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Armonty Bryant

Browns Release DT Armonty Bryant

October 3rd, 2016 at 9:09am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns are releasing Armonty Bryant, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The defensive tackle was slated to come off of suspension today. Armonty Bryant

Bryant and former Browns defensive back De’Ante Saunders were arrested early on Christmas morning 2015. Bryant, who had Adderall in his possession, was ultimately indicted on two counts of felony drug possession when he could not produce a prescription for the medication. The NFL subsequently hit him with a four-game suspension.

Bryant, 26, enjoyed something of a breakout season in 2015, racking up career-highs in sacks (5.5), tackles (40), and forced fumbles (two). However, after a solid year on the field, the linebacker ran into some trouble off of it. Hue Jackson has talked about prioritizing character when it comes to filling out the team’s 53-man roster and it appears that he is sticking to his word by cutting Bryant. The Browns, now 0-4, probably could have used Bryant from a talent perspective.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC North Notes: Steelers, Browns, Gordon

July 28th, 2016 at 4:35pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown reported to Steelers training camp Thursday and is both hopeful and confident that the team will address his contract before the regular season, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN. Brown – who has combined for 375 catches and 31 touchdowns the last three seasons – is woefully underpaid relative to his production (he’s due $14.96MM through 2017), though the Steelers don’t typically negotiate new deals with non-quarterbacks who have more than one year left on their contracts. “It has been the position of the organization and it has always been like that,” general manager Kevin Colbert said last summer in regards to the team’s policy. Based on Schefter’s report, the Steelers might make an exception after Brown tied for the league lead in receptions (136), finished second in yards (1,834) and found the end zone 10 times last season.

More news on Pittsburgh and one of its division rivals:

  • Speaking of Colbert, the Steelers awarded him an additional role as their vice president Thursday, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). Colbert, 59, joined the Steelers as their director of football operations in 2000 and held that position until they promoted him to GM in 2010.
  • Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and head coach Hue Jackson addressed the return of newly reinstated receiver Josh Gordon on Thursday (via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com). “He in earnest wants to make the most of this opportunity, and he knows his situation and so we’re going to get around him, give him that opportunity,” Brown stated regarding Gordon, whom the league suspended for 29 of the Browns’ previous 48 regular-season games – including the entire 2015 campaign – because of substance abuse violations. Gordon will also sit out the first four games of this year. However, the highly talented 25-year-old has a clean slate with Jackson, who’s in his first season with the Browns. “I don’t have a lot of history with Josh that way,” said Jackson. “But his history is preceding him, and I think he knows that and I think the only way to deal with a player in these situations is to kind of hit the restart button for him and he has to go do it.”
  • The Browns have no plans to cut linebacker Armonty Bryant in the wake of his misdemeanor drug conviction, Brown said Thursday, as Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer tweets. An additional suspension could be coming for him, however. Bryant will already miss the first four games of the season because of a suspension.
  • In case you missed it, Cleveland defensive tackle Desmond Bryant will officially miss the entire season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Armonty Bryant Suspended Four Games

March 4th, 2016 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Browns linebacker Armonty Bryant has been suspended four games by the NFL violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, the team announced today in a press release. The suspension will sideline Bryant for the first four games of the 2016 regular season.Armonty Bryant

Bryant, 25, enjoyed something of a breakout season in 2015, racking up career-highs in sacks (5.5), tackles (40), and forced fumbles (two). However, after a solid year on the field, the linebacker ran into some trouble off of it.

Bryant and former Browns defensive back De’Ante Saunders were arrested early on Christmas morning, and Bryant, who had Adderall in his possession when the duo was stopped by police, was ultimately indicted on two counts of felony drug possession. The NFL classifies Adderall as a performance-enhancing drug, but that case is still playing out, so Bryant’s suspension appears to be unrelated to that incident.

New Browns head coach Hue Jackson has talked about prioritizing character when it comes to filling out the team’s 53-man roster, and taking a hard-line stance when it comes to off-field transgressions, so it will be interesting to see whether Bryant will have a role on the team in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Combine Updates: Browns, Buccaneers, Titans

February 24th, 2016 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

General managers and head coaches around the league are speaking to the media on Wednesday and Thursday at the scouting combine in Indianapolis, and while most of them will only generally address their pending free agents or other noteworthy contract situations, a handful have revealed some interesting tidbits.

