Linebacker Jermaine Grace and defensive tackle Justin Zimmer were resigned by the Browns on Friday along with two undrafted rookies: wide receiver Tony Brown and defensive end George Obinna.
The moves announced by the team reduced the roster to 80 players.
COVID-19 policies and procedures agreed upon by the NFL and the NFL Players Association stipulate that clubs that have more than 80 and a maximum of 90 players on their rosters must divide the team into two groups for all club activities. training camp, while those with 80 or less players can keep the whole team together.
However, the Browns plan to split their team into two groups anyway as they prepare for all their players to enter the strength and conditioning phase of training camp next week. Rookies, quarterbacks, and injured players are already in that phase, which includes run sessions with coaches. Veteran players who don’t test positive for COVID-19 can join them on Monday. The first full team practice camp is scheduled to begin on August 14.
“We are going to split the team next week, and we’ll call it a brown and orange team,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Thursday during a Zoom video conference. “We are going to exercise in the morning and in the afternoon. We will do that just to limit the people in the building.”
“We are not going to have face-to-face meetings until, I think, August 9. We are going to stay virtual. There are a lot of things that we are doing beyond the protocols, just because the first seven 10 days or two weeks are so critical for this, according to medical experts, that we really want to do everything in our power to make this a safe environment for our players. “
All NFL teams must cut their rosters to 80 players by August 16. The next cutoff deadline is September 5, when all rosters are due to drop to 53 players. The Browns are slated to open the regular season Sept. 13 in Baltimore.
The Browns resigned from Zimmer with a non-soccer injury designation. He has appeared in three regular-season NFL games, including two with the Browns last season. Grace has appeared in 24 games, but none with the Browns. Neither player has started in the league.
Nate Ulrich can be contacted at [email protected]. Read your Browns coverage at www.beaconjournal.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ByNateUlrich and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.
