Browns Sign Veteran in the Wake of Za'Darius Smith Injury

The Cleveland Browns saw veteran defensive end Za’Darius Smith leave practice on Monday with a knee contusion. It wasn’t the news that the Browns wanted to hear as star pass rusher Myles Garrett made his training camp debut.

The 31-year-old Smith will reportedly be re-evaluated on Tuesday, which should provide a better picture of his injury.  The veteran defensive lineman re-signed with the Browns on a two-way deal after a solid 2023 campaign.

Last season, Smith had 27 combined tackles, 20 quarterback hits, eight tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks.

With Smith’s availability up in the air, Cleveland quickly made a small roster move to give them another defensive end for training camp. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Browns are signing defensive end Marcus Haynes.

The 26-year-old Haynes was on the Denver Broncos practice squad last season. The 6-foot-4 defensive end hasn’t played in an NFL regular season game, so Haynes’ signing shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

After spending time on the Broncos’ practice squad, the 26-year-old defensive end was signed to a reserve/futures contract by the Houston Texans earlier this year. Haynes didn’t spend much time on the Texans’ roster as he was reverted to injured reserve and ultimately released in late May.

Since Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t speak to reporters after Monday’s practice, it will be interesting to see if he has any additional updates on Smith’s status. The Browns hope Smith will be okay as they are already without Greg Newsome and Dalvin Tomlinson.

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