HEADLINES

John Hughes

Browns Sign John Hughes To Extension

March 13th, 2015 at 3:28pm CST by Luke Adams

3:28pm: Hughes’ extension includes $3.56MM in guaranteed money, including a $2.5MM signing bonus, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, who tweets that the four-year deal can max out at $15MM.

3:12pm: While most players signing new deals this week saw their old contracts expire, defensive lineman John Hughes has agreed to a new pact with a year remaining on his rookie deal, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport reports that the Browns locked up Hughes to a four-year deal worth $14.4MM in new money.

Hughes, a 2012 draftee, became extension-eligible this winter for the first time, and the Browns didn’t waste much time in locking him up. The former third-round pick has started just seven games in his first three seasons in Cleveland, but appeared poised for a bigger role in 2014 before he landed on the injured reserve list for a good chunk of the season due to an MCL injury.

Although he only logged 212 defensive snaps for the Browns in 2014, Hughes was productive in his limited action, per Pro Football Focus’ metrics, which gave him a +5.2 grade (subscription required). The 26-year-old was similarly productive in 2013, ranking among PFF’s top 10 3-4 defensive ends despite playing only 402 defensive snaps.

Browns Place Johnny Manziel On IR

December 24th, 2014 at 10:38am CST by Rob DiRe

WEDNESDAY, 10:38am: The Browns have officially placed Manziel on IR, along with defensive lineman Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, the team announced today (via Twitter). The two moves accommodate the previously reported roster additions of long snapper Charley Hughlett and defensive lineman John Hughes.

MONDAY, 3:56pm: Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel will not be available for the last game of the season against the Ravens, according to Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com (via Twitter). Manziel injured his hamstring in last week’s loss to the Panthers, and the injury would have reportedly forced him to miss a few weeks had this not been the last game of the year.

The team’s other quarterback option with experience is Brian Hoyer, who started for most of the season before being benched for Manziel. His status for Sunday’s game is uncertain due to a shoulder injury as well, which could leave the Browns without their two top quarterbacks.

The next option is undrafted rookie Connor Shaw, who the team signed after the draft this season. The former University of South Carolina quarterback is expected to get the lion’s share of the reps with the first team in practice this week in anticipation of the matchup with Baltimore (via Twitter).

According to Grossi, the team is also considering bringing in a quarterback from outside the organization, to serve as a backup under the circumstance where Hoyer cannot dress for the game. Grossi expects that the team will bring Rex Grossman in as an emergency option for Week 17 (via Twitter).

Grossman played under Kyle Shanahan for years, first with the Texans as a backup and also during their time together in Washington. Grossman was also with the team for a few weeks this August, and should have some comfort level, if not familiarity, with the offense.

Browns coach Mike Pettine was asked about the prospect of bringing in Grossman, and was noncommittal but noted that the team was exploring their options, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter). Pettine said he would get together with general manager Ray Farmer and they would look into how to proceed.

Minor Moves: Browns, Buccaneers

December 23rd, 2014 at 3:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves..

  • Browns defensive tackle John Hughes will be activated from the IR-DTR list, according to Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald (via Twitter). Hughes suffered an MCL injury in late October and has been sidelined ever since. He returned to practice about two weeks ago but remained on the short-term IR list.
  • The Buccaneers will sign punter Chase Tenpenny to a reserve-future deal, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter).

AFC Links: Jaguars, Ravens, Clowney, Browns

December 10th, 2014 at 8:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts will be a free agent at the end of the season, but the four-year veteran claims he’s only focused on his team’s final three games. However, when asked about the future, the 26-year-old gave some hints about where he’d like to play next year (via Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union):

“Do I want to be here? Yeah. We’ll deal with that when the off-season comes. But right now, we have three games left so I’m trying to focus on Baltimore.

“I really like what’s going on here. I like how [general manager] Dave [Caldwell] is building the team, I like what [owner] Shad [Khan] is putting into the team and I’m a huge fan of [coach] Gus [Bradley] and the coaching staff. This is a team I feel is going in the right direction and I would feel terrible if I end up somewhere else and this team [goes], ‘Boom [and gets better],’ because I’ve been through the rough times.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC…

  • Ravens linebacker Daryl Smith, who has spent the last two seasons in Baltimore, briefly reflected on his time with the Jaguars, where he spent the first nine seasons of his career. “I had a good nine years down there, and I’m in Baltimore now,” Smith said (via Wilson). “I’m definitely thankful I got an opportunity and I love being here. I’m happy here. At the end of the day, we’re here to win games. I’m just happy to have these games mean something at this time of the year.”
  • Ravens president Dick Cass clarified his initial statement to Ray Rice following the early reports of domestic abuse. “I never suggested to Ray that he soften or tone down his description of what happened,” Cass said (via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun on Twitter). The president added that he told Rice to do three things: “tell the truth… don’t sugarcoat it…assume the league saw all the video.”
  • Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole says there is “grave concern” within the Texans organization regarding rookie Jadeveon Clowney‘s injury. Cole estimates that the first-overall pick could be a productive defensive end for four to six years, but a long career at the position is “highly unlikely.”
  • Browns defensive end John Hughes returned to practice today, but Wilson tweets that he hasn’t been activated from the injured reserve-designated to return list.
  • The Saints weren’t the only team working out a trio of kickers today. According to Howard Balzer on Twitter, the Browns worked out Garrett Hartley, Zach Hocker and Nate Freese.

Browns Place John Hughes On IR-DTR

October 27th, 2014 at 5:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although the Browns did manage a 23-13 victory against the Raiders yesterday, and in doing so, kept pace with the rest of a highly competitive AFC North, it’s not all good news coming out of Cleveland. Per Terry Grossi of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the team has placed defensive end John Hughes on injured reserve/designated to return after he suffered an MCL injury in Sunday’s contest. The Browns filled the open space on their 53-man roster by claiming tight end Ryan Taylor off waivers from the Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).

Now that’s he been slapped with the IR-DTR tag, Hughes can resume practicing in six weeks, and return to game action in eight. Therefore, Hughes will only be able be to play in Cleveland’s Week 17 game against the Steelers, as well as the playoffs (if Cleveland makes the postseason). A Cincinnati product, Hughes has played in 35 games since being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft. He’s started two games this season, and graded out as the league’s 15th-best 3-4 defensive end among 49 qualifiers per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The loss of Hughes won’t help a Browns defense that already ranks 25th in DVOA, but perhaps former first-round pick Phil Taylor, who will presumably see more snaps in Hughes’ absence, can help fill the void.

Taylor, 26, was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2011. After being waived by Green Bay in early October, he was picked up by Baltimore; he was waived once again on October 25. Taylor has been more of a special teams contributor during his career, as he’s caught only eight passes for 45 yards. The fact that the Browns claimed him is interesting, as it could signify that Jordan Cameron won’t be available for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers after suffering a concussion yesterday.