Earlier this week, the New York Giants released defensive tackle Elijah Chatman. Now, the undrafted free agent has found his new home.
The Cleveland Browns have announced that they have claimed Chatman off of waivers from the Giants. With this, Chatman will now be looking to impress after getting this fresh start with the Browns.
Seeing Chatman get claimed by the Browns is not necessarily surprising, as he is a young defensive tackle who already has some NFL experience. Now, he will give the Browns more depth, which has been a need for Cleveland.
Looking Back At Chatman’s Time With the Giants
After going undrafted following his collegiate career with the SMU Mustangs, Chatman signed with the Giants as a free agent back in 2024. This ended up being a move that benefited both the player and the team, as Chatman ended up making the Giants’ active roster and got into a good amount of action as a rookie.
In 17 games for the Giants during the 2024 season as a rookie, Chatman recorded one sack to go along with 21 combined tackles. Overall, he proved to be a solid depth addition to the Giants’ roster and showed promise.
However, this past season was tougher for Chatman, as he started the year on the Giants’ practice squad. He did end up getting placed back on their active roster again later during the 2025 season. In five games with the Giants during this past season, he recorded three combined tackles.
Overall, Chatman had his solid moments with the Giants, but he simply had become the odd man out on their roster. Because of this, he is now heading to the Browns and will be looking to take that next step in Cleveland from here.
Chatman Could Benefit From This Move to the Browns
With Chatman having trouble cementing himself as a regular on the Giants’ roster, it is fair to argue that he was in need of a fresh start. Now, he has gotten just that with the Browns, and he could very well have the chance to have a more significant role with Cleveland from here.
Due to this, it is certainly possible that Chatman could benefit after getting this change of scenery. He is still young enough that he could break out in the right system, and it will be fascinating to see if he can do just that after joining the Browns.
There is ultimately no harm in the Browns bringing in Chatman with this waiver claim, too. They did not need to give up anything to land him, and it would be clutch if he could hit a new level after joining them because of it.
Chatman will now be aiming to cement himself in a key role on the Browns with his time in New York coming to a close. Time will tell what happens on that front, but it is hard to find much to complain about when it comes to this move for the Browns.
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