Seibert, Gillan make roster; trades continue

The Browns cut their roster to 53 players Aug. 31, and in doing so decided it was better not to stand in line for waived players to make the roster better.

In separate trades before the 4 p.m. deadline, the Browns acquired wide receiver Taywan Taylor from the Titans for an undisclosed 2020 draft choice and guard Justin McCray plus a 2020 draft pick from Green Bay for a Browns’ 2020 draft pick. Both picks were undisclosed.

Taylor has played in 29 games with nine starts. He has 53 career receptions for 697 yards with two touchdowns. Last year, He caught 37 passes for 466 yards and one touchdown.

“You’re trying to upgrade the back end of your roster,” General Manager John Dorsey told the Browns website. “I think Taywan Taylor gives you an element of speed. He gives you an experienced receiver who’s been the No. 3 receiver for the Titans.

“(Wide receivers coach) Adam Henry will do a magnificent job of kind of getting him up to speed on how this offense is run. He’ll have a few bumps in the road in terms of learning. It’s hard to digest this whole playbook in one shot so I don’t think you shove it at him at one time.”

McCray, 6-3, 315 pounds, is in his third NFL season out of Central Florida. He was originally signed with Tennessee as an undrafted free agent from Central Florida in 2014. He has appeared in 25 regular season games with 13 starts. He played in 12 games with five starts for the Packers last season.

The trade for McCray was made two days after the Browns sent a 2020 fifth-round pick and a 2020 sixth-round pick to the Bills for guard Wyatt Teller. Teller will get the opportunity to beat out Eric Kush at right guard.

Dorsey referred to the Teller and McCray trades as “depth moves.”

Two of the most closely contested battles of training camp went to rookies. Rookie punter Jamie Gillan beat out veteran Britton Colquitt. Rookie kicker Austin Seibert beat out incumbent Greg Joseph.

Both rookies nailed jobs in the last two preseason games.

Seibert was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in Tampa, hitting from 54, 36, 30 and 35. He was 2-for-2 against the Lions on Aug. 29, hitting from 36 and 33 yards. Significantly, Gillan was the holder in the game with the Lions.

It was the part of his job he worked on the most since signing as an undrafted rookie in May.

Gillan had a 44.0-yard net average on six punts against the Buccaneers and a 44.3 net on six against the Lions. He helped himself by making a tackle in each game.

“I think what it reflects is we’re comfortable with where we are with those two young guys,” Dorsey said. “They’ve demonstrated their ability to be skillful at both of their positions.

“We knew what Greg Joseph was and we knew what Britton Colquitt was as players. That’s why we gave those guys (Seibert and Gillan) those two games to play

because we really didn’t know how they’d respond under pressure. I thought they did a really nice job of taking on the challenge, accepting it and succeeding at achieving that goal. The organization is excited for the two young men. We have complete confidence in both of their abilities.

Twenty-three players are new to the Browns. Garrett Gilbert made the team as the third quarterback. All seven draft picks — cornerback Greedy Williams, linebackers Sione Takitaki and Mack Wilson, safety Sheldrick Redwine, Seibert, offensive lineman Drew Forbes and cornerback Donnie Lewis Jr. made the 53-man roster.

Wide receivers Braxton Miller, Damon SheehyGuiseppi and Derrick Willies plus tight end Seth DeValve were among 28 players waived. Also waived were: WR Dorian Baker, DT Brandin Bryant, TE Stephen Carlson, T Brian Fineanganofo, RB Trayone Gray, LB Willie Harvey, S J.T. Hassell, WR Ishmael Hyman, CB Robert Jackson, CB Donnie Lewis Jr., S Montrel Meander, RB A.J. Ouellette, DE Jarrell Owens, CB Lenzy Pipkins, DE Wyatt Ray, S Tigie Sankoh, T Brad Seaton, WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi, LB Anthony Stubbs, T Travis Vornkahl, LB Dedrick Young II, G Willie Wright and DE Anthony Zettel. Running back Kareem Hunt, wide receiver Antonio Callaway and tight end Rico Gathers were placed on the Reserved/Suspended list.

The contracts of Colquitt, linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, defensive lineman Brian Price and offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann were terminated.

Guard Kyle Kalis (concussion) and fullback Joe Kerridge (concussion) were waived injured. Cornerback Phillip Gaines was placed on injured reserve with a concussion.

Finishing 0-16 in 2017 meant the Browns had the first dibs on every player waived when rosters were cut last season. They are 17th in the selection order for now.