Kaden Davis

Browns S Ronnie Hickman Could Earn Starting Job

Early this morning, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal previewed some opinions of players who could have breakout seasons for the Browns in 2025. One of these players was third-year safety Ronnie Hickman, whom Easterling believes has a chance to lock down a starting job in training camp.

Hickman came to Cleveland as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State after forgoing his senior season with the Buckeyes. Despite his undrafted status, Hickman made the initial 53-man roster as a rookie and started four games in place of an injured Juan Thornhill late in the year. Last year, Hickman led the Browns in snaps aligned at safety, starting five more games for an injured Thornhill and getting plenty of time on the field in games he didn’t start.

Thornhill is gone now, having departed for Pittsburgh in free agency, so naturally, it seemed like there was going to be an opportunity for Hickman to firmly take the starting job. That was before the team signed two safeties on May 12 with extensive starting experience. Damontae Kazee signed with 63 starts in eight years with the Falcons, Cowboys, and Steelers. He’s also tallied 17 interceptions over that time, including a seven-pick performance that led the league in 2018. Rayshawn Jenkins comes in with 89 starts in eight years with the Chargers, Jaguars, and Seahawks, including five seasons in which he served as a full-time starter.

It would certainly make perfect sense for either veteran to fill in the starting role next to Grant Delpit in the upcoming season, but Hickman comes in with plenty of familiarity of the role, having shared it with Thornhill for much of last year. So far, it seems as if it’s his job to lose, forcing Jenkins and Kazee to beat him out of the spot.

The three other players highlighted by Easterling were wide receiver Kaden Davis, defensive tackle Michael Hall, and defensive end Isaiah McGuire. While Jerry Jeudy is obviously stealing the spotlight at workouts in Cleveland, Davis has been taking advantage of the absences of Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II, catching the eyes of head coach Kevin Stefanski and wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea. The coaches have praised his work this offseason, and even if Tillman and Woods are back for training camp, the four-man quarterback race should still afford Davis several opportunities to be seen.

Hall’s rookie campaign was limited by a five-game suspension resulting from a domestic violence arrest and injury. As last year’s top draft pick in Cleveland, the Browns will be expecting a big jump for Hall in Year 2, and he should be running in the interior two-deep with rookie No. 5 pick Mason Graham, Maliek Collins, and Shelby Harris. After earning three starts in 16 appearance last year, McGuire is an easy pick to break out. With a strong sample of play in his time last year, the coaching staff thinks “very highly” of McGuire entering training camp, and he could end up with a starting job.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/3/25

Here are today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

New York Giants

Johnson sustained a concussion in a car accident earlier this week, per ESPN’s David Newton. The 2023 third-round pick will miss the Panthers’ final regular season after 14 appearances (including two starts) this year.

The Browns added three more players to injured reserve before Saturday’s matchup with the Ravens, including their leading rusher in Ford and second-leading pass-catcher in Njoku. Those absences have extended Baltimore to 19.5-point favorites as they look to lock up the AFC North. Cleveland will finish the year with 23 players on IR, including key players like Deshaun Watson and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/10/24

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: LB K.J Cloyd

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins has made just 64.0% of his field goal attempts this season, which includes two misses from inside 40 yards. Patterson kicked for Cleveland when Hopkins was injured at the end of last season, and his addition to the practice squad indicates that head coach Kevin Stefanski is considering a similar change this year.

The Titans signed Narveson as insurance for starter Nick Folk, who is dealing with an injury, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Narveson began the season as the Packers’ kicker, but after missing five of his 12 field goal attempts, all of which came inside of 50 yards.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/14/24

Monday’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/8/24

Tuesday’s taxi squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OL Matthew Cindric

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Fleming saw time with Denver across each of the past three seasons. The 32-year-old alternated between right and left tackle during that span, and he remained on the team’s radar given his workout in September. Now Fleming, a veteran of 117 games and 62 starts, will be an option to handle a depth role along the O-line once he is elevated to the Broncos’ active roster.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/1/24

Today’s practice squad updates around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR Jermaine Jackson
  • Released: WR John Jiles

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: DT Matt Gotel

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

The Broncos are bringing in the veteran running back Ahmed after he spent four years in Miami. Ahmed’s biggest role came in four starts as an undrafted rookie back in 2020 in which he rushed for 319 yards and three touchdowns over six games. He served as a reliable backup for the Dolphins for the past few years.

The Chargers released Jefferson yesterday, but they’ll keep him around on the practice squad with today’s signing. The veteran adds some quality depth to the roster.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/11/24

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: WR Kaden Davis

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • Signed: LB Jackson Sirmon

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Lions Get Down To 53 Players

The Lions used a couple of different methods to get their active roster to 53 players:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on IR (designated for return):

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The Lions released a lot more vested veterans than we typically see at this time in the year, perhaps a sign of the young talent on the roster. Peko seemed like a sure thing to make the roster after starting 10 games for the Titans in 2023.

Detroit will dismiss a couple of young rushers in Jefferson and Knight after the two failed to develop a significant role on the roster. Fromm was easily outshined in the preseason by an electric Hendon Hooker, who will take the backup job behind Jared Goff. Fromm continues to search for his place in the NFL after nearly winning it all at the collegiate level.

Martin, like Mahogany, will be able to return after four weeks, thanks to a new NFL rule that allows each team to place two players on IR before or at the roster cut deadline and designate them to return. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley has the other designation.

Mahogany is the only drafted rookie not to make the initial 53, but he’ll stick around in Detroit. On the other side of things, the Lions kept three undrafted rookie signees on their active roster to start the season. Most notably Hogan Hatten will come in and operate as the team’s new long snapper. Safety Loren Strickland from Ball State and wide receiver Isaiah Williams from Illinois are the other two undrafted rookies to make the initial roster.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/24

There have been plenty of posts today about a number of teams releasing and waiving players ahead of roster cuts. Here are the best of the rest of the minor moves for Monday:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived: DE Justin Blazek

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Waived: DE Levi Bell
  • Released: C Mike Panasiuk

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived: CB Willie Roberts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Nelson was an effective swing tackle for the Lions in the past three years. While he wasn’t able to stick with the Giants, he’s likely to draw interest elsewhere in the NFL.

The Eagles like Sam a lot at safety, but with a number of veterans atop the depth chart, there wasn’t room for him on the roster. The team plans to retain him on the practice squad should he clear waivers, per Andrew DiCecco of 975 The Fanatic. The Buccaneers have similar plans with Isaac, Taula, and Wisdom.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/13/24

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Claimed off waivers (from 49ers): DL Spencer Waege
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: OL Trente Jones

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: DL Chris Collins

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: OL Ireland Brown, CB Jason Maitre

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: RB Terrell Jennings, G Ryan Johnson, LB Jay Person, DE Jotham Russell
  • Waived: RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: DL Elijah Chatman
  • Waived: OLB Jeremiah Martin

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Waived: OL Kellen Diesch

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: DL Shakel Brown

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: DE Nathan Pickering, LB Devin Richardson

Tennessee Titans