The Cleveland Browns are staying active in looking for ways to upgrade the team. While the final outcome of QB Deshaun Watson’s discipline will play the biggest role in the team’s season, depth is vital for the 17-game haul and, hopefully, playoff games.
GM Andrew Berry is constantly bringing in players for workouts and juggling the bottom of the roster to get the most impact for the team as possible.
While it is rare that any of these lesser moves make a huge impact on the boxscore, the possibility of quality depth makes the moves worth it.
The latest for the Browns is the addition of USFL’s Defensive Player of the Year defensive end Chris Odom. Odom announced the signing on his Instagram page:
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The team has not made the signing official yet but that is likely to come Saturday.
Odom was a high school teammate with Cleveland DE Myles Garrett. Odom was undrafted out of Arkansas State. He made his NFL debut in 2017 playing in seven games with the Green Bay Packers. He returned to regular season action in 2019 with four games in Washington that included two sacks, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss.
Last year in the USFL, Odom was the only defender to reach double-digit sacks, 12.5 in 10 games, earning his Defensive Player of the Year honors. The 6’4″, 260-pound edge rusher was a terror for the Houston Gamblers.
In an interesting twist, Odom’s father, Cliff Odom, was drafted in the third round by the Browns in the 1980 NFL draft. The elder Odom played just one year in Cleveland but had a 13-year career in the NFL.