Cleveland Browns add Matthew McCrane, Jalen Jelks to practice squad

The Cleveland Browns made more roster moves

Another week, another churning of the roster by Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry. After replacing kicker Austin Seibert with Cody Parkey prior to last week’s Thursday Night victory, Cleveland has now filled the emergency kicker slot with Matthew McCrane.

Undrafted in 2018, McCrane originally signed with the Arizona Cardinals before making his NFL debut with the Oakland Raiders, coincidentally in their September 30th victory over the Browns. McCrane hit the game-winning field goal with 1:46 to go in overtime, in a game that featured questionable at best officiating, in favor of Oakland.

He then bounced around a bit, going back to Arizona and then joining the Pittsburgh Steelers before moving on to the XFL, where he nailed all 10 attempts for the New York Guardians.

McCrane will wait on the practice squad, providing insurance in case Parkey is unable to kick, or if he ends up being released. In other words, it’s for the best if McCrane never kicks for the Browns. But with the multi-day purgatory for signing players due to current NFL safety protocols, it’s a necessity to have at the minimum an extra kicker, center, and quarterback on the practice squad, just in case.

Also added was Jalen Jelks, who was a seventh-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2019 but has yet to play a snap in the NFL. He logged 15.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as a junior at Oregon in 2017, but an underwhelming combine with a slight frame dropped his stock. He was deployed both inside and on the edge in college, but lacks the fundamental strength to play defensive tackle in the NFL, at least right now. Jelks looks to be next in line if Olivier Vernon or Adrian Clayborn has to miss time with their respective injuries.

The Browns seem to have an affinity for Cowboys DL castoffs, as waiver claim Joe Jackson was a Dallas fifth-rounder in 2019.