3 former Cleveland Browns players who failed with their new team in 2023
By Ryan Heckman
With most of the focus on the here and now for the Cleveland Browns, it's sometimes worthwhile to look back on the last year.
The 2024 free agency period has seen the Browns lose some notable names to other teams such as Joe Flacco, Harrison Bryant, Jordan Elliott and Sione Takitaki, among a couple others. Still, there are also a few having trouble finding jobs.
Last year, the Browns watched a good sum of players leave for other teams as well. But, not all of them panned out with their new organizations.
Three, in particular, had a less-than-ideal run with their new team last season.
Greedy Williams had a tough year in 2023
The former second-round pick out of LSU back in 2019, Greedy Williams came into the league as one of the top corners in his class. It was actually somewhat of a shock that he fell to the second round. After playing 12 games his rookie year, Williams began having issues with injuries. He would go on to appear in 16 games in 2021 after missing all of 2020 due to injury, and put up some strong numbers in Year 3.
Then, a hamstring injury caused him to miss some time in 2022 and led him to not being the starter he thought he'd have been for Cleveland. In March of 2023, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, only to be released in August.
Williams did not play in the NFL last season.
D'Ernest Johnson's fall has been quick and hard
At one point, some of us thought D'Ernest Johnson could have been the successor to Nick Chubb when he finally calls it a career or his contract runs out. Back in 2021, Johnson ran it a healthy 100 times for 534 yards and three scores. Johnson ran hard and angry with the Browns. But, his playing time dropped significantly in 2022 and then he went on to sign with Jacksonville last year.
In 2023, Johnson only ran it 41 times for 108 yards, an average of just 2.6 yards per carry. Currently, he is still a member of the Jags and backing up Travis E'Tienne. But, the time of him looking like a potential starter seems to be done with.
Chase Winovich's career has taken a rough turn
A former third-round pick back in New England, Chase Winovich appeared to be one of those old-school types you loved having on your team; a guy who would will his way to the quarterback. After totaling 11.0 sacks in three years with the Patriots, Winovich signed with the Browns and tallied just 1.0 sack in eight games in 2022.
Last year, he played in just three games for the Miami Dolphins. Injury was a concern for a chunk of the season, but he wasn't even active at times when healthy.