Browns coach Hue Jackson said he expected the team to be active on the waiver wire in the aftermath of cutdown day, and he wasn’t kidding.
The Browns were second in the waiver order, and they claimed an NFL-high five players off waivers Sunday. The New York Jets were second with four.
The Browns also waived rookie cornerback Trey Caldwell, outside linebacker Cam Johnson and running backs Raheem Mostert and Terrell Watson and terminated the contract of safety Rahim Moore to make room for the newcomers.
More moves are likely to be executed before the Sept. 11 regular-season opener but, for now, the Browns have 13 of their 14 picks from this year’s draft on the 53-man roster. Caldwell (fifth round) is the only one who’s been cut.
Here are the Browns’ newest additions, all of whom were waived by other teams Saturday:
• Former San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Corey Lemonier, 24, 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds.
The 2013 third-round pick from Auburn has played 42 games with only one sack and two starts, both of which came during his rookie season. He has 29 career tackles, 14 tackles on special teams, one safety, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
• Former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Burley, 26, 5-10 and 190 pounds.
After entering the NFL in 2013 as an undrafted free agent from Delaware, he bounced around the league and ended up with the Seahawks in 2014 when they traded a draft pick to the Indianapolis Colts for him. He appeared in 26 games with one start for the Seahawks the past two seasons but fought a hamstring injury late in the preseason and was waived with an injury designation. He has 49 career tackles, including two sacks, two interceptions and seven passes defensed.
• Former Oakland Raiders running back George Atkinson, 23, 6-1 and 220 pounds.
He signed with the Raiders in 2014 as an undrafted free agent from Notre Dame, appeared on special teams in five games as a rookie and spent nine weeks on Oakland’s practice squad in 2015 without playing a game. He had tremendous production this preseason, rushing 19 times for 191 yards (10.1 average) and three touchdowns, catching six passes for 60 yards and returning a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown, though he dropped a would-be touchdown pass and lost a fumble. His father, George Atkinson Jr., was a defensive back and kick returner for the Raiders for 10 seasons (1968-77) and made two Pro Bowls.
• Former Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun, 23, 5-9 and 193 pounds.
An undrafted rookie from Minnesota, he finished training camp seventh in the cornerback pecking order and compiled five tackles to go along with three passes defensed in the preseason. He bounced back from a torn ACL in 2013 to tally five interceptions in 2014 and four in 2015 for the Golden Gophers.
• Former Jaguars defensive end Tyrone Holmes, 22, 6-3 and 253 pounds.
A sixth-round pick in this year’s draft from Montana, he had five tackles in an overall quiet preseason. He led the FCS last season with 18 sacks and became the FCS Defensive Player of the Year. He played defensive end in the Jaguars’ scheme but would be an outside linebacker in the Browns’ 3-4 base defense.
The Browns said they signed four players to their practice squad after waiving them Saturday: tight end Connor Hamlett, offensive tackle Dan France, wide receiver Darius Jennings and guard Kaleb Johnson. They have six openings on the practice squad and will likely try to get Caldwell on it.
Rookie quarterback Kevin Hogan also plans to join the Browns practice squad, a league source confirmed. The Kansas City Chiefs waived Hogan on Saturday after selecting him in the fifth round of April’s draft. Hogan went 7-of-15 passing for 36 yards with an interception in the preseason. Browns associate head coach-offense Pep Hamilton was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Stanford during Hogan’s freshman and sophomore years there.
Defensive tackle Gabe Wright also will be signed to the Browns practice squad after being waived by the Detroit Lions on Saturday, a league source confirmed. Wright, a 2015 fourth-round draft pick from Auburn, started one of the seven games in which he appeared as a rookie and accumulated six tackles.
Running back Rajion Neal (quadriceps) reverted to the Browns’ injured reserve after they waived/injured him and he went unclaimed.
Meanwhile, two players the Browns waived Saturday were claimed by other teams. Wide receiver Taylor Gabriel landed with the Atlanta Falcons and defensive back Pierre Desir with the San Diego Chargers.
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.