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We are doing a countdown to the Cleveland Browns' first regular season game against the New York Jets, which is on September 13, 2015. For each day we are counting down, we will try to find a photo of a current or past member of the Browns in that uniform, and we'll also list the players who have donned that jersey in the past.
As of Friday, we are just 44 days away from the Browns' regular season opener. No. 44 is currently being worn by rookie fullback Malcolm Johnson. The two most popular players to wear the uniform are RB Leroy Kelly (10 years) and RB Earnest Byner (5 years). Here is the list of players who have worn No. 44 in the history of the franchise, per Pro Football Reference:
From | To | AV | |
Lou Rymkus | 1950 | 1951 | 0 |
Don Shula | 1952 | 1952 | 0 |
Don Phelps | 1952 | 1952 | 0 |
Sherman Howard | 1952 | 1952 | 0 |
Chet Hanulak | 1954 | 1957 | 0 |
Johnny Petitbon | 1955 | 1956 | 0 |
Jim Shofner | 1958 | 1963 | 29 |
Leroy Kelly | 1964 | 1973 | 87 |
Earnest Byner | 1984 | 1988 | 32 |
Stefon Adams | 1990 | 1990 | 0 |
Lee Rouson | 1991 | 1991 | 0 |
Tommy Vardell | 1992 | 1995 | 11 |
Marc Edwards | 1999 | 2000 | 2 |
Mike Sellers | 2001 | 2001 | 1 |
Lee Suggs | 2003 | 2005 | 8 |
Eddie Williams | 2011 | 2012 | 0 |
Will Ta'ufo'ou | 2011 | 2011 | |
Tyler Clutts | 2011 | 2011 | |
Ben Tate | 2014 | 2014 | 2 |