Browns Begin Offseason By Signing Nine Players To Reserve, Futures Contracts
The Browns are officially in offseason mode after their season came to an untimely end on Saturday night in a 45-14, Wid Card loss the Texans. On Monday, the team made their first official moves of the offseason by signing nine players to reserve/futures contracts.
WR Jaelon Darden
CB Vincent Gray x
RB John Kelly Jr.
TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden x
T Justin Murray x
DE Lonnie Phelps x
LB Charlie Thomas III x
DE Isaiah Thomas
DT Chris Williams
That entire list of signees is made up of players that ended the season on Cleveland's practice squad. They'll now be back with the Browns when the team opens up offseason workouts later this spring.
Of that group, both Phelps and Thomas III are rookies who signed with the Browns as undrafted free agents last year. Thomas is the one player that the Brows drafted – he was a seventh-round pick in 2022. Darden (fourth round) and Kelly Jr. (sixth round) are the only other two players who were draft picks, for the by the Buccaneers and Rams respectively.
Teams are able to sign any player that isn't currently on an active roster to a reserve/futures contact at the end of the regular season. The practice is generally used by teams to lock up young players on their own practice squad or others, that they think could make some noise in camp come August.
These contract don't take effect until the start of the new league year on March 13, 2024, when rosters officially expand to 90 players for the offseason. Teams will then carry their 90-man rosters into training camp next summer.
