BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns announced on Wednesday that they have released defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey, a move that comes following a slew of off-field incidents over his early career.
Winfrey, who the Browns selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, played in 13 games last year as a rookie and recorded 22 total tackles, a half-sack, and two passes defended.
The defensive tackle started his time with Cleveland with a memorable press conference, barking into the camera and delivering a number of memorable quotes.
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But while Winfrey made a memorable first impression, he quickly began having off-field issues.
Winfrey was dismissed from practice last season for "disciplinary reasons" heading into Cleveland's game against the Jets. His teammate Myles Garrett talked about the issues, which he described as "very apparent" and said members of the team addressed them with head coach Kevin Stefanski.
"We all have to step up and say something. But sometimes silence speaks louder than words. We’ve used our voice a couple of times, and at the end of the day he’s got to learn how to be a pro," Garrett said after the dismissal. "It was pretty common knowledge and it was easy to see. So it wasn’t like we had to bring it to [head coach Kevin Stefanski's] attention. His actions were very apparent," Garrett said.
After returning to practice, Winfrey spoke to media, pledging to learn from his mistakes and called the occurrence a "one-time thing."
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Winfrey was inactive for the Jets game but returned to the field after taking the time away.
But Winfrey's problems didn't end there.
While teammates and leaders in the organization tried to keep Winfrey on the straight and narrow, the defensive tackle continued to have missteps throughout the year and into this offseason.
Following the Browns' loss to the Ravens in Baltimore last October, sources confirmed Winfrey was in a heated altercation with teammates inside the Browns' locker room, which could be heard through the walls of the press conference room. That situation was handled internally and the team quickly moved past it.
But it wasn't just high emotions after games that found Winfrey in hot water. In April, Winfrey was arrested for an alleged assault in Texas. He was accused of causing bodily injury to a woman he was dating by grabbing her with his hand after they got into an "argument over a dog and keys to a rental car."
At the time, a Browns official said the team was aware of the situation and was working to gather more information.
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In June, that case, a misdemeanor assault case, was dropped after Winfrey completed a pre-trial diversion program.
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Just over a month after that case was dropped, Winfrey is back in hot water after sources say Winfrey is being investigated for allegedly assaulting a woman and showing a gun in Cleveland.
A video posted to social media shows a woman being threatened by an unidentified man, who she claims is Winfrey and assaulted. Pictures of abrasions on her neck follow the video.
A short time after that video surfaced, the team released Winfrey, marking the end of his tumultuous time in Cleveland.
