Browns cut former starting DL Taylor
The Browns cut big Phil Taylor and swallowed his beefy contract.
A first-round pick in 2011, Taylor was released Tuesday by Cleveland in a surprising move that included the Browns having to pay him a guaranteed $5.5 million. The 6-3, 335-pound Taylor underwent two knee surgeries last year and has been limited during training camp and the exhibition season.
His recovery wasn’t going as well as expected he played 11 snaps in last week’s win over Tampa Bay and the Browns feel good enough about the depth on their defensive line to release a player who was once considered a potential cornerstone. Also, the quick development of rookie Danny Shelton, a first-round pick this season, made Taylor expendable.
“Given the depth we had in that room, we knew we would have to make some difficult choices,” coach Mike Pettine said. “We were aware of where Phil was in his state of rehab and he was well on his way to being back, but given where he was and how we felt about the room, that we felt it was the right decision for all involved.”
Brady decision this week: A New York judge has reiterated that he’ll rule by Friday whether New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady must serve a four-game suspension for “Deflategate.”
Judge Richard Berman issued a one-sentence order Tuesday saying he planned to rule by Friday whether the NFL properly followed its collective bargaining agreement with players when it suspended Brady for his role in using underinflated footballs in a playoff game. He said at a hearing Monday attended by Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he hoped to rule Tuesday or Wednesday, but would decide by Friday for sure.
His order Tuesday came out after an apparently new and bogus Twitter account with his photograph claimed he would rule by 4 p.m. Tuesday. The tweet did not come from his chambers.
The NFL wants Brady’s suspension upheld. The NFL Players Association wants it struck down.
Cobb hopes to be ready for opener: Packers receiver Randall Cobb says he doesn’t plan to miss to Green Bay’s regular-season opener against Chicago after spraining his shoulder in a preseason game last week.
Cobb watched practice Tuesday. He says he’s taking things day to day and waiting for swelling to go down.
The five-year veteran fell hard on his right side and had another player land on him while trying to make a catch on Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles on Green Bay’s first drive.
The Packers did get injured receiver Jared Abbrederis back at practice. He’s been out since suffering a concussion on the first day of training camp.
Jaguars’ Thomas to have surgery: Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas is expected to miss the first three games of the regular season following hand surgery.
The team said Thomas will have surgery Wednesday to repair ligament damage in his right hand. The decision came after Thomas got a second opinion.
General manager Dave Caldwell described the surgery as “more or less just cleaning it up and tightening it up.”
Thomas, who signed a five-year, $46 million contract that included $24 million guaranteed in free agency, broke a bone in the back of his hand in the preseason opener against Pittsburgh. He initially was supposed to be back for the regular-season opener Sept. 13 against Carolina.
Now, he is expected to miss games against the Panthers, Miami and New England.