Browns Rumors

Browns Activate DE Chase Winovich

The Browns made a handful of roster moves this morning. The team announced that they’ve activated defensive end Chase Winovich from injured reserve and placed guard Michael Dunn on IR. The team also promoted linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. and safety Mike Brown from the practice squad.

Winovich had 11 sacks through his first two seasons in the NFL but was in New England’s dog house in 2021, leading to an offseason trade to Cleveland. The defensive lineman got into two games this season with the Browns before suffering a hamstring injury in September. The injury ultimately landed Winovich on injured reserve for a few months, with the defensive end returning to practice earlier this month.

Dunn has appeared in eight games (two starts) for Cleveland this year. A back issue forced the offensive lineman to miss Week 10, and the injury will now require him to miss at least four more games. Drew Forbes and Hjalte Froholdt can help soak up some of the snaps at offensive guard.

Defensive backs D’Anthony Bell and Greg Newsome are recovering from concussions, so Brown will provide some extra depth in the secondary. The former Miami (Ohio) product joined the Browns practice squad back in October. Carter had 88 tackles in 17 starts for the Panthers last season. The linebacker was promoted for Cleveland’s Week 10 loss to the Dolphins and finished with a pair of special teams tackles.

NFL Moves Browns-Bills Game To Detroit

With feet of snow expected for Buffalo this weekend, the NFL will relocate Week 11’s Browns-Bills matchup. The game is being moved to Detroit, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports (on Twitter).

The NFL announced earlier Thursday it was monitoring this game for a potential relocation, and Cabot reported earlier other venues were considered. But the Bills’ Thanksgiving game against the Lions offered some convenience. While this will cost Buffalo a home game, the contending team will now play two games in the Motor City in a five-day span.

Although the 2020 and ’21 seasons reintroduced rescheduling, the Bills having already had their bye week and being set to play on Thanksgiving removed that option from consideration. From Thursday through Saturday, the forecast calls for up to four feet of snow for the Buffalo area. Snow games obviously have a prominent place in NFL lore, with the Bills — including a 2007 game against the Browns — partaking in several such events. But “major to extreme impacts” are expected for this region, prompting the league to act.

The 17-game schedule being in its second season means NFC teams have the additional home game; Thursday’s news will reduce the number of Bills home tilts from eight to seven. The Bills will now be away from home for the next three games, with a Patriots matchup in Foxborough set for Dec. 1.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/16/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

  • Signed: T Hunter Thedford

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/16/22

Today’s minor transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Deshaun Watson Participates In First Browns Practice

Today marked another important checkpoint for Deshaun Watson as he moves closer to his 2022 debut. The Browns quarterback took part in his first practice with the team on Wednesday.

Watson’s suspension imposed limits on his involvement with the team leading up to his reinstatement later this season. The last milestone came in October, when he was first allowed to resume certain activities including meetings and individual workouts. Today marked the first day during which he was eligible to practice in full with the team.

By receiving clearance to take the field, Watson remains on track to meet all necessary criteria from the suspension agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA in August. That deal included an 11-game ban, $5MM fine and mandatory counseling. He is in line to make his Cleveland debut in Week 13 against his previous team, the Texans.

The Browns brought in Jacoby Brissett to serve as the bridge starter between the start of the campaign and Watson’s return. The veteran has put up middling numbers – a 63.8% completion percentage, 8:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio and passer rating of 87.1. That essentially falls in line with expectations entering the season, one in which the Browns were always poised to lean heavily on their ground game.

Doing so has produced the league’s tenth-highest scoring offense, but only a 3-6 record to date. As a result, Brissett’s final two games as the starter could go a long way in determining the team’s postseason outlook. That presents a problem for the Browns with respect to managing each QB’s workload during practice. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, along with James Palmer of NFL Network (video link) note that Watson received some first-team reps in an attempt to get him acclimated.

