The Browns’ latest roster move brings a familiar name into Shedeur Sanders’ orbit.
Cleveland signed wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. to the practice squad on Thursday, Sept. 17, giving the former Colorado target a fresh start after the Carolina Panthers cut him following a rough Week 1 outing against the Chicago Bears.
Horn Jr.’s day in that 59-37 loss turned sour when he muffed a punt with the score tied 21-21. Chicago then added three points. On the replay, the ball was moving and spinning in the air as Horn Jr. tried to get a read on it, and he reacted too late before the ball popped free and into the hands of Bears special teamers.
The 24-year-old entered the league as a sixth-round pick out of Colorado and finished his brief Panthers stint with 11 catches for 108 yards. He never really got a full chance to carve out a role, largely because of the depth Carolina had at receiver.
Now he gets another shot in Cleveland, where he’ll also reunite with Sanders, his quarterback at Colorado. The two hooked up often in college, with Horn Jr. totaling 1,008 receiving yards and seven touchdowns over two seasons. Across his college career, he nearly reached 2,000 receiving yards.
For the Browns, the move adds a player Sanders already knows well as the team keeps moving forward with Deshaun Watson as the starter. If the quarterback situation changes, Horn Jr. would be an obvious candidate for a practice squad elevation and a familiar target for Sanders.
For now, Horn Jr. stays on the practice squad and works to earn trust inside the organization while Watson continues to handle the offense.
There’s also a date to circle: Cleveland and Carolina meet Sunday, Sept. 27, at 1:00 p.m. EST.
If Sanders is still not under center by then, the Browns could still be tempted to elevate him from the practice squad and give him a chance to face his old team, even if it’s only in special teams work.
Either way, Horn Jr. is back in a setting where the faces around him won’t be quite so new.
In Other News...
Deshaun Watsons Latest Off-Field Issue Is Now Hanging Over The Browns
Deshaun Watsons latest off-field issue is now part of the Browns backdrop as they move through the opening stretch of the season. The quarterback was stopped by Ohio State Highway Patrol on Aug. 26 for driving 86 mph in a 60 mph zone, and he cooperated with the officer before receiving a citation. Watson later pleaded not guilty in Cleveland Municipal Court, with a bench trial set for Sept. 23.
The timing adds another layer of attention around a passer who is already trying to settle in on the field after a rocky opener. In Clevelands season debut, Watson completed 16 of 22 passes for 205 yards, threw a touchdown and an interception, and was sacked five times, then spoke about his performance and his physical condition following earlier injuries. For the Browns, the legal case is now set to linger alongside the football questions. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Thomas Admits How Dark Things Got With Those Browns
Joe Thomas has long been the face of patience through pain in Cleveland, but even he recently revisited just how draining those Browns years could be. In a podcast interview, the Hall of Fame left tackle said there was a moment when he played what he believed was a perfect game, only to walk off after a 30-0 loss to the New England Patriots feeling so overwhelmed that he cried. It was another reminder of what it meant to anchor a team that rarely gave him much help, even while he piled up Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors over an 11-year run.
Thomas also looked back on the bigger picture, saying that by his tenth season he understood the Browns were deep into a rebuild and not close to contending. For a player who endured only one winning season in Cleveland, that realization had to sting, especially for someone who had already given so much to the franchise. Even now, his reflections land with extra weight because they come from one of the most respected players in team history, a lineman whose excellence was often separated from the results around him. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Already Have A Troubling Harold Fannin Jr. Question
The Browns left Week 1 with more than just a lopsided loss to Jacksonville and a 34-10 scoreline to digest. Their offense looked out of sync for most of the afternoon, and one of the quieter developments was the usage of tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who was such an important part of the attack last season.
Fannins first-read target share sat at just 7% in the opener, a number that raises a real question about how Cleveland plans to feature him moving forward. With Tampa Bay up next, the Browns need a clearer offensive identity, and getting Fannin more involved feels like one of the most obvious ways to help a unit that badly needs answers. [Read more 🡒]