:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/42129058/457121786.0.jpg)
Injuries can throw a wrench in a depth chart, as the Browns already know.
Following several injuries in the past two weeks, the Browns have been busy making moves.
On Tuesday, the team placed defensive end Armonty Bryant on the injured reserve, picked up defensive tackle Sione Fua and swapped out a pair of practice squad wide receivers. On Wednesday, the Browns cut cornerback Isaiah Trufant, who was on the injured reserve with a knee injury. On Friday, the Browns made several moves.
First off, the team placed center Alex Mack on the injured reserve with a fractured fibula, meaning that Mack is officially done for the season. NFL rules allow one player per team to be placed on the IR and come back later on in the season, as long as the player is "designated for return" by the team immediately following his placement on the list. The team did not do this with Mack, meaning that his season is now over. Niners Nation has a good explanation of the rule here.
As a result, the Browns activated guard Ryan Seymour from the practice squad. The team made a waiver claim on the offensive lineman from the 49ers on August 31. Seymour appeared as a reserve for the Browns in the season opener in Pittsburgh, but has populated the practice squad since then.
Seymour is a second-year player out of Vanderbilt, where he started in 35 games at tackle, guard and center. The Seahawks selected the 6'4, 301 pound prospect in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft, but placed him on the practice squad for most of the season. On December 10, the 49ers signed the rookie to its practice squad. Seymour was an inactive for the last three weeks of the season.
The Browns last move was to sign defensive tackle Christian Tupou from the Cardinals practice squad. A 6'2, 300 pound lineman out of USC, Tupou was signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bears in 2012. Tupou had an impressive 2009 season at USC, winning All-Pac-10 honorable mention before suffering a knee injury set back his career next season. After redshirting due to the injury in 2010, Tupou started all of USC's 13 games at nose tackle in 2011.
Tupou did not see his first NFL action until 2013. Tupou appeared in five games for the Bears, recording three tackles. Chicago soon released him, and the Cardinals picked him up in the offseason. Tupou spent four weeks on Arizona's practice squad this season before the Browns acquired him today.