Latest news with #ClevelandBrowns
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Elerson Smith retires just before 27th birthday: Former Giants DE ends injury-plagued NFL career
Browns place Elerson Smith on retired list, ending a short but promising NFL career (Image via: Getty Images) Just one day before turning 27, Elerson Smith has officially retired from the NFL . The Cleveland Browns placed the defensive end on the reserve/retired list on Wednesday, bringing a close to a career filled with promise but derailed by injuries. Once a high-upside draft pick, Smith now steps away after just 15 NFL games. From Draft day dreams to retirement at 27: Inside Elerson Smith's NFL journey Elerson Smith entered the league in 2021 as a fourth-round pick of the New York Giants. Coming out of Northern Iowa, Smith drew attention for his physical tools—standing 6-foot-6, weighing 252 pounds, and clocking a 4.75-second 40-yard dash. He was considered a raw but high-ceiling prospect with ideal traits for an NFL edge rusher. However, Smith's pro career was plagued by injuries, particularly a neck issue that limited his time with the Giants. Over two seasons in New York, he managed just eight games and struggled to stay on the field. He recorded limited stats—just 13 total tackles and one sack during his time in the league. Elerson Smith 2019 Highlights | Northern Iowa EDGE | 2021 NFL Draft Prospect Smith's NFL journey ends with Browns after short stints with Jets and Raiders After being waived by the Giants, Smith bounced around the league. He joined the New York Jets in October 2023 but was released a month later. The Las Vegas Raiders picked him up in November, only to waive him with an injury designation in August 2024. The Cleveland Browns signed Smith to their practice squad in September 2024. He was briefly promoted to the active roster, appearing in two games and registering two tackles. In January 2025, he signed a reserve/future contract, aiming to compete for a spot during the offseason. But on July 17, 2025—just one day before his 27th birthday—the Browns placed Smith on the reserve/retired list, signaling the end of his playing days. Elerson Smith's NFL retirement marks a career of untapped potential ending quietly Smith's short NFL journey is a reminder of how quickly professional football careers can change. Despite his size, athleticism, and college production, injuries prevented him from ever securing a consistent role. With only 15 NFL games and four team stops across four years, Smith's potential went largely unrealized. Also Read: Stefon Diggs injury update: Patriots WR recovery timeline ahead of 2025 NFL season opener Elerson Smith now exits the NFL quietly, just a day shy of 27, leaving behind what many once believed could've been a promising defensive career. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL standoff: Why 30 of 32 second-round picks remain unsigned
Shortly after this year's NFL Draft, the Houston Texans signed second-round pick Jayden Higgins to a rookie contract. It was the kind of routine move that ordinarily might go unnoticed, except in this case it came with a twist that few around the league saw coming. The Texans awarded Higgins a fully guaranteed contract, the first-ever for an NFL draft pick selected in the second round or later. The former Iowa State wide receiver will bank $11.7 million over the next four years even if he sustains a career-threatening injury or the Texans sour on him and release him. Higgins' historic contract has triggered a league-wide standoff. Agents for other second-round picks are pushing for fully guaranteed deals — or at least for more guaranteed money than previous players in their draft slot have secured. NFL teams have been reluctant to set an unfavorable precedent by making such concessions. As rookies begin to report to NFL training camps this week, 30 of the 32 players taken in the second round in April remain unsigned. One exception is Higgins, the second pick in the second round. The other is Carson Schwesinger, the player selected one spot ahead of him. Perhaps aware that their leverage had eroded, the Cleveland Browns gave Schwesinger a fully guaranteed rookie contract the day after Higgins signed his deal. The question now is whether the prized second-round picks selected after Schwesinger and Higgins will have the stomach to stand united and fight for similar deals. Los Angeles Chargers' second-round pick Tre Harris became the first training camp absentee earlier this week when he did not report with the rest of the team's rookies. An NFLPA spokesperson told Yahoo Sports that the union is 'monitoring this situation closely' in hopes that the players selected in the second round can take advantage of a rare opportunity to overturn a long-established precedent. "We work alongside the players and their agents to help them secure the best deal possible, while acknowledging that our members can organize as they see fit for the collective benefit of their financial futures,' the NFLPA spokesperson said. Rookie holdouts were once an annual staple of the buildup to the NFL regular season. In 2007, No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell did not sign until early September when the Raiders caved to his demands by offering a six-year, $68 million contract. That holdout was brief compared to a 2009 standoff between receiver Michael Crabtree and the San Francisco 49ers that stretched four games into the regular season. Or a 2002 impasse between Bryant McKinnie and the Minnesota Vikings that lasted into November. Sagas like those became far more rare 14 years ago when the NFL grew tired of unproven draft picks earning salaries that rivaled those of perennial all-pros. The 2011 collective bargaining agreement introduced a rookie wage scale that established a hard ceiling for rookie contracts and rigid financial guidelines for each draft slot. All rookie contracts are four years in length, though teams have the right to exercise an option after the third year of the deal to add a fifth year for first-round picks. How much guaranteed money a draft pick receives is one