Getty Former Browns defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey.
The Cleveland Browns released second-year defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey on Wednesday after another off-field incident.
Police have opened an investigation into Winfrey being involved in an armed robbery, per The Associated Press.
According to the police report obtained by The Associated Press, “an unidentified woman said an agitated Winfrey threatened to hit her and a female companion during an argument outside a downtown Cleveland hotel on Tuesday. The woman recorded the encounter on a phone that the 6-foot-4, 290-pound Winfrey was trying to take from her. Police said Winfrey can be heard saying, ‘I’ll smack the (expletive) outta you,’ and, ‘you know I got it on me.'”
An alleged video of the incident was released on social media following the news coming out. The caption on the post read: “Perrion Winfrey just chased us barefoot out of the nine, pointed his [gun] at me and put his hands on me. Stole both of my phones and pulled off. Listen to this s**t. Him and cous r f**king crazy for no reason. Camera footage is coming.”
She added: “I’m literally scared to go home.”
The Browns swiftly made the decision to release Winfrey just days before training camp is set to kick off. 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.
Winfrey took to Twitter shortly after the news with a short but stern message.
“The truth will come out,” Winfrey tweeted, later deleting it.
Perrion Winfrey Unable to Stay Out of Trouble
Winfrey came to the Browns with some character concerns and did little to show that he would be able to leave those in his past.
His maturity issues were at the forefront, with Browns star Myles Garrett calling him out for not behaving like a pro in September 2022. Winfrey was held out of practice one day that month for being repeatedly late, according to Brad Stainbrook of the Orange and Brown Report. He also missed at least two games as a healthy scratch stemming from “maturity reasons,” per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
“I think we all have to step up and say something, but sometimes silence speaks louder than words,” Garrett said in September. “We’ve used our voice a couple of times, and at the end of the day, he’s got to learn how to be a pro. Kevin [Stefanski] took it into his own hands, and he felt like that was the right thing to do, and I’m behind my coach’s actions totally.”
More recently, Winfrey was arrested for in Texas for misdemeanor assault against a woman he was dating. The charges were dropped last month after he completed a pretrial diversion program, per Cleveland.com.
Browns Will Search for Help at Defensive Tackle
With Winfrey now out of the mix, the Browns will be looking around at their options to fill his spot on the depth chart. Veteran addition Dalvin Tomlinson will hold down one of the tackle spots but the second starter at defensive tackle is still very much a competition.
Incumbent starter Jordan Elliott will be in the running but he’ll have to compete with rookie Siaki Ika and Tommy Togiai, as well as newcomers Maurice Hurst and Trysten Hill.
If the Browns were to sign an established veteran, options include Ndamukong Suh and Matt Ioannidis.