The Cleveland Browns moved on from Cedric Tillman on Thursday night, cutting the former Tennessee wide receiver ahead of their NFL preseason game, according to a report from Adam Schefter.
Tillman, who turned 26 this offseason, was heading into his fourth year with Cleveland. The Browns took him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the 74th overall pick, and he leaves the team with 71 catches for 833 yards and five touchdowns in his NFL career.
His production dipped last season. In 13 games with 10 starts, Tillman hauled in 21 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns. His most productive pro season came in 2024, when he posted 29 receptions for 339 yards and three scores in 11 games and six starts.
Even after the release, it would not be a surprise to see another team give him a shot. He hasn’t fully matched the early expectations around his NFL career, but he still profiles as a usable depth receiver if he can stay healthy.
At Tennessee, Tillman’s path was a lot more dramatic. He spent his entire college career in Knoxville from 2018 to 2022, and his first three seasons under Jeremy Pruitt were quiet. Across those three years, he played in six games and finished with eight catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.
Then came the breakout. In 2021, Josh Heupel’s first season with the Vols, Tillman became Hendon Hooker’s go-to target and put together a huge year: 64 receptions, 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games.
He came back for his fifth and final season expecting to be the centerpiece of the offense, but an early-season non-conference game against Akron changed everything. An injury that lingered all year limited him to 37 catches for 417 yards and three touchdowns in six games.
Tillman, who is from Las Vegas, Nevada, starred at Bishop Gorman in high school. Football runs in the family, too - his father, Cedric Tillman, played wide receiver in the NFL for the Broncos and Jaguars.
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