The Cleveland Browns placed cornerback Greg Newsome II on injured reserve, ending his season, and cut wide receiver Kadarius Toney among several roster moves on Tuesday.
Newsome injured his hamstring while on the punt return team in the final minutes of the 27-14 loss Sunday to the host Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s the same hamstring, according to Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, that required surgery in the offseason and caused Newsome to miss all of training camp.
Newsome, 24, has played in all 13 games for the Browns (3-10) and made three starts. He has 27 tackles, five passes defended and one interception. The IR status requires Newsome miss at least four games, and Cleveland has four regular-season games remaining with no chance for the playoffs.
The Browns selected him 26th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. Newsome has 155 tackles, 34 passes defended, three interceptions — one returned for a touchdown — and one sack in 54 games (42 starts).
Toney, 25, signed with the Browns on Sept. 9 and alternated between the practice squad and the active roster. He had zero catches on one target as well as two rushing attempts for minus-4 yards in three games.
Toney returned four punts for 44 yards against Pittsburgh, but that included being penalized for a taunting penalty on a fair catch. He also muffed a later punt on the same play that Newsome was injured. The Steelers recovered the ball and were able to run out the clock.
The 20th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, Toney has 82 career receptions for 760 yards and three touchdowns in 35 regular-season games (10 starts) for the Giants (2021-22), Kansas City Chiefs (2022-23) and Browns.
He also has seven catches for 50 yards and one touchdown in three playoff games for the Super Bowl champion Chiefs in 2022. Kansas City released him on Aug. 27.
The Browns also signed kicker Riley Patterson, offensive tackle Julian Pearl and wide receivers Kaden Davis and Jaelen Gill to the practice squad on Tuesday. Defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour was released from the practice squad.
