Getty Images Punter Joseph Charlton (3) has been signed by the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns have signed former Carolina Panthers punter Joseph Charlton to a reserve/futures contract.
The Browns officially announced the deal on Tuesday via their website. Charlton comes in at 6-foot-5, 190 pounds and was originally signed by the Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He appeared in 21 contests with the Panthers and one with the Jacksonville Jaguars over the past two seasons. For his career, the South Carolina product kicked for 3,055 yards on 69 punts, with 29 landing inside the 20-yard line, and a 44.3 average.
The Browns have a hole to fill at the punting position next year after what was a very disappointing year for the special teams unit as a whole. Fan-favorite Jamie Gillan — aka the Scottish Hammer — was the team’s punter for the majority of the year but was never able to get on track. He was replaced by veteran Dustin Colquitt for the final stretch of the season. Colquitt is not under contract for next season and the Browns do not have a punter ready to take over the starting role.
It’s more than likely that the Browns will take a look at other options before the start of camp, creating some internal competition for the starting gig.
Browns Special Teams Ranked Near Bottom of NFL
Special teams were a sloppy area for the Browns all-around last season and the team ranked 30th in Rick Gosselin’s annual special team rankings. Only the Chargers and Packers ranked worse on the list put together by Gosselin, who has nearly a half-decade of experience covering the NFL.
Cleveland finished worst in field goals (16), field goal percentage (72.2%) and opponent’s field goal percentage (96.2%). The punt game was also wildly inconsistent, with the Browns unable to flip the field when needed.
“Our punt game was inconsistent, starting with the punter position,” Browns special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said on January 6. “We used a lot of different gunners and rotated a lot of guys in there, and I don’t think we were quite as good as I would’ve hoped that we would be on punts so that is going to be a focus in the offseason.
“We are all about field position. I am not worried about average or stats. Would I like a touchdown in that phase? Of course, but I think we did a better job on punt return this year than last. Field goal, I thought we started the season great, and we have been a little inconsistent down the stretch. Field goal block, really it is amazing the people who seem to make all their kicks against us. The one that we tipped against Houston is the only one field goal they missed, and they missed a couple of PATs, but that is about it.”
Browns Will Also be Looking for New Kicker
The Browns have not had any luck with kickers since Phil Dawson’s days booting the ball. As mentioned in the stats above, kicker Chase McLaughlin just didn’t cut it last season and will likely not be back with the team next year despite being a restricted free agent.
Sometimes the draft is where a team can find a franchise kicker — like Evan McPherson in Cincinnati — but Cleveland hasn’t had luck with that route either. The Browns drafted Austin Seibert in the fifth round in 2019 but he was gone by the next season.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry said at the end of the season that he’s open to anything when it comes to the position.
“I would consider anything,” Berry told reporters on January 11. “My reaction to that is not any hard and fast rule. It probably depends on the player, and it depends on other ways you can acquire talent at the position. No, I would not rule it out.”