of the few remaining negotiable terms in NFL rookie contracts. It wasn't until 2022 that every first-round pick managed to negotiate a fully guaranteed contract. Last year, second-round guarantees ranged from 95.7% for No. 33 overall pick Keon Coleman of the Buffalo Bills to 52.4% for No. 64 overall pick Renardo Green of the San Francisco 49ers. The last 2024 second-round pick to secure any guaranteed money in the fourth year of his rookie deal was cornerback Max Melton of the Arizona Cardinals. The 43rd pick in the 2024 draft would still receive $50,000 from the Cardinals in 2027 even if the team opts to release him before then. Last year, all second-round picks signed in time for training camp. This year, all second-round picks participated in OTAs and minicamps, but it remains to be seen how many will show up to training camps — every team will have begun camp by July 23 — without a signed contract. Two key figures in the standoff could be quarterback Tyler Shough of the New Orleans Saints and running back Quinshon Judkins of the Cleveland Browns. Shough, the No. 40 overall pick in this year's draft, is the Saints' potential starting quarterback as a rookie, giving him ample leverage to fight for a fully guaranteed deal. Judkins, the No. 36 pick in this year's draft, was arrested Saturday on a domestic violence charge, reducing his bargaining power in contract negotiations with the Browns. While the money at stake isn't especially high for NFL teams worth billions of dollars, the consequences for current and future second-round picks are significant. The average career length for an NFL player is barely three years. Even second-round picks can't count on sticking with their original team for the entirety of their four-year rookie contracts. studied how long second-round picks drafted from 2015-2022 remained with the team that selected them. Nearly 97% lasted at least two seasons with their original team, but only about 84% stuck around three-plus seasons and only about 62% made it through four or more. Those numbers show why fully guaranteed money in the third and fourth year of rookie deals is a point of contention for second-round picks seeking greater financial security and NFL teams hesitant to give away money. Whereas NFL veterans who hold out for a new deal are subject to fines for every day of training camp that they miss, rookies actually have more leverage. NFL teams can't punish them the same way because they haven't signed a contract. Plus, the importance of training camp and preseason games is greater for rookies who need time to adjust to the NFL, meaning teams have extra motivation to get would-be contributors into camp as soon as possible. What happens next? A lot could depend on negotiations between Shough and the Saints. If the Saints want to avoid their potential Week 1 starting quarterback arriving late to training camp and missing valuable preseason reps, then they might need to fully guarantee his rookie contract. That could give everyone drafted before pick No. 40 further opportunity to demand the same, while those selected after Shough would likely benefit from a cascading guarantee rate.
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
The NFL's second-round pick holdout crisis, explained
Training camps in advance of the 2025 NFL regular season will begin soon. As it currently stands, they'll be without several key rookie contributors. That's because 30 out of April's 32 second round draft picks remain unsigned. Only the first two selections of the round -- No. 33 overall pick Carson Schwesinger (Cleveland Browns) and No 34 selection Jayden Higgins (Houston Texans) -- have inked the first contracts of their professional football careers. That means hyped prospects like Nick Emmanwori, Tyler Shough, Luther Burden, Will Johnson and Nic Scourton could all miss training camp this summer. When the Los Angeles Chargers opened their camp to rookies on July 12, they were missing second rounder Tre Harris. A deluge of his fellow Day 2 selections are in the same boat. So why the holdup creating all these potential holdouts? The answer may lie in Schwesinger and Higgins' contracts. The two signed fully guaranteed deals -- the first time that's happened under the NFL's most recent collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed in 2020. Higgins received four years and $11.7 million. Schwesinger got four years and $11.8 million. While there's no one official reason for this rash of holdouts, the most likely culprit is that teams don't want to dole out all those guarantees. For comparison, Cooper DeJean was the 40th overall pick in last year's draft. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles for four years and $9.28 million, but only just under $7.5 million of that was guaranteed. Mike Sainristil was the 50th overall pick for the Washington Commanders and signed for four years and $7.7 million with $5.2 million guaranteed. Traditionally, teams are looking to guarantee only 50 to 80-ish percent of a second round pick's rookie contract in order to leave themselves an out in year three or four. While extenuating circumstances may exist across those 30 ongoing negotiations, the sticking point is almost certainly four-year guarantees. Every NFL first round pick receives one. This May, the 33rd and 34th picks followed suit, providing the precedent that's now being hammered out in front offices across the league. It's not just second round picks -- Cincinnati Bengals first round edge rusher Shemar Stewart is in the middle of a holdout and Denver Broncos Day 1 cornerback Jahdae Barron hasn't signed a contract -- but the bulk of the missing persons reports come training camp are set to be the guys who led off Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Browns weren't able to reset the way contracts are signed after giving Deshaun Watson, formerly accused of more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct and what the NFL itself described as "predatory behavior" dating back to his time as a Houston Texan, a five-year, fully guaranteed $230 million extension in 2022. By following the Texans' lead, they may have helped find a way with Schwesinger and his fully guaranteed pact. Which 2025 NFL Draft second round picks haven't signed? 