Browns bring back a former player, waives special teamer

Browns bring back a former player, waives special teamer
Dawgs By Nature Dawgs By Nature

The Browns are down a kicker.

On Wednesday, the Cleveland Browns announced the signing of wide receiver Jaelen Gill. In a corresponding move the team waived kicker Andre Szmyt.

Gill (6-0, 185 lbs) was an undrafted free agent with the Chargers last season, but the Browns signed him to their practice squad for five weeks in December. He was released after the regular season ended. The Fresno State product now gives Cleveland a total of 13 wide receivers on the roster at the moment.

The Browns have been going through OTAs over the past week, with the next date set for June 6. Gill should be on the roster in time for mandatory minicamp, which takes place June 10-12.

Regarding Szmyt, it’s moderately surprising that the team would waive their second kicker, as teams typically carry more one kicker during the offseason. While the Browns don’t intend to replace kicker Dustin Hopkins, he really struggled in 2024, hitting on just 66.7% of his attempts compared to 91.7% in 2023.