BEREA, Ohio — Like the 31 other teams in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns had the difficult task of trimming their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday. They delivered the tough news to players that they were being waived or released as part of the cutdown.
Tuesday was cutdown day for the Browns. They had until 4 p.m. to get the roster down to 53 for the regular season. Here are the moves they made to form their initial 53-man roster.
That doesn't mean the end of the road for those players, some of whom will find themselves on new teams in the coming days and others who may remain orange and brown, after all. This is where practice squad construction comes into play.
The practice squad consists of 16 players—17 if one of them is a qualifying international player—and is already being assembled.
Cleveland didn't acquire any players via the waiver system—and none of the players who were casualties of Browns' roster cuts were claimed by other teams via waivers, allowing them to choose their landing spots.
13 signed officially
The Browns officially signed 13 players to their practice squad on Wednesday, with other signings still to come.
All 13 players who were officially signed were with the Browns this preseason. Those players are:
- DT Jowon Briggs
- CB Tony Brown II
- WR Jaelon Darden
- S Christopher Edmonds
- CB Justin Hardee Sr.
- T Germain Ifedi
- T Sam Kamara
- T Roy Mbaeteka (International Player Pathway Program)
- WR James Proche II
- LB Winston Reid
- LS Rex Sunahara
- T Lorenzo Thompson
- WR Michael Woods II
Michael Woods II
After clearing waivers, the Browns intend to sign wide receiver Michael Woods II to the practice squad, a league source confirmed.
Woods, who the Browns selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, had a standout camp this summer. In the Browns' preseason matchups, Woods caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
His time in orange and brown is set to continue on the practice squad.
#Browns Michael Woods II with a nice catch at practice today. pic.twitter.com/lxJnzrZPdU
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) May 22, 2024
Mike Ford Jr.
The Browns are signing a familiar face to the roster.
The Browns are signing cornerback Mike Ford Jr. to the practice squad, a league source confirmed. He had signed with the Houston Texans after last season but was released on Tuesday as part of their roster cuts.
Ford, a special teams ace, was a key contributor to Bubba Ventrone's unit last year, and likely gained a lot of fans after a moment on the field after the Browns beat the Steelers inside Cleveland Browns Stadium.
After their win, #Browns CB Mike Ford threw a Terrible Towel to the ground and gifted a Steelers fan in the crowd with a Browns towel.
— Camryn Justice (@camijustice) November 20, 2023
He then had other uses for the yellow rag. pic.twitter.com/IUETLYrKC0
Check back here throughout the day for more practice squad signings.
RELATED: Here's the initial 53-man roster for the Browns' 2024 season
