The Cleveland Browns are less than a week away from starting the long-awaited 2021 NFL season with a Week 1 showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs. That doesn’t mean they’ve just made additions to the list. With a staff of 53 men and a training squad of 16, we expect the team to continue to make moves throughout the season.
The extended regular season of 17 games makes it vital for the Browns to have reserves they can play in if injuries occur and when. With the Super Bowl goal in mind, Cleveland expects to play 20 or 21 games this season. This requires a lot of depth and a lot of luck.
The team today added another player to its training squad, a well-known name:
We signed DE Ifeadi Odenigbo to our training squad.
– Cleveland Browns (@Browns) September 6, 2021
Odenigbo was one of the few names outside the organization we had predicted for the team’s training squad last week.
With Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and Takk McKinley, Cleveland expects a lot from their top players. Only Joe Jackson, after being resigned and returned, is close to depth.
In 2021, as in 2020, teams can incorporate players from the training squad on match days. Odenigbo joins Porter Gustin and Curtis Weaver as tip-offs that could be called up.
With his best season in 2019 with the Minnesota Vikings, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has a history with the most recent signing. That season, he pitched seven sacks, seven strikeouts and 13 quarterback hits. Ogenigbo could not rely on those numbers as a starter in 2020.
The former Brown (claimed by the team in 2018 for a short time) is from Centerville, Ohio and has the chance to revitalize his career in his home state for a team that competes for a Super Bowl.
The Browns’ training squad is already full of 16 players.