HEADLINES

Isaiah Trufant

Browns Place Mack On IR, Promote Seymour

October 17th, 2014 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

Just five games into his lucrative new five-year contract, Browns center Alex Mack has been shut down for the 2014 season. The team announced today (via Twitter) that the standout offensive lineman has been placed on injured reserve, with practice squad lineman Ryan Seymour joining the 53-man roster to take Mack’s place.

Mack, who left Sunday’s game against the Steelers on a cart after suffering a leg injury, was diagnosed with a broken fibula. While there was some hope that he’d be able to undergo surgery and return in eight to 10 weeks, today’s move signals that the injury will sideline Mack for the entire season. His new contract with the team ensures that Mack will receive his $10MM salary for 2014 and will be in line for a fully guaranteed salary of $8MM in 2015.

The loss will be a significant one for the Browns, considering Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has graded Mack as a top-10 center during each year he’s been in the league — he was off to a typically strong start in 2014, having ranked third among centers through the first six weeks of the season. For now, right guard John Greco appears set to slide over to center, with Paul McQuistan the most likely candidate to fill in at right guard.

The Browns also made a couple more minor roster moves today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, who tweets that the team signed defensive lineman Christian Tupou to the practice squad and cut defensive back Isaiah Trufant from the injured reserve list.

Browns Cut Nate Burleson, Others

August 30th, 2014 at 5:31pm CST by Ben Levine

5:31pm: The Browns have confirmed the previous roster moves noted below in this post, and have announced their other 14 moves to reach the 53-man roster limit. Here’s the list of players cut from the active roster:

Additionally, Josh Gordon and Marlon Moore have been placed on the reserve-suspended list.

1:20pm: The Browns have also let go of their third-round pick from last season, among other players:

10:00am: The Browns have released veteran wide receiver Nate Burleson, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old signed with Cleveland in April after having spent the past four seasons with the Lions.

It wasn’t a sure thing that the veteran would make the roster, considering he’s only appeared in 15 games over the past two years. Burleson also hinted that he was considering retiring following the 2014 season. However, at the very least, Burleson was expected to be a veteran leader to the team’s group of young wideouts. As Brian McIntyre tweets, $285K of Burleson’s base salary is full guaranteed.

The Browns will also let go of running back Chris Ogbonnaya, according to Cabot (via Twitter). The 28-year-old has compiled 130 carries since joining the Browns in 2011.

The rest of the Browns moves will be listed below:

Browns To Sign Isaiah Trufant

March 12th, 2014 at 5:46pm CST by Luke Adams

5:46pm: Trufant got a two two-year, $1.54MM deal from the Browns that includes $1MM guaranteed, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.

7:50am: The Browns have agreed to terms with ex-Jet Isaiah Trufant, his agent Doug Hendrickson announced on Twitter last night (hat tip to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News). The veteran cornerback was an unrestricted free agent this winter after spending the first four seasons of his NFL career in New York.

Trufant, 31, has only started one game out of 39 career contests, and has never appeared in more than 121 defensive snaps in a season, so it’s not as if his arrival will prompt the Browns to close the door on Darrelle Revis or other potential cornerback additions. Still, Trufant should represent a decent and modestly priced depth piece for Mike Pettine’s defense in Cleveland, and he could end up contributing on special teams as well.