Learn all about the Cleveland Browns’ five players claimed off waivers, and new 53-man roster

With the top waiver priority at their disposal, the Cleveland Browns opted to claim five players off waivers on Sunday:

To make room for new players, the Browns cut C Austin Reiter, DT Jamie Meder, DE Carl Nassib, LB Jermaine Grace, and CB Jeremiah McKinnon. Our article on those moves is here.

Let’s quickly try to break down what we know about these players:

Offense

C Aaron Neary (6-4, 299 lbs) - An undrafted free agent in 2016, Neary spent time with the Eagles for a year, and then was on the Rams’ practice squad for most of 2017. He did start in Week 17 this past season when the Rams were resting most of their starters.

Defense

DL Carl Davis (6-5, 327 lbs) - A 3rd round pick by the Ravens in 2015, Davis played 11 games as a rookie, registering 11 tackles . An ankle injury forced him to miss all of 2016. In 2017, Davis won a backup job at defensive end, and ended up starting 9 games as more of a rotational player. A hamstring injury limited how much he was utilized, and he finished the year with 19 tackles.

Davis improves the Browns’ depth on the defensive line and can be an asset as an interior run defender, as Pro Football Focus highlighted mid-way through last season:

DE Ifeadi Odenigbo (6-3, 258 lbs) - A 7th round draft pick in 2017 by the Minnesota Vikings, he spent all year on their practice squad. This preseason, he registered 11 tackles, 2 sacks, and an absurd 8 hits on the quarterback.

LB Tanner Vallejo (6-1, 228 lbs) - Vellejo was a 6th round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2017. Cleveland had sent linebackers coach Blake Williams to his Pro Day that year, so it’s possible that the defensive coaching staff made their pitch to John Dorsey that they wanted a closer look at Vallejo.

He played in 15 games last year, mostly on special teams, registering 4 tackles. This preseason, he logged 11 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 tackles for a loss for the Bills, and Cleveland had a close look at him when the two teams squared off in the preseason.

DB Tavierre Thomas (6-0, 202 lbs) - An undrafted free agent who signed with the Arizona Cardinals after this year’s draft.

We will update this post with more details on the additions, and an update on the 53-man roster, over the next few hours.

Other Notes

• The Giants claimed the most players (7), followed by the Browns (5), Cardinals (3), and Texans (3).
• Two of the Browns’ cuts were claimed by other teams.
• In the second round of cuts, the Chargers waived former Ohio State QB Cardale Jones.
• The big-name receivers who were waived all went unclaimed:

Updated 53-Man Roster