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The Cleveland Browns released second-year defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey prior to the start of training camp, which was a disappointing end to his tumultuous stint with the team.
Winfrey had a hard time staying out of trouble with the Browns with multiple off-field incidents. The final straw came in July when a video surfaced of him allegedly threatening to hit two women and stealing their phones. The women also told Cleveland police he showed them his gun.
Browns star Myles Garrett spoke up publicly during the season about Winfrey needing to learn to become a pro but shared that it was disappointing to see his time with the team end.
“It’s a little disappointing. It’s disappointing for all of us because we love Perrion,” Garrett said on July 25. “We always wanted to see the very best happen for him and try to lead him towards just a better path and just got to keep his head clear.”
While Winfrey is no longer an official member of the Browns, Garrett and the rest of the Browns want to be a support system for him.
“I think now it’s more important than ever that we as a community, not only as a football team or the D line, reach out to him and try to take care of him and take him under our wing because he’s still here, he’s still one of us,” Garrett said. “If we look out for him and help him clean up his act and go down the path he can go and the things that he should do, he can really be an upstanding young man and I really hope the best for him still. I’ll try to be there for him if we can.”
Browns Gave Perrion Winfrey Multiple Chances
A fourth-round pick a year ago, Winfrey appeared in 13 games as a rookie and recorded 22 tackles and half of a sack. He was expected to compete for a spot in the defensive tackle rotation with the potential to start with a strong camp.
Despite his potential on the field, Winfrey’s maturity issues were at the forefront of the conversation. He missed three games as a healthy scratch stemming from “maturity reasons,” per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
The team decided to stick by Winfrey when he was arrested for misdemeanor assault in April, a charge that was later dropped when he went through a pretrial diversion program. But the latest incident was the final straw for Browns general manager Andrew Berry.
“Honestly, we take every situation individually and work from it from there,” Berry said. “We thought the proper time to move on was I guess last week right before camp and I’ll leave it at that.”
Browns Feel Good About Depth on Defensive Line
The Browns will have a new-look defensive line next season, with Garrett, Pro Bowler Za’Darius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo serving as pass-rushers. At defensive tackle, newly-acquired big man Dalvin Tomlinson will hold down one spot but the other spot is still to be determined.
Jordan Elliott, Maurice Hurst and rookie Siaki Ika will be in the mix to start. Berry said they feel good about their depth but didn’t rule out adding another player once they assess the situation with a closer look in camp.
“We do like a number of the individuals that we have in that room currently,” he said. “Obviously it’s unfortunate we’re moving on from Perrion after a year, but he like a number of players on our roster were really competing for a role, competing for a roster spot. So we like to mix of players that we have across all positions. We’ll see how we feel as we come to the middle of camp and then we assess the roster from there.”
Cabot mentioned the possibility of Smith sliding inside on occasion as well, which would give the Browns three quality pass-rushers on their front line.
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