The Cleveland Browns have added significant reinforcements at the wide receiver position ahead of Sunday’s Week 14 visit to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.
The Browns have added two-time Super Bowl champion wide receiver Kadarius Toney to their roster, the team announced on Saturday, along with fellow wide receiver Michael Woods II, who had a big game as a practice squad elevation against the Denver Broncos in Week 13.
The moves come after Cleveland ruled out starting wide receiver Cedric Tillman on Friday. Tillman remains in the NFL concussion protocol after a hit he suffered in the team’s 24-19 win against the Steelers in Week 12.
Besides fellow starters Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore, the Browns had just one other receiver on their active roster, fifth-round rookie Jamari Thrash.
Toney, 25, has plenty of experience. He played in 32 games between the New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs from 2021-23, including winning two Super Bowls with the Chiefs over the last two seasons, but they didn’t come without controversy, as Toney claimed the Chiefs were refusing to play him and listing him with an injury when he was actually healthy.
Despite that, Toney was brought back by the Chiefs for the 2024 season, but he was released by Kansas City in August and caught on with the Browns practice squad. Toney played as a practice squad elevation in Week 11 against the New Orleans Saints and last week against the Denver Broncos, but saw just 12 snaps of offense. He did not catch a pass and was targeted just once, but did run twice for negative four yards.
Woods does not have the same name recognition as Toney, but might end up being the more impactful of the two. A 6-foot-1, 204-pound receiver, Woods was a sixth-round pick of the Browns out of Oklahoma in 2022. He played in 10 games as a rookie, but was used sparingly. He missed all of 2023 with an Achilles injury and a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Woods was waived this August and also ended up on the Cleveland practice squad. With Tillman out, he was elevated for last week’s game against the Broncos and responded with three catches on five targets for 43 yards.
To make room for Toney and Woods, the Browns placed left tackle Jedrick Wills and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst on the injured reserve list. Both Wills and Hurst had already been ruled out for Sunday’s game.
Germaine Ifedi will likely make his third start at left tackle, and second straight against the Steelers. He’s been playing there since the Browns lost both Wills and Dawand Jones to injuries.
Hurst, who suffered an ankle/foot injury against the Broncos, has been the top interior reserve behind Shelby Harris and Dalvin Tomlinson this season. Inside/outside swing man Sam Tamara (concussion) has also been ruled out, and Mike Hall Jr. remains on the injured reserve list, leaving seventh-round rookie Jowon Briggs as the only backup on the defensive interior for the Browns this week against the Steelers.
