by Training camp begins in 24 days and there are a plethora of position players fighting for a chance to make the final roster. One of those players is quite a familiar name to many in Northeast Ohio.
Pharaoh Brown, a 6-foot-6 tight end from Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio, is competing with five other tight ends to make the final 53-man roster.
It was an arduous journey to land on the Cleveland Browns roster for the local Northeast Ohio product. It all started with a gruesome injury during a 2014 game at Oregon, where he tore two ligaments in his right knee, causing him to be sidelined for the next 18 months.
Brown came back and was able to play in nine games during his senior season in 2016. He went on to catch 33 passes for 426 yards and five touchdowns to end his college career.
His eyes were set on the 2017 NFL Draft but ended up going undrafted. On May 5, 2017, Brown got signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Raiders.
Roughly 16 months later, he was waived by the Raiders after playing in just two games, starting one game, without catching a pass.
Twenty-three days later, the Cleveland Browns signed him to the practice squad and was ultimately elevated to the active roster Oct. 23, 2018.
Much like other positions on the Browns team, the tight end position is extremely crowded with guys like David Njoku, Demetrius Harris, Seth DeValve, Orson Charles, Stephen Carlson and Pharaoh Brown.
Njoku and Harris are locked to make the final roster, as Njoku is coming off a successful season where he caught a career-high 56 passes for 639 yards and four touchdowns. Harris stands at 6-foot-7, 230 pounds and is coming off a season as the No. 2 option in Kansas City to Travis Kelce who has built a lasting relationship with John Dorsey since joining the league as well.
Orson Charles fits the H-back role for the team despite being listed as a tight end. He played in 13 games last season for the Browns and was a crucial part to record-breaking season Nick Chubb had running the ball as a rookie.
That leaves two players fighting with Brown for one or potentially two more spots at the tight end position. With no setbacks from his previous injuries, Brown is hopeful to make a lasting impression with the team and be able to get a chance to play for the hometown team he grew up rooting for at Brush High School.
“I’ve been around the Browns since I was young,” Brown told reporters following three days of mandatory minicamp June 6 . “We just have to keep working and I think everything will take care of itself.”
As for head coach Freddie Kitchens, he sees Brown as a physical player who needs to take advantage of his time on the field trying to stand out amongst the other players.
“He needs to keep coming. We have several guys in that room that we feel like can play,” Kitchens said after a team practice last month. “He has to keep coming and see what he can do. Some of their projection and evaluation depends on once we put pads on because our guys are going to be able to block, also.”
One thing is clear with this Cleveland Browns team; the depth of skill players they have is almost unmatched. For Brown and the other players fighting for a roster spot, it’s time to prove they belong on this team.
