CLEVELAND — Two preseason games and a handful of practices were not enough for wide receiver Braxton Miller to make the Cleveland Browns’ initial 53-man roster ahead of the 2019 regular-season opener against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sunday, September 8.
Despite catching five passes for 30 yards in limited action over two preseason games, the Browns parted ways with Miller, a Springfield, Ohio native and former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback-turned-wide-receiver on Saturday ahead of the deadline to get down to the league-mandated 53-man limit.
Miller was signed by the Browns on the eve of the final practice of training camp last week, but despite the late start, he was very much in the mix for a spot on the team as roster reduction day approached.
While the Browns parted with Miller, they kept a young special-teams unit, as rookie kicker Austin Seibert and a punter known as “The Scottish Hammer,” Jamie Gillan, made the initial 53.
Gillan saw action in all four of the Browns’ preseason games after a standout kicking/punting career at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and he showed off the kind of leg strength that led Cleveland’s special-teams coordinator, Mike Priefer, to give him a tryout ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Gillan launched 17 punts for 793 yards with a long kick of 74 yards in a 21-18 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 17. Gillan averaged 46.6 yards per punt and a net average of 41.4 yards per kick.
Seibert handled the kicking duties over the final two preseason games, converting all six of his field goal tries, including a 54-yarder against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday, August 23. Also, Seibert converted both of his extra-point tries over the final two weeks of the preseason.
Despite struggling through much of training camp, Seibert finished the preseason with six makes in seven field-goal attempts, as he was off the mark with a 50-yarder against the Colts.
Along with Miller, the Browns waived the following players:
WR Dorian Baker
DT Brandin Bryant
TE Stephen Carlson
TE Seth DeValve
T Brian Fineanganofo
RB Trayone Gray
LB Willie Harvey
S J.T. Hassell
WR Ishmael Hyman
CB Robert Jackson
K Greg Joseph
CB Donnie Lewis Jr.
S Montrel Meander
WR Braxton Miller
RB A.J. Ouellette
DE Jarrell Owens
CB Lenzy Pipkins
DT Brian Price
DE Wyatt Ray
S Tigie Sankoh
T Brad Seaton
WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi
LB Anthony Stubbs
T Travis Vornkahl
LB Dedrick Young II
WR Derrick Willies
G Willie Wright
DE Anthony Zettel
Also, the Browns terminated the contracts of linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, punter Britton Colquitt, defensive tackle Carl Davis and tackle Bryan Witzmann and announced a pair of trades.
In exchange for wide receiver Taywan Taylor, the Browns traded an undisclosed pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. For guard Justin McCray and an undisclosed pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to the Green Bay Packers in return for an undisclosed pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Browns waived/injured guard Kyle Kalis and fullback Joe Kerridge and placed cornerback Phillip Gaines on injured reserve.