Browns release Austin Seibert, promote Cody Parkey, Njoku to IR.

 Give Kevin Stefanski this- he's not going to tolerate players that cannot handle the basics of their job.
The basic job of the kicking position to kick the football between the uprights on field goals and extra points.
Austin Seibert failed at that job yesterday in the Browns 38-6 loss at Baltimore and Kevin Stefanski wasn't going to tolerate any further struggles as the Browns released Seibert and replaced him with veteran Cody Parkey from the practice squad.


Siebert was selected by the John Dorsey regime in the fifth round in 2019 out of Oklahoma and Seibert did make 25 of 29 field-goal attempts in 2019 after beating out Greg Joseph for the job, but he missed four of five attempts over forty yards and five extra points and once Dorsey was gone after last season, Seibert was going to be watched carefully.
When Seibert missed both of his kicks in Baltimore, the only question was would the Browns pull the trigger on a short week and release him now or give him one week to turn things around?

Cody Parkey was on the enlarged practice squad as each team is keeping a kicker on their squad in the event their kicker would fail the Covid test on a Saturday before a game.
The twenty-eight-year-old veteran has kicked for six years in the league for five different teams, including the Browns in 2016, where he kicked 20 of 25 field-goal tries.
Parkey kicked for Tennessee in three games last season, connecting on all three attempts.

The Browns were in a tough spot with Austin Seibert.
Do you tolerate the errant kicks and limited range because releasing him would be yet another wasted draft pick and give him more time to develop?
Or do you let him go and set a precedent that you won't tolerate basic problems, even if it means players are always looking over their shoulder?
I think they made the right call here, inconsistency from the kicking game is often a hallmark of bad teams and the Browns hope to be at least average, so keeping Seibert around was more likely than not to eventually cost the Browns a game.
Better to cut those ties now.

David Njoku must have taken the compliments paid to rookie Harrison Bryant in camp personally as in the loss to the Ravens, Njoku was one of the few bright spots in catching all three passes thrown to him for fifty yards, including the only Cleveland touchdown and a spectacular leaping grab along the sideline for a 28 yard gain, which was the longest gain of the day for the Browns passing game.
Njoku sprained an MCL in the defeat and will miss at least three weeks under the NFL's newer relaxed version of the injured reserve list.
The Browns may not add a tight end to replace Njoku since they have three on the roster without Njoku in Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant, and Stephen Carlson.

The team has not announced a replacement for Cody Parkey as the practice squad kicker or the player to replace Njoku on the roster either from the free agency pool or promotion from the practice squad.