DONE DEAL: Cleveland Browns Sign Nine players to Reserve/Futures Contracts

The Cleveland Browns begin to assemble their 2024 roster. Nine players were signed to reserve/futures contracts.
Signing players to reserve or future contracts is one of the first things an NFL team does once the season ends, and general manager Andrew Berry of the Cleveland Browns is doing the same.

The Browns said on Monday that nine players have signed reserve/futures contracts.

At the end of the season, all nine players were on the Browns practice squad. The majority of them spent the whole season with the Browns. Those nine players include:

Jaelon Darden: Following his release by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the conclusion of the 2022 season, Jaelon was added to the Browns. The former North Texas speedster spent the full season on the Browns practice squad.

Vincent Gray participated in the Browns’ regular season finale. Along with some physicality and competitiveness, he was a part of a defense that was outclassed by the starting players of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Charlie Thomas III: After teammate linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk sustained an injury, Charlie, an undrafted rookie from Georgia Tech, was brought up for a few games to assist on special teams.

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Isaiah Thomas was a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. After playing as a rookie, scoring a sack against the Bengals, he was signed to the practice squad after the Browns revamped their defensive line.

Rookie free agent Lonnie Phelps attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, for his undergraduate studies before completing his studies at the University of Kansas. Phelps is a speed rusher by profession, but he may also be useful on special teams.

Zaire Mitchell-Paden played college football at Florida Atlantic University before joining the Browns practice squad for each of the previous two seasons.

John Kelly Jr. was activated for the wildcard game against the Houston Texans due to a back injury Pierre Strong Jr. had the previous week. Kelly, who played in five games during his third season with the Browns, recently concluded it.

Justin Murray was a University of Cincinnati student-athlete. This past season, the 6’5″, 315-pound lineman played in four games for the Titans, one of which was a matchup with the Browns.

Chris Williams, who joined the team on December 19, is the newest member of the practice squad. Wagner College was Williams’ college home.

Although the new NFL league year does not start until March 2024, the NFL permits teams to begin assembling their 90-man roster for the summer programs and training camp as early as possible. The team may sign players for the 2024 league year thanks to reserve/futures contracts, but the players won’t count against a team’s roster cap until the new NFL league year starts in March 2024.