Rodger Saffold spent two months on the Jets’ practice squad but never made his way into a game uniform in his 14th NFL season. The Jets released Saffold from their P-squad Tuesday, opening the door for another opportunity.
The Browns will add the veteran guard, announcing Wednesday he is now part of their 16-man taxi squad. Saffold, 35, is a Cleveland-area native who has started 173 career games. He will now represent depth for the playoff-bound Browns.
Prior to this season, Saffold was viewed as a surefire starter. The Bills used him as such throughout last season. Saffold spent nine years with the Rams and the next three with the Titans, coming to Tennessee on a big-ticket free agency pact following Super Bowl LIII. Tennessee released Saffold last year, leading him to Buffalo.
Injuries have ransacked the Browns up front this season, though they somehow have not deterred Joe Flacco during his surprising renaissance in his age-38 slate. The Browns are without tackle starters Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin, with replacement first-stringer Dawand Jones out for the season as well. Cleveland has been healthier at guard, seeing Pro Bowlers Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller miss just one game combined. But the team now has Saffold in place as a veteran insurance piece.
A second-team All-Pro during Sean McVay‘s first season with the Rams (2017), Saffold received two Pro Bowl invites as an alternate over the past two seasons. In 2021, he helped D’Onta Foreman effectively replace an injured Derrick Henry as the Titans booked the AFC’s No. 1 seed. That came three years after Saffold started in Super Bowl LIII for the Rams. The Titans gave him a four-year, $44MM deal in 2019.
Saffold joins Flacco as well-paid veterans who accepted a Browns P-squad deal. It remains to be seen if the veteran blocker will also follow the quarterback onto Cleveland’s active roster.
I think he could get a chance to play this weekend because I think Cleveland has clinched the #5 seed. The only tie-breaker that could come into effect is if they lose and Buffalo beats Miami. Miami didn’t play Cleveland, so it would go by conference record giving the Browns the #5 anyway. If there were a chance they could fall to #6, they would play to avoid facing the Chiefs on the road. If that’s not an issue, they could play backups this weekend.
They’re locked into the 5 seed no matter what happens on Sunday
If CLE and MIA both lose CLE would be 8-4 in the conference while MIA would have a 7-5 conference record. That is the tie breaker between the 2 teams.
Congrats to CLE for locking up the 5th Seed.