Former Browns Offensive Lineman Evan Brown Joins Lions Practice Squad
Former Cleveland Browns center and guard Evan Brown has signed with the Detroit Lions.
Brown was one of the players brought in after three of their offensive guards opted out of the 2020 season including Drew Forbes, Colby Gossett and Malcolm Pridgeon.
Brown was a center in college at Southern Methodist who spent time with the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins before arriving in Cleveland.
The Browns needed him when J.C. Tretter was recovering from surgery at the end of training camp, backing up rookie fifth round pick Nick Harris. The emergence of Harris and the emergence of Michael Dunn at guard made Brown increasingly expendable.
Brown was waived, then brought back to the Browns practice squad before they simply released him from the practice squad. The Browns replaced his spot on the practice squad with former Ole Miss guard Javon Patterson, who also has experience at center.
Brown continues to be an intriguing prospect because he was remarkably athletic coming out of college at the center position. He's still just 24 years old and could still develop into a player that sticks on a 53-man roster.
The Detroit Lions have an excellent starting center in Frank Ragnow, but they could use depth at center as well as talent on their offensive line in general, which may be the reason they are taking a look at Brown currently.
Brown appeared in five games in 2020, all in a special teams capacity after appearing in three games games with the Miami Dolphins and one with the New York Giants in 2019.
