Browns still collecting back-up cornerbacks
The Cleveland Browns added another cornerback in free agency on Monday – and, no, it wasn’t Brent Grimes.
Instead it was Kevin Barnes who signed a one-year deal with the Browns. Barnes played two games with Detroit last season before the Lions – who have one of the worst defensive backfields in the NFL – released him.
Barnes was originally a third-round draft pick by Washington in the 2009 NFL Draft. He has played in 31 games (making three starts) and has 44 career tackles, three interceptions and nine passes defensed.
He appeared in 15 games with the Redskins as their slot conerback in 2011, a season that saw him give up 12 yards per catch from the slot. Pro Football Focus also ranked him 86 out of 98 cornerbacks that season.
If you are scoring at home, that’s not good.
Barnes joins Chris Owens, Johnson Bademosi, Trevin Wade and Buster Skrine in what has quickly become a crowded back-up cornerback position for the Browns.
In other free agent news, free agent cornerback Brent Grimes is no longer “a possibility” for Tampa Bay, meaning the Browns – who reportedly have a multiyear offer ready for Grimes, may still be in the running.
Also, free agent linebacker Victor Butler reportedly has left Berea without a contract after coming to town on Sunday and taking a physical today.
Butler spent the past four seasons backing up DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer in Dallas, but Pro Football Focus ranked him just one spot below Paul Kruger in its free agent rankings of edge defenders.
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