Bay still values a cornerback with that first pick and Eric Rowe continues to be in the mix, but Perryman is also a possibility.
  • Don’t be surprised if tight end Wes Saxton is drafted much earlier than presently predicted, as teams are high on his speed and athleticism. Saxton, a South Alabama product, could go as high as the fourth round. Notre Dame tight end Ben Koyack is also getting additional attention.