BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are sitting at 1-4 to start the season, and as they prepare for their Week 6 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, they're making some roster moves.
But no, those moves don't involve quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Wednesday that the team has not had any discussions about benching Watson, who has continued to struggle this season amid an injury-riddled offensive line and missed connections with the receivers, among his own issues on the field.
While the Browns are keeping the quarterback where he's at, they are losing a staple of the special teams unit.
Long snapper Charley Hughlett has been placed on injured reserve with a rib injury. Hughlett sustained the injury Sunday against the Washington Commanders and was sidelined during the game.
Hughlett appeared in 152 consecutive games for the Browns since 2015. He ranks 14th on the Browns career games played list. His streak will come to an end, as he must miss at least the next four games on IR before he's eligible to return.
The Browns signed long snapper Rex Sunahara to the active roster with the loss of Hughlett. Sunahara, a native of Bay Village, didn't have to travel too far to join the Browns. He had also spent time with the Browns during the preseason.
While Hughlett is added to IR, two other players have gotten their practice window open, and they look to be activated from the list.
Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II and linebacker Mohamoud Diabate have been designated for return to practice from IR. Both players were placed on IR after the Week 1 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Hurst with an ankle injury and Diabate with a hip injury.
The two return to practice, where they'll ramp up activity while they eye a return to game action. The Browns will have 21 days to activate Hurst and Diabate to the active roster, or they'll revert back to IR for the remainder of the season.
In addition to those roster moves, the Browns also signed tight end Geoff Swaim from the practice squad to the active roster and signed safety Trey Dean and defensive end Marcus Haynes to the practice squad.
Dean is officially in his first NFL season out of Florida. Originally signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2023, he spent part of his rookie season on the Jets’ and Chiefs’ practice squads.
Haynes was originally signed by Denver as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and spent part of his rookie season on the Broncos’ practice squad. The defensive end spent time with the Browns during the preseason and with the Steelers’ practice squad this year.