Here are a few updates from the sessions so far:

Cleveland Browns:

  • Browns head coach Hue Jackson, who said the team will take a hard-line stance when it comes to not tolerating off-field behavior like Johnny Manziel‘s, was also asked about players like Josh Gordon (suspended) and Armonty Bryant (arrested). Jackson said he has spoken to Bryant, and will meet with Gordon if and when he’s reinstated, stressing that he wants high-character players and will evaluate each situation on a case-by-case basis (Twitter links via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com and Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal).
  • Jackson guaranteed that the Browns will come out of this year’s draft having picked a quarterback. However, he cautioned that the team might not use the No. 2 overall pick to select a signal-caller (Twitter link via Cabot).
  • Jackson conceded that if the fit is right, he would value potential free agents who had previous experience in his system (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich). Bengals wideouts Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu might fit that bill.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

  • Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said today that the team doesn’t have any indication of whether veteran guard Logan Mankins is leaning toward retiring or playing in 2016. That decision won’t affect the Bucs either way though, according to Licht, who says the team expects to hear from Mankins within the next few weeks (Twitter links via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times).
  • Licht will meet with Doug Martin‘s agent this week, and said he’s optimistic about the possibility of working out a new deal for the running back (Twitter link via Stroud).
  • If the Bucs don’t re-sign Martin, they’ll be prepared to address the position either in free agency or the draft, says Licht (Twitter link via Stroud).
  • Licht expects to concentrate primarily on defensive players in the draft, but that won’t stop the Bucs from grabbing an offensive player if he’s the top player on their board (Twitter link via Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune).

Tennessee Titans:

  • Titans head coach Mike Mularkey views Brian Schwenke‘s injuries as a potential cause for concern, and said the team won’t rule out the pursuit of a veteran center (Twitter link via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com).
  • Defensive tackle Al Woods is one of the Titans pending free agents that the team is talking to and wants to keep, according to Mularkey (Twitter link via McCormick).
  • Mularkey doesn’t believe the Titans’ moves in free agency will tip off what the team plans to do with the No. 1 pick in the draft, per Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. “I don’t know that it’s a telltale sign — if we do this, we won’t do that,” Mularkey said.
  • The Titans don’t currently plan on making any more roster cuts prior to the start of free agency, Mularkey said (Twitter link via McCormick).
  • If the Titans ultimately decide to trade the first overall pick in the draft, they’ll be looking for a “fair deal,” not necessarily one that lines up with the old draft-pick value chart, per GM Jon Robinson (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).

Armonty Bryant, De’Ante Saunders Indicted

February 10th, 2016 at 1:37pm CST by Ben Levine

FEBRUARY 10, 1:37pm: Bryant and Saunders have been indicted on felony charges, according to a report from NewsNet5.com. Bryant was indicted on two counts of felony drug possession, while Saunders was indicted for improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, per the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

DECEMBER 26, 2:32pm: A gun belonging to Saunders was in his glove compartment without a permit, the Akron Beacon Journal’s Nate Ulrich reports (on Twitter), with a Cuyahoga County prosecutor will review the matter.

A Cuyahoga County prosecutor will also review Bryant’s case, per Ulrich (on Twitter), and the third-year player has not been charged. Bryant was arrested for possession of Adderall, and he could not produce a prescription, Ulrich tweets. If he can’t provide a prescription, Bryant could also be subject to an NFL suspension, Cabot tweets.

1:25pm: Saunders has been charged with drunk driving and speeding and could also face a charge of having a gun while drunk, Evan McDonald of Cleveland.com reports (on Twitter, via Mary Kay Cabot).

Bryant could face charges if he’s unable to produce a prescription for the Adderall in his possession at the time of the stop, McDonald reports (via Cabot, on Twitter).

8:30am: Browns linebacker Armonty Bryant and cornerback De’Ante Saunders were arrested early Christmas morning, reports Scott Taylor of WOIO TV in Cleveland (via Twitter). According to Taylor, the duo was stopped on I-71 and arrested at 2:16 am on Friday morning. Saunders was arrested for OVI (operating a vehicle impaired) and speeding.

The two players were picked up by a friend after being processed early Christmas morning. Saunders refused a breath test, McDonald reports. He will appear in court Monday.

Browns general manager Ray Farmer gave Taylor a brief statement regarding the arrests (via Twitter):

“We have been made aware of the arrests of De’Ante Saunders and Armonty Bryant after a traffic stop early Friday morning.

