Browns Digest

Former Cleveland Browns 3rd-Round Pick Receives Bad News From Chiefs

The defensive lineman will be searching for a new home.
Gavin Dorsey|
Dec 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Siaki Ika (62) celebrates after the Browns beat the New York Jets at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Dec 28, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Siaki Ika (62) celebrates after the Browns beat the New York Jets at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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A large part of the reason the Browns have been one of the least successful NFL franchises since the turn of the century has been poor drafting. The team has whiffed on several players with high draft picks, but also failed to find talent in the middle rounds when others use them to build depth.

One of the Browns' most recent failures came in 2023, when Cleveland selected defensive tackle Siaki Ika in the third round at No. 98 overall. Ika will now be searching for his fourth NFL team in just over two years after reportedly being waived by the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday.

Ika played in 13 games for the National Champion LSU Tigers as a freshman in 2019, logging 17 total tackles and two tackles for loss. After making just four appearances in his sophomore season, Ika transferred to Baylor, where he earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors. Over two seasons in Waco, the 6-foot-4, 358-pound defensive tackle combined for 48 tackles, four sacks and eight tackles for loss while being named twice to the All-Big 12 First Team.

The Browns selected Ika in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and his tenure with the team didn't last long. Ika made his regular-season debut in Week 15 and played in 35.1% of Cleveland's defensive snaps during the final four games. He was waived on August 27, 2024, re-signed to the practice squad, and waived again in October.

Ika joined the Eagles' practice squad for two separate one-week stints before signing with the Chiefs' practice squad in December of 2024. He remained in Kansas City on a reserve/future contract until his release on Tuesday.

With the Browns, Ika logged one pass defensed in Cleveland's Week 16 win over the Texans in 2023.

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Gavin Dorsey
GAVIN DORSEY

Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and assists in covering a handful of other teams in the On SI network, including the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Texans and Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.

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