BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Browns have thrown away one of their quarterbacks.
Cleveland is releasing quarterback Tyler Huntley, who was signed as a free agent in March after the team was ravaged by injuries last season and was forced to start five QBs.
Huntley became the odd-man out after second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson outplayed him by having a strong camp and preseason. Thompson-Robinson made three starts and played in eight games as a rookie.
Heading into Thursday, the Browns had four QBs on their initial 53-man roster: Huntley, Thompson-Robinson, Jameis Winston and Deshaun Watson.
Huntley threw three touchdown passes last week in Cleveland’s exhibition finale.
With a roster spot free, the team will re-sign veteran running back D’Onta Foreman, who had his contract terminated on Monday. The Browns are light in backfield depth as they wait for star running back Nick Chubb to return from knee surgeries.
Foreman had a scary moment in the first days of training camp in West Virginia. He had to be flown by helicopter to a hospital in Virginia after experiencing neck and back pain after taking a hard hit.
Foreman missed a week of camp but played in Cleveland’s final two exhibitions, scoring a touchdown against Minnesota.
As they maneuver their roster, the Browns are also restructuring Watson’s contract for the third time. Cleveland is converting $44.79 million of Watson’s $46 million base salary this season into a signing bonus.
The move will open over $35 million in salary-cap space.
Watson signed a fully guaranteed $230 million contract over five years with the Browns in 2022. The three-time Pro Bowler in Houston agreed to the deal after he initially turned down Cleveland’s offers.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry and his staff have made a habit of redoing deals with top players in recent years to give the team financial flexibility.
Huntley, 26, signed a one-year deal at the league minimum with Cleveland after being Lamar Jackson’s primary backup in Baltimore the past three seasons. He went 3-7 in 10 starts for the Ravens.
Huntley will likely land somewhere else as teams look to protect themselves at the game’s most vital position.
No team was hit harder last season at QB than the Browns, who only had Watson for six starts before he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. In November, Cleveland signed free agent Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 in five starts and got the Browns to the playoffs.
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