These are charges that we take very seriously. The importance of responsible decision-making is something we continually stress to all members of our organizations, which makes it extremely disappointing that these two individuals would put themselves in this situation by making such poor decisions.

Armony will be inactive on Sunday for our game against the Chiefs and will not travel with the team to Kansas City so he can tend to this personal legal matter.

In addition to being a pending legal matter, this incident is subject to the NFL personal conduct policy and we have no further comment at this time.”

Bryant, a seventh-round pick in 2013, is having a career year in 2015. The 25-year-old has started two of his 14 games, compiling career-highs in tackles (40), sacks (5.5), and forced fumbles (two). Bryant is set to make $675K next season, but the Browns could cut the linebacker without being left with any dead money.

Saunders, an undrafted rookie, joined the Browns in November. The Tennessee State product made his only appearance in Week 9 against the Bengals, where he compiled a single tackle. The 23-year-old was on the Browns practice squad at the time of the arrest.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

October 14th, 2014 at 5:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Tuesday is typically a busy in-season day for NFL transactions, so we expect to add several more moves from around the league to this list as the day goes on. For now, here are the the day’s minor transactions relating to clubs’ 53-man rosters:

  • For now, to replace linebacker Danny Trevathan, the Broncos will promote Shaquil Barrett from their practice squad, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
  • The Seahawks have tweaked the back of their roster, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has cut safety Steven Terrell and signed defensive end Greg Scruggs.
  • With the roster opening created by Ventrone’s release (noted below), the 49ers have re-signed quarterback Josh Johnson, who was cut a few days ago, the club announced today in a press release.

Earlier updates:

  • The Browns have placed defensive lineman Armonty Bryant on injured reserve, signing another defensive lineman, Sione Fua, to take his spot on the roster, the team announced today (Twitter link). Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports first reported (via Twitter) that Fua was signing with the Browns.
  • The Ravens have a roster exemption for previously-suspended safety Will Hill, which will last until next Monday, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. By that point, Baltimore will have to either waive Hill or cut someone else on the roster, creating space for the safety.
  • A week after re-signing him to their active roster, the 49ers have released defensive back and special-teamer Bubba Ventrone, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Ventrone spent last season on San Francisco’s roster, but was cut prior to the 2014 regular season.
  • Having lost cornerback Trumaine McBride during Sunday night’s game against the Eagles, the Giants are set to promote cornerback Chandler Fenner from their practice squad to the active roster, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Fenner, cut in July by Seattle, has shuffled back and forth between New York’s practice squad and active roster since the regular season began.

AFC Notes: Sparano, Patriots, Hoyer, Browns

October 13th, 2014 at 4:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers sees big things ahead for Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr, writes Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. “He played really well,” Rivers said. “He was efficient, making some checks, handling things at the line. He showed great poise. I don’t know him at all. He’s got a heck of a career if he keeps this up.” Even though Oakland came up short in their upset bid over San Diego, Raiders fans have to be happy with what they saw out of Carr yesterday. More from the AFC..

  • Raiders players have responded well to interim head coach Tony Sparano, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Despite Sunday’s final result, Sparano is clearly getting better play out of his team than predecessor Dennis Allen was.
  • Even with serious injuries to linebacker Jerod Mayo and running back Stevan Ridley, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) doesn’t expect the Patriots to make any roster moves today, even on a short week.
  • With that said, the Patriots auditioned five linebackers today, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter): Justin Anderson, Kaelin Burnett, Tim Dobbins, Mario Harvey, and Paul Hazel.
  • Pending free agent Brian Hoyer would like to stay with the Browns but he’s also being realistic as he looks ahead. “I’m from Cleveland and I want to be here…but [I’m] also a competitor. I want to be somewhere where I’m playing,” the quarterback said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
  • Browns head coach Mike Pettine is hopeful that center Alex Mack can return to the field in 2014 after undergoing surgery on his broken fibula, writes Pat McManamon of ESPN.com. If Mack has only a broken leg, it’ll be an 8-10 week absence. If it’s anything more, he’d be done for the year.
  • More bad news for the Browns. In addition to possibly losing Mack for the season, they learned that they’ll also be without defensive end Armonty Bryant, who has a torn ACL, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Bryant also has a partial MCL tear and will undergo surgery soon. Pettine told reporters today, including Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald (on Twitter), that a replacement for Bryant may be necessary. That’s not the case at center, however, where he feels he has in-house options to step in.