Ex-Badger Stave joins Browns
Joel Stave refuses to give up on his dream of playing in the National Football League.
Stave, who started 41 games at Wisconsin from 2012 through ’15, has signed with the Cleveland Browns.
Stave, 25, joins quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor and Drew Stanton on Cleveland’s roster. The Browns drafted Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall last week.
UW finished with a 31-10 record in games started by Stave, who passed for 7,635 yards and 48 touchdowns. The passing yards and touchdowns passes are the No. 2 marks in program history.
A graduate of Whitnall High School, Stave signed with Minnesota in 2016 as an undrafted free agent.
Randall’s option picked up: The Browns exercised the fifth-year option on defensive back Damarious Randall, acquired during the offseason from Green Bay.
Cleveland traded quarterback DeShone Kizer and swapped draft picks on March 14 with the Packers for Randall. The 25-year-old is expected to play free safety for the Browns, allowing Jabrill Peppers to move to strong safety, where he played more at Michigan.
Randall was selected by Green Bay with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2015 draft.
The 5-foot-10, 196-pounder played exclusively at cornerback for three seasons with the Packers, making 30 starts and appearing in 39 games. He had four interceptions last season and returned one for a touchdown.
Vikings keep Newman: The Minnesota Vikings have re-signed cornerback Terence Newman, bringing the NFL’s oldest active defensive player back for a 16th season that will begin five days after he turns 40.
Newman, who has played the last three years with the Vikings, has 42 interceptions, most among active players. With Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes the starters on the outside, Newman and Mackensie Alexander remain the primary options to play the slot in the nickel defense. The Vikings also drafted Mike Hughes out of Central Florida in the first round Thursday.
The Vikings exercised the fifthyear contract option on Waynes, too.
Steelers cut Wilcox: The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran safety J.J. Wilcox just days after selecting a pair of safeties in the NFL draft.
Wilcox, 27, played in 12 games for the Steelers in 2017 after Pittsburgh acquired him from Tampa Bay last September for late-round picks in both the 2018 and 2019 drafts. Wilcox had one interception with Pittsburgh while playing primarily as a reserve.