![](\"https:\/\/static.clubs.nfl.com\/image\/upload\/t_editorial_landscape_12_desktop\/f_auto\/vikings\/wa8fn8m22zhhpjimk5mc.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFormer\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0cornerback\u00a0AJ Green\u00a0shared a message on Tuesday shortly after inking a deal with the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Green had an\u00a0interesting ride with the Browns\u00a0after joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He\u00a0appeared in 34 games\u00a0with a pair of starts. Green nabbed two interceptions and was also a contributor on special teams.<\/p>\n
Green decided to sign a reserve\/future deal with the Vikings but he leaves Cleveland on good terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThankful for the Last 4 Years in Cleveland I appreciate the Fans, Front Office, Coaches, and Players I established a relationship with over the years!\u201d\u00a0Green wrote on X.<\/p>\n
Cracking the cornerback depth chart in Cleveland is no easy task. The Browns have touted probably the best trio of cover men in the league in\u00a0Greg Newsome,\u00a0Martin Emerson Jr. and Pro Bowler\u00a0Denzel Ward. The team also drafted\u00a0Cameron Mitchell\u00a0in the fifth-round and he saw some time on the field.<\/p>\n
Green will have a chance to crack the active roster in Minnesota and continue his NFL journey.<\/p>\n
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<\/h2>\nGreen is not the first notable name to sign with a new squad. Promising wide receiver Austin Watkins agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n
Watkins became a\u00a0fan favorite in the preseason, leading the Browns in receiving yards during the four exhibition matchups. He was the only Cleveland player with double-digit receptions, notching 16 for 257 yards and a pair of touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Watkins was\u00a0cut at the end of the preseason\u00a0but added back to the practice squad. He did not appear in a game with the Browns and didn\u2019t feel like he got a fair shake, per Noah Weiskopf of theOBR.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile sources say Watkins does get along with the Browns front office, there\u2019s also a feeling that he wasn\u2019t given a fair shot this season to showcase his abilities, especially after having the preseason that he did,\u201d\u00a0Weiskopf wrote.<\/p>\n
Safety Tanner McCalister also moved on, signing with the Denver Broncos. He was elevated for three games last season.<\/p>\n
The Browns announced the signing of nine players to reserve\/futures contracts on Monday, January 15. That included receiver\u00a0Jaelon Darden, cornerback Vincent Gray, running back\u00a0John Kelly Jr., tight end\u00a0Zaire Mitchell-Paden, offensive tackle Justin Murray, defensive end Lonnie Phelps, linebacker Charlie Thomas III, defensive end Isaiah Thomas and defensive tackle Chris Williams.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Defensive tackle Jayden Peevy and linebacker Caleb Johnson were other additions to the reserve\/future contracts group.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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<\/h2>\nThe Browns hung their hat on defense during an 11-6 run during the regular season. Cleveland finished with the\u00a0top-ranked defense\u00a0in terms of yards allowed per game (270.2) and finished atop many other statistical categories.<\/p>\n
However, things may look a bit different next season with some key names set to be free agents. That includes defensive tackle\u00a0Jordan Elliott, pass-rusher\u00a0Za\u2019Darius Smith, linebackers\u00a0Sione Takitaki\u00a0and\u00a0Anthony Walker, and defensive tackles\u00a0Maurice Hurst\u00a0and\u00a0Shelby Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think one of the things that you realize is the NFL \u2013 the only constant is change,\u201d\u00a0Browns general manager Andrew Berry said\u00a0on January 22. \u201cSo I think as a general manager, you really go into the offseason understanding that running it back really isn\u2019t an option. It\u2019s just not with the economic realities of our sport. So I\u2019d say one, acknowledging that reality going into it and then trying to make the best decisions that you can to improve the club, it\u2019s really as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Browns do have cornerpieces\u00a0Denzel Ward\u00a0and\u00a0Myles Garrett\u00a0locked up for the foreseeable future. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is expected to return next season after leading the massive turnaround for the unit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0cornerback\u00a0AJ Green\u00a0shared a message on Tuesday shortly after inking a deal with the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings. Green had an\u00a0interesting ride with the Browns\u00a0after joining the team as an… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}