The Browns lacked a proven punter after trading three-time Pro Bowl selection Andy Lee, but they secured one Saturday by signing Britton Colquitt to a one-year contract.
The Browns shipped Lee and a 2017 seventh-round draft pick to the Carolina Panthers on Monday in exchange for punter Kasey Redfern and a 2018 fourth-round choice.
Then the Browns let Redfern and Michael Palardy, who signed Tuesday, compete for the job in Thursday’s preseason finale. However, the coaching staff wasn’t satisfied with their auditions.
On Saturday, the Browns waived Redfern and Palardy. They have never appeared in an NFL regular-season game.
Colquitt, 31, though, has played in 96 of them, plus 10 playoff games. He spent all six of his previous NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos and helped them win the Super Bowl last season. Still, they cut him Tuesday and elected to rely on rookie seventh-round pick Riley Dixon.
The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears expressed strong interest in Colquitt before he signed with the Browns, according to Denver’s 9News.com.
“Obviously, we let a really good [punter] go, but it’s tremendous that our personnel staff was able to quickly bring someone to our team who has had success in this league and has some skins on the wall,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said in a news release.
With a career gross average of 45.2 yards and a net average of 39.2, Colquitt is considered the best punter in Broncos history. His gross and net averages were 43.6 and 39.7, respectively, last regular season, and then 46.6 and 42.7 in the playoffs. He was the franchise’s longest-tenured player his release.
His father, Craig, punted for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1978-1984. His older brother, Dustin, is the punter for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Quarterback watch
The Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings made a blockbuster trade Saturday that will have an impact on the Browns in multiple ways.
The Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Vikings for a first-round pick in 2017 and a fourth-round selection in 2018. The trade came on the heels of Vikings Pro Bowl quarterback Teddy Bridgewater dislocating his left knee in practice Tuesday, resulting in a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament.
So suddenly, the Browns could face rookie quarterback Carson Wentz — who they essentially traded to the Eagles in April — when they visit Philadelphia for the Sept. 11 regular-season opener.
ESPN reported the Eagles plan to start Wentz against the Browns if he’s recovered enough from a hairline fracture in his ribs. He suffered the injury Aug. 11 in the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quarterback Chase Daniel, who had been ahead of Wentz on the depth chart, would start if the rookie isn’t healthy.
The Browns traded the No. 2 overall pick to the Eagles eight days before the draft, and the Eagles used the selection to take Wentz out of North Dakota State.
In return, the Browns received a haul that includes Philadelphia’s first-round choice in 2017. The worse the Eagles’ record is this year, the higher that pick will be for the Browns, and Philly is certainly projected to win fewer games with Bradford gone.
More dominoes fall
The odds that the Browns trade backup quarterback Josh McCown decrease every time a QB-needy team addresses the position.
In addition to the Vikings trading for Bradford, the Dallas Cowboys struck a deal with Mark Sanchez after he was cut by the Broncos. Sanchez is expected to back up rookie Dak Prescott while starter Tony Romo recovers from an injured back.
The Cowboys had expressed interest in trading for McCown a few weeks ago, but a deal never materialized partly because the Browns value the veteran and have a high asking price for him.
He’s their top option behind starting quarterback Robert Griffin III, who has a long injury history. Rookie third-round pick Cody Kessler is also on the roster, but his lackluster preseason performances proved he’s not ready to start.
“Obviously, Robert is the starter and then Josh gives us some insurance of a guy that’s played in the National Football League and knows exactly what it takes to help a team win in this league,” Jackson in a news release about the team’s moves on cutdown day. “Then you have young Cody who’s finding his way in the National Football League. So it’s a good situation to have with a guy that we’ve made our starter and another guy who has some valuable NFL experience.”
The Broncos signed ex-Browns quarterback Austin Davis to a one-year deal. They cut him Monday.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.