Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II’s season is over due to a hamstring injury, and the Browns also waived wide receiver/punt returner Kadarius Toney on Tuesday.
Newsome has been placed on injured reserve, and Toney was waived after he picked up a taunting penalty on one fourth-quarter punt return and muffed another during Sunday’s loss in Pittsburgh. Toney, who was handling the team’s punt return duties for the first time, was flagged for tossing the ball at the head of Steelers wide receiver Ben Skowronek after a play with the Browns down by 20.
The Browns added Toney to their practice squad in early September after he was cut by Kansas City, but Toney spent several weeks dealing with an injury and didn’t make his Browns debut until after the team’s early November bye week. He played in three games and last week was signed to the active roster.
With the Browns at 3-10 and headed toward an uncertain future in large part because they still have more than $170 million in salary-cap commitments to quarterback Deshaun Watson, both of general manager Andrew Berry’s first-round picks — offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and Newsome — will finish this season on IR. The Browns traded three first-round picks to Houston in 2022 for Watson and in April are slated to be back in the first round for the first time since 2021.
Wills hasn’t played since Week 9. The Browns officially placed him on IR last week. He never returned to full health after suffering a torn MCL last November and undergoing surgery last December. Wills doesn’t have a contract for next year, but Cleveland will take on around $11.8 million in dead money if he isn’t on the roster because the team twice restructured Wills’ rookie contract, which included a fully guaranteed fifth-year option for this season. Wills has been the team’s starting left tackle when healthy since 2020, but he played in just five games this season.
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Newsome played this season as the Browns’ No. 3 cornerback and top nickel option. He’s under contract for 2025 on a fifth-year option worth over $13 million, so his long-term future with Cleveland is uncertain. Newsome has three career interceptions and has played in 54 career games with 42 starts. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t share details on Newsome’s new injury but confirmed it’s to the same hamstring on which Newsome had surgery to repair a partial tear in July. He missed all of training camp but returned for the start of the season.
With Newsome out, second-year cornerback Cameron Mitchell moves up a spot in the team’s cornerback rotation. Another corner who could log snaps over the final four games is rookie seventh-rounder Myles Harden, who’s back at practice but currently remains on injured reserve due to a shin injury he suffered in the season opener.
The Browns also made five practice squad transactions Tuesday, most notably adding kicker Riley Patterson as potential competition for struggling kicker Dustin Hopkins. Stefanski said the Browns would stick with Hopkins as their kicker, so the addition of Patterson at least presents the idea that Hopkins’ job is in jeopardy. Patterson finished last season as the Browns’ kicker after Hopkins suffered a hamstring injury in Week 16. Patterson kicked in one game for the New York Jets this season and also had short stints with Jacksonville, Washington and Atlanta.
Hopkins has missed six of his last nine field goal tries. He’s now 16-of-25 on the year after never previously missing more than eight field goals in a single season. He was 33-of-36 last season and got a three-year extension worth $8 million in guaranteed money in July.
Berry and Stefanski both signed long-term extensions in the spring, but nothing seems certain about the future of the roster, the front office or the coaching staff for 2025. If the Browns were playing meaningful games the rest of the way, they’d probably have to make a move at kicker. With the list of outside options few, they’ll turn to a familiar name in Patterson as potential competition and see if Hopkins can end his slide that continued with misses from 38 and 43 yards in Pittsburgh.
Wide receivers Kaden Davis and Jaelen Gill and offensive tackle Julian Pearl were also added to the practice squad. Defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour was released from the practice squad. He was an emergency practice squad addition late last week because the Browns had injuries to two veterans at the position.
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