Browns place David Bell on IR, bring back WR, sign former 3rd round RB:
The only thing constant with the Cleveland Browns over the last couple of years has been injuries and roster moves. Some good games, some bad games and some great games but the roster has been far from stable.
Part of that is GM Andrew Berry’s regular desire to churn the bottom of the roster but last year’s injury-riddled season has given way to another.
Tuesday, Cleveland placed WR David Bell on injured reserve, ending his season after dislocating his hip. No surprise there but a sad end to the season for the former third-round pick who had three receptions before getting injured in Week 2.
The Browns brought back WR and returner Jaelon Darden to the practice squad and signed RB Royce Freeman to the reserve unit as well.
Darden returned five punts for 72 yards and four kickoffs for 97 yards in Week 1 versus the Dallas Cowboys after being signed to the 53-man roster. He was released prior to Week 2’s game.
Freeman was a third-round pick of the Denver Broncos back in 2018. He had his best year as a rookie with 521 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 130 carries. Last year, with the Los Angeles Rams, Freeman had 77 carries for 319 yards and two touchdowns.
In their matchup against the New York Giants, the biggest challenge for the Cleveland Browns will be coming up with ways to slow down defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
As everyone waits and sees what will happen with the Cleveland Browns offensive tackle position, hoping the team will have more help to block the New York Giants edge rushers, the far greater threat is on the interior. With Aaron Donald now retired, Dexter Lawrence has a case to make that he’s the most impactful defensive tackle in the NFL and warrants Defensive Player of the Year consideration. If the Browns want to be 2-1, they have to have answers to slow down Lawrence.
Lawrence’s impact is notable because he’s playing nose. Either in a zero or in a shade, he’s not hiding from anyone as he’s the closest defender to the football on virtually every play. At around 340 pounds, Lawrence has immense strength at the point of attack with long arms and enough quickness to cover a decent of amount of ground, extending his range working down the line.
Lawrence fires off the ball, gets into blockers and then simply extends his arms. At that point, he’s able to drive them backward. When he’s close to the ball carrier, he will sometimes just use the blocker to the tackle the ball carrier. But because his arms so long, when he’s extended, it’s easy for him to shed them. He can either just simply pull his hands off of them or violently rip or hammer on the blocker’s arms as he works through their shoulder.
