The Browns will open the 2022 NFL season with additional depth at quarterback, because of Deshaun Watson’s 11-game suspension. They will even have added assist at tight finish, agreeing to phrases Sunday on a one-year contract with former Steelers starter Jesse James, in keeping with ESPN.
Cleveland invested prime greenback within the place earlier this offseason, franchise tagging after which extending No. 1 tight finish David Njoku on a four-year, $54.75 million deal that makes him the fifth-highest-paid participant on the spot. They didn’t maintain a 3rd tight finish on the preliminary 53-man roster following last cuts, nonetheless, so James provides them veteran insurance coverage behind backup Harrison Bryant.
Bryant is getting into his third season with the Browns after popping out of Florida Atlantic as a fourth-round choose in 2020. He scored three touchdowns in every of his first two years, making 12 mixed begins rather than Njoku. The latter, picked twenty ninth general in 2017, has flashed as a play-making move catcher but in addition battled accidents, lacking 16 video games from 2019-2021.
James, 28, has performed sparingly in recent times however affords seven years of expertise. He was final seen with the Bears, beginning 9 video games with a restricted receiving function in 2021, and spent the earlier two seasons with the Lions. He is finest recognized for a four-year run with the Steelers, who drafted him in 2015, succeeding two-time Professional Bowler Heath Miller as Pittsburgh’s major goal on the place. His finest yr got here in 2018, when he posted a career-best 423 yards on 30 catches.