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The attitude of the Cleveland Browns this season as far as working out players will be, “Why not?”
Executive Vice President Sashi Brown stated this sentiment a week ago, and the words rang true on Friday when the Browns worked out six players.
The team hosted five defensive backs — Warren Gatgewood, Doran Grant, Mike Hilton, Tyler Patmon, and Kevin Peterson — along with offensive lineman Michael Liedtke.
The Browns have no immediate openings on the roster, but wanted to take a look at the players, a league source told Pro Football Talk on Friday.
Five of the six players are not household names, with the exception of former Ohio State cornerback Doran Grant. After the Steelers selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Grant did not receive much playing time last season and was cut in August. The Bills signed him to the practice squad on September 6 before releasing him on September 13.
Gatgewood is a rookie out of Alcorn State who spent some time this preseason with the Packers.
Hilton, a 5’9” corner out of Ole Miss, signed as an underrated free agent with the Jaguars before landing on the Patriots’ practice squad. The Pats released him earlier this week.
At 25 years old, Patmon is the veteran of the group, a two-year pro from Oklahoma State. The 5’10”, 188 pound cornerback played 11 games for the Cowboys in 2014, hauling in an interception, and 13 games for Dallas and the Miami Dolphins in 2015. Patmon was claimed and then released by the Titans during the preseason this year.
Peterson is also a former Oklahoma Stater. He played in the preseason for the Bears, as the club initially let him loose in the cutdown to 75-players, but Peterson was resigned for the final preseason game after former Browns corner K’Waun Williams failed a physical due to an ankle injury.
Liedtke played offensive line at Illinois State before signing as a practice squad member of the Dolphins and then the Chiefs last season. He signed with the Jets in the offseason before he was cut before the start of the season.
The Browns could certainly use an influx of talent at defensive back. We’ll see if any of the above players warrant a further look after Sunday.
Personally, as a Buckeye fan, I would like to see the Browns take a deeper look at Grant. But whatever the case, let’s hope the Buckeyes can pull off a win tonight — should be a great game.