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The Cleveland Browns will waive fullback Marquez Williams on Friday, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Thursday.
The #Browns plan to waive FB Marquez Williams tomorrow, per source. Williams, a 7th-round pick by the #Jaguars in 2017, landed on the did not report list while dealing with a personal issue at the start of camp. But with that resolved, he wants to play. Now gets his chance.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 17, 2018
As Pelissero said, Williams has not been with the team and was placed on a reserve list, so his release will not open a roster spot.
Williams, drafted by the Jags in the seventh round of the 2017 draft, spent most of his rookie offseason and preseason banged up and found himself on injured reserve before being waived by Jacksonville on Oct. 9. The Browns picked him up on Dec. 23, signing him to their practice squad, then activated him six days later for the team’s finale against Pittsburgh where he made his NFL debut.
The fullback logged five starts and 13 appearances at fullback in his redshirt senior season at Miami (Fla.) as a graduate transfer. Williams wasn’t a stat-stuffer as the Hurricanes’ primary fullback, but he did record the team’s first touchdown of the 2016 season with a four-yard reception.
The move signals the Browns are content moving forward with Danny Vitale as their primary fullback as there are no other lead backfield blockers currently on their roster. However, they could easily deploy tights ends in an H-back role should Vitale become unavailable and they need to find versatile blocking from that position.