Preparation for the 27-year-old will remain key given his year-long stint on the sidelines with the Texans last year, not to mention the Browns’ five-year, $230MM commitment to him which is fully guaranteed despite the sexual misconduct and sexual assault allegations which made him the league’s biggest offseason storyline. As he presumably takes on a larger workload in the coming days and weeks, the Browns will look to remain in contention by the time he makes his first regular season appearance.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/15/22

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: DB Devon Key

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: WR Kevin Kassis

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/15/22

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Seattle Seahawks

Chargers To Sign DT Tyeler Davison

The defensive tackle spot has been the source of plenty of turnover recently for the Chargers, and the team is making another move at the position. Los Angeles is signing Tyeler Davison off of the Browns’ practice squad, reports ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link).

[RELATED: Chargers’ Covington, Ogbonnia Likely Out For Season]

The 30-year-old joined Cleveland’s taxi squad last month, with the expectation that he would soon be elevated to the active roster. That didn’t take place, as his most recent game action remains last year’s regular season. Davison played a career-low 12 games with the Falcons in 2021, but started 11 of them as he has remained a full-time starter for much of his NFL tenure.

The former fifth-rounder was released by the Falcons in March, ending his three-year stay in Atlanta. That was preceded by four years with the Saints. Overall, Davison has racked up 216 tackles and five sacks across his time in the NFC South. After the Cleveland signing failed to result in playing time, this Chargers deal is likely to work out differently.

Los Angeles waived Jerry Tillery after the former first-rounder struggled to meet expectations. He was nevertheless a prized commodity around the league, with eight teams putting in claims on him and the division-rival Raiders ultimately being awarded the Notre Dame product. That left a spot along the defensive interior for the Chargers to fill, but injuries have complicated their situation.

Veteran Christian Covington and rookie Otito Ogbonnia are expected to miss the remainder of the campaign, which led to an expectation a pickup of some kind would be in the making. Davison should have at least a rotational role available to him, though he has plenty of experience logging a first-team workload as well.

Despite a number of offseason moves aimed at improving their defense, the Chargers have yet to take a step forward in the ground game in particular. The team ranks 30th in the NFL allowing an average of just under 147 rushing yards per game, a figure Davison will look to help improve when he makes his 2022 debut.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/22

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Mitchell has been out of the mix for the Jets since suffering a dislocated knee early last month. Although Mitchell was carted off the field because of that injury, he appears on track to come back. The Jets also have George Fant on IR, but he has not yet been designated for return. The Jets have used Duane Brown and journeyman Cedric Ogbuehi at tackle over the past two games. Gang Green has six injury activations remaining.

The Giants four activations left. A 2021 sixth-round pick, Williams ran into a bone-spur issue during training camp. The Giants claimed Layne off waivers from the Steelers after cutdown day. The former third-round pick has worked on special teams throughout the season.

Browns Activate RB Jerome Ford, Waive DE Isaac Rochell

The Browns did a bit of roster shuffling this morning. The team announced that they’ve activated running back Jerome Ford from injured reserve, signed defensive tackle Roderick Perry II from the practice squad to the active roster, and promoted linebacker Jermaine Carter Jr. and tight end Miller Forristall from the practice squad. The Browns also waived defensive end Isaac Rochell.

Ford is the most notable name on the list, with the rookie fifth-round pick having previously served as Cleveland’s primary returner before suffering an ankle injury in Week 4. That injury ended up landing him on injured reserve and knocking him out for more than a month.

In his four games, the rookie returned six kickoffs for 145 yards, and his 24.2-yard average is still top-10 among those with at least five returns. With Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and D’Ernest Johnson standing in his way, there’s little chance the rookie RB gets a whole lot of run on offense.

Rochelle, a former seventh-round pick, got into 51 games with the Chargers between 2017 and 2020. After appearing in 12 games for the Colts in 2021, the defensive lineman joined Cleveland this offseason. He landed on the practice squad after the preseason but eventually earned his way on to the active roster, collecting 12 tackles in six games (one start).

Carter had 88 tackles for the Panthers last season, but he’s had issues holding a job in 2022. After getting cut by the Chiefs at the end of the preseason, the linebacker caught on with Cleveland’s practice squad back in September. Forristall has seen time in five games for the Browns over the past two seasons, with the majority of his snaps coming on special teams. Perry is an undrafted rookie out of Illinois.