Cleveland Browns complete tight end room signing Jesse James

After initially keeping only two tight ends on the 53-man roster the Cleveland Browns have added a third to round out the room by signing Jesse James.

One of the biggest surprises when the Cleveland Browns revealed their initial 53-man roster was that they only kept two tight ends with David Njoku and Harrison Bryant being the only two to make the cut.

In the past two seasons under Kevin Stefanski, the Browns have used tight ends as much as anyone else in the league. They like to use multiple different two and three tight end sets leading some to wonder why they kept only two this year.

The Browns are likely to change their offense, especially when quarterback Deshaun Watson returns, but having no depth was a head-scratcher. Cleveland did end up having something else in mind as they made a move this weekend when they reportedly added veteran tight end and former Pittsburgh Steeler Jesse James to the roster.

James is not a signing that will change the outlook of the season or make the passing offense more potent but it’s still a solid move. James brings 102 games of experience in his career after being a fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2015 out of Penn State. In his career, he has totaled 157 catches for 1,522 yards and 12 touchdowns.

What James does bring to the team besides experience is a great size at 6-foot-7 and 251 pounds proving a nice target in the red zone. He’s also a willing blocker and a pretty good special teamer all things you need from your third tight end.

He will have a very specific role with the team and though it isn’t a make-or-break move it is a valuable role the Browns must feel happy having filled.