Browns sign WR Daylen Baldwin

Cleveland adds UDFA from Michigan as the team is dealing with injuries to the position group.

The Cleveland Browns made a minor roster move on Wednesday as the club signed wide receiver Daylen Baldwin.

In a corresponding transaction to open a roster spot, the club waived safety Nate Meadors.

The 6-foot-2 and 212-pound Baldwin originally signed in May with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan. Baldwin played with the Wolverines for just the 2021 season, finishing with 17 receptions for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

Baldwin took a winding route through his college career, starting with Morgan State in 2017 and 2018, where he totaled 30 receptions for 333 yards and two touchdowns in 22 career games.

He then transferred to Jackson State, where after sitting out the 2019 season he saw the 2020 season postponed to the spring of 2021 and shortened to just six games due to COVID-19. When he finally took the field with the Tigers, Baldwin had 27 receptions for a team-high 540 yards and seven touchdowns.

A misunderstanding about his scholarship with Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders led Baldwin to transfer to Michigan, where he hoped to advance his game, according to a September 15, 2021 article at si.com:

“The biggest thing was about me developing. I feel like Michigan has everything I need to develop … Even when I came from [Jackson State] I wasn’t a finished product. I knew I still got a lot farther to go. Obviously, I didn’t want to go somewhere and not play but what I would say is it’s a fine line of playing time and getting better … This is one of the schools where I have an opportunity to play as well as develop and not just sit there and develop and barely see the field.”

Baldwin is the second wide receiver the Browns have signed this week, following Derrick Dillon on Monday, as the club has been dealing with injuries at the position group.

Meadors spent time on Cleveland’s practice squad in 2021.