35. S Nick Emmanwori, Seattle Seahawks 36. RB Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns 37. G Jonah Savaiinaea, Miami Dolphins 38. RB TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots 39. WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears 40. QB Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints 41. DT T.J. Sanders, Buffalo Bills 42. TE Mason Taylor, New York Jets 43. DT Alfred Collins, San Francisco 49ers 44. EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku, Dallas Cowboys 45. EDGE J.T. Tuimoloau, Indianapolis Colts 46. TE Terrance Ferguson, Los Angeles Rams 47. CB Will Johnson, Arizona Cardinals 48. OT Aireontae Ersery, Houston Texans 49. LB Demetrius Knight, Cincinnati Bengals 50. TE Elijah Arroyo, Seattle Seahawks 51. DL Nic Scourton, Carolina Panthers 52. EDGE Oluwafemi Oladejo, Tennessee Titans 53. CB Benjamin Morrison, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 54. OT Anthony Belton, Green Bay Packers 55. WR Tre Harris, Los Angeles Chargers 56. OT Ozzy Trapilo, Chicago Bears 57. G Tate Ratledge, Detroit Lions 58. WR Jack Bech, Las Vegas Raiders 59. EDGE Mike Green, Baltimore Ravens 60. RB RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos 61. CB Trey Amos, Washington Commanders 62. DT Shemar Turner, Chicago Bears 63. DT Omarr Norman-Lott, Kansas City Chiefs 64. S Andrew Mukuba, Philadelphia Eagles
USA Today
11 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Browns WR Jerry Jeudy snubbed by NFL executives and coaches in new ESPN survey
Despite a breakout season in his first year with the Cleveland Browns, young wide receiver Jerry Jeudy has still not done enough to command respect around the rest of the league. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler continues to post his polling results from surveying NFL coaches and executives around the league to rank the best players at each position in the NFL. Names like tight end David Njoku, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and defensive end Myles Garrett have all made the cut their respective positions. However, even after a Pro Bowl season in 2024, Jeudy did not receive a single vote from personnel around the league. There were 10 receivers ranked, five listed as honorable mentions, and nine receivers who also received votes. None of those 24 wide receivers was Jerry Jeudy. Receivers that did receive votes over Jeudy include George Pickens of the Dallas Cowboys, Chris Godwin of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (despite a shortened season due to a broken ankle), a declining Calvin Ridley, and DJ Moore coming off of the worst season of his NFL career. Hopefully Jeudy is feeling slighted, because the Browns made no substantial upgrades to their wide receiver room t his offseason. This means they'll once again lean heavily on the former first round pick and Pro Bowl wideout. He was recently named the No. 82 player in the NFL by his peers in this year's edition of the NFL Top 100 list. If Jeudy does it again, the NFL will have a hard time looking past him.
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Shedeur Sanders could be traded to Matthew Stafford's Los Angeles Rams
(Image via Getty Images: Shedeur Sanders) On July 16, Hunter Cookston of Sporting News reported that Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders could be traded to the Los Angeles Rams. But he mentioned it under one condition. That condition was NFL Analyst Emmanuel Acho labelling him as a camp body. Acho said, 'The reality for Shedeur Sanders is that, as a fifth-round pick, it rarely matters how talented you are. You may never even get the opportunity to win the starting job. Sometimes, as a fifth, sixth, or seventh-round pick, they are already cutting you. You are a camp body. You are there for training camp.' How would Shedeur Sanders learn from Los Angeles Rams star quarterback Matthew Stafford? Mark Sipos of Dawg Pound Daily wrote that Matthew Stafford is still capable of playing the signal caller for the Los Angeles Rams. But the Rams don't have a clear succession plan in place for him. Shedeur Sanders could be that successor for him. He could learn a lot from Sean McVay's system. And, ultimately, grow into a potential starting quarterback for the Rams. Sipos further stated that Sanders' timing-based game and quick release align with the Rams' scheme. Also, since Stafford's taking the reins, there would be no pressure on the rookie to play early. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: One simple trick to get internet without a subscription Techno Mag Learn More Undo Learning from the veteran QB could be in place for the rookie. Plus, Stafford has been pushing himself as the Rams' starting QB for far too long now. The 37-year-old even played with broken ribs last year. Having a rookie QB back him up would give him the rest he needs and the confidence Rams need. Shedeur Sanders tweets 'time will tell' amidst trade rumors When everybody is analyzing who would pick the fifth-round 144th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders is keeping calm. On July 14, he tweeted a cryptic post on his X account, 'time will tell 🤫' - requesting everyone to have patience and keep mum. But the X users could not keep calm. They had their views ready. One fan completed Sanders' statement of 'Time will tell' with - 'that you shouldn't have even been drafted. ' Another user did not want to second-guess his stay with the Cleveland Browns, 'QB1. 😤🔥.' A third fan wished the best for him, 'Keep grinding, keep growing and, keep going. Prove yourself right and, your doubters wrong.' A fourth fan further motivated him, 'I'm just waiting for you to land somewhere permanent so I can get that jersey.' A fifth user commented, 'Stay focused nephew keep the main thing the main thing.' Also Read: Nick Sirianni says staying focused every single day is boring, but success takes what it takes | NFL News - Times of India Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
