Cleveland Browns work out defensive end Tank Carradine

The Cleveland Browns need help at defensive end with Olivier Vernon hurt and Myles Garrett suspended. One player they kicked the tires on is Tank Carradine.

The Cleveland Browns have two very good defensive ends in Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon, however, the depth behind them is questionable. That depth will also be tested as Vernon has been struggling to stay healthy as of late and Garrett is now suspended indefinitely.

That means they will turn to Chris Smith and Chad Thomas as the starters but there’s not much else as Bryan Cox, Jr. is their only other defensive end — and he was just signed on November 13. Cox is the son of a former Pro Bowl linebacker, but has just 17 career tackles himself.

Cleveland can’t feel comfortable with so few edge rushers, which is why they’re still working players out. Recently, they had 10 players in for a tryout and one name that stood out was former second-round pick Tank Carradine.

Selected 40th overall in 2014 out of Florida State, Carradine spent the first four seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He has 76 tackles and 5.5 sacks during that span. He spent the majority of 2017 on injured reserve and then joined the Oakland Raiders in 2018. He then played one game this season for the Miami Dolphins before being released.

The Browns also worked out a couple of safeties as A.J. Howard and Jacob Thieneman were there as well. This position is nearly as thin as defensive end. They cut Jermaine Whitehead a couple of weeks ago after he threatened a reporter and then lost Morgan Burnett to a torn Achilles.

Damarious Randall is still on the roster, but like Olivier Vernon, he’s struggled to stay healthy.