Browns sign two, release two

   With the opener approaching on Sunday, the Cleveland Browns felt that a few positions needed shoring up and they hope to have done so with two signings from the free agent pool.

The Browns signed tackle Joe Haeg and tight end Jesse James and to make space for the two additions, Cleveland released guard/tackle Drew Forbes and linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk.

Forbes, a sixth-round draft pick by Cleveland in 2019 and then-GM John Dorsey, was claimed by the Detroit Lions who currently employ Dorsey in their front office.

Kunaszyk, who the Browns could shuttle on and off the roster over the course of the season, cleared waivers, was signed to the practice squad and is expected to be a special teams contributor when he is on the roster.

Joe Haeg was surprisingly cut by Pittsburgh after spending one year with the Steelers and apparently had several suitors for his services after his release.

The twenty-nine-year-old Haeg was a fifth-round draft pick by the Colts in 2016 and would spend four seasons with Indianapolis as an off-and-on starter before spending 2020 with Tampa Bay, winning a Super Bowl there before moving to Pittsburgh last season.

Haeg was rated by Pro Football Focus higher for his 2022 play than the Steelers starter., Dan Moore, and visited two teams before signing with the Browns.

Cleveland still hasn't announced if veteran right tackle Jack Conklin will be available for the opener against Carolina, and veteran backup Chris Hubbard played only one game last season after a season-ending injury.

Haeg appears to be perfect in a role as a third tackle that could occasionally rotate into the lineup and is good enough to help for the short term in case it takes a bit for Jack Conklin to return to the field.

As for the better-known former Steeler in tight end Jesse James, James is best known for his four seasons with the Steelers after being drafted by Pittsburgh in the fifth round from Penn State in 2015.

James moved to Detroit and played two seasons with the Lions before signing with the Chicago Bears for 2021.

James was used in a blocking role more often with the Lions and Bears than in his four years in Pittsburgh but James is a different type of tight end than David Njoku and Harrison Bryant, which could help with some diverse looks.

James did have some solid seasons catching the football with the Steelers as he caught 43 passes in 2017, averaged fourteen yards a catch in 2018, and at 6'7 James makes a very intriguing target for the Browns quarterbacks around the goal line and short yardage situations.

James isn't going to stretch the field like David Njoku or add yards after the catch like Harrison Bryant can but he will catch the ball as a check-down option and will block willingly.

James would be a mildly underwhelming player as a starting tight end but as the third tight end on your roster can be a productive player.

Browns waive Antonio Callaway

Before the Thursday night game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns announced that they had waived wide receiver Antonio Callaway and activated rookie offensive lineman Drew Forbes from injured reserve to replace Callaway on the roster.

Callaway was the Browns fourth-round selection in the 2018 draft, which was the first under John Dorsey.
Callaway had contributed little in the 2019 season after a suspension that cost him the first four games of the season and upon his insertion into the lineup after the conclusion of the suspension, bounced a sure touchdown against the 49ers off his hands and into a San Francisco defender for a long return that shortly thereafter turned what would have been a 14-10 San Francisco lead into a 21-3 deficit for the Browns.
Callaway would finish his 2019 Browns season with eight catches for eighty-nine yards without a touchdown, but as recently as two weeks ago it appeared that he was on the verge on turning his season around with five catches for fifty-six yards, including a forty-one yard catch that set up a Browns score in their 24-19 loss in Denver.
That was the final glimmer of hope for the former Florida Gator though, as he was suspended for the win over Buffalo last Sunday for being late to the game and when he was late to a Tuesday practice with rumors beginning to circulate that Callaway was facing a ten-game suspension for failing a drug test, the decision was made to cut ties.

The addition of Drew Forbes, who was impressing many in the pre-season after being selected in the sixth round, to the offensive line will help with depth and perhaps Forbes could even push for playing time.
Forbes was a tackle at Division I-AA Southeast Missouri State, but the Browns were using him at guard as well in training camp and he could earn time at either spot.

The release of Antonio Callaway is the right thing to do and the time is right as the Browns have given Callaway several chances and Callaway hasn't seemed to have learned anything from his mistakes that trace all the way back to his college days.
I'm on board with that decision, but it continues to chip away at the 2018 draft that once looked to possibly rank with the best in Browns history.
Between the release of Callaway (4th) and the recent trades of Austin Corbett to the Rams (2nd) and Genard Avery to Philadelphia (5th), John Dorsey is now down to his first-rounders Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward, both of whom performed better as rookies than they have in 2019, Nick Chubb who has been tremendous (2nd) and rotational defensive lineman Chad Thomas (3rd), who has occasionally shown a reason to hope for more, but might wind up better remembered for his hip-hop career.

I'll be back later with thoughts on the Browns battle with the Steelers!

Cleveland Browns-Drafting Rounds Six and Seven

Wrapping our look at the Cleveland Browns draft picks with the Browns sixth and seventh rounders and then a brief look at the complete team draft and how I believe that they performed in the draft.

In the sixth round, the Browns selected their only player on the offensive side of the football when Cleveland pulled the name of Drew Forbes out of the remaining player list,
Forbes is a 6'5, 305-pound lineman from 1-AA Southeast Missouri State that played tackle for the Redhawks but will be slotted as a guard in Cleveland for the Browns.
Forbes was "Prospect X" the player followed throughout the draft process by Sports Illustrated along with his wife, but not identified until after the draft.
Forbes will be moved to guard, as mentioned earlier so there will be a learning process and playing at 1-AA level will also require an adjustment that might see Forbes either come up with an "injury" that protects him on injured reserve for a year or see practice squad duty, but that comes with the risk of another team swooping in to sign Forbes away.
Dane Brugler saw Forbes as a fourth or fifth rounder and likes his power, although he'll have to work on technique against quicker defensive tackles as he moves to guard.
Forbes is a project but has the type of background and strength that might stick around for a while and when you can refine a sixth-rounder with hopes of an eventual starter, you have to be pleased with the pick.


The Browns final pick in the seventh round saw them select their third defensive back of the draft when they took Tulane cornerback Donnie Lee Lewis.
In the seventh round, every player has a blemish or two because if they didn't have blemishes-they wouldn't be available in the seventh round!
Lewis started 44 games for the Green Wave of the American Athletic Conference and according to Dane Brugler is quick and has good ball skills, but lacks strength and can get pushed off the ball.
How much can Lewis contribute on special teams might be the difference in whether Lewis makes the team, the practice squad or gets released in camp.


In conclusion, I'm more than pleased with this draft.
When you consider that the Browns lacked a first rounder from the Odell Beckham trade, one cannot help but be happy with a player looked at by some as the best cornerback available in Greedy Williams.
That opinion isn't universal, but enough hold that opinion that it at least has to be considered as a first-round talent being added in the second round.
Linebacker Sione Takitaki is another player that is rated higher by some than others, but those that like him love his speed and intensity.
I think Mack Wilson in the fifth round could eventually be an out and out theft and Drew Forbes is the type of low-risk (6th round) high reward player that might need some development time but could be an eventual starter with some good fortune.
Sheldrick Redwine at minimum should be an immediate special teamer and maybe a starter down the road.
And with the undrafted free agent bunch adding big armed Purdue quarterback David Blough, who I mentioned as a developmental quarterback
All things considered, the Browns couldn't ask for more from a draft without a first rounder.

Draft Grade B+