On Tuesday, the Browns made a few very, very minor roster moves.
For starters, the Browns signed TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart.
Then the squad waived TE Nick Guggemos, who passed through waivers on Tuesday as well.
If you’ve never seen Griffin-Stewart in action, you probably aren’t alone.
And don’t expect to see him any time soon, either.
But if he does suit up, fans will want to know who exactly they are rooting for.
Here are three things to know about Cleveland’s latest signing.
1. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
So far in his football career, Griffin-Stewart has been something of a journeyman.
He played college ball for two schools, starting off at Rutgers before joining the Pitt Panthers.
We have signed TE Nakia Griffin-Stewart and waived TE Nick Guggemos
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 24, 2022
He didn’t have a stellar college career, either.
In his lone season with the Panthers, Griffin-Stewart started twelve games and caught 19 passes, good enough for 185 yards.
At Rutgers, Griffin-Stewart made five starts across 25 appearances.
After his season at Pitt, the tight end went undrafted and signed with the Minnesota Vikings in April 2019.
A few months later, in September, he was cut by the Vikes.
Weeks later, he was picked up by the Packers and signed to the practice squad where he spent all of ten days before another release.
At the end of November, he was signed by the New York Giants, but again, released two weeks later.
For those keeping score at home, that’s four teams in a single calendar year, including Pitt.
Maybe he’ll be extra handy in the scouting department since he’s been with so many organizations?
The Giants signed him to a futures/reserves contract in January 2021 but cut him after Big Blue’s last preseason game later that year.
In November of last year, he found a spot on Kansas City’s practice squad.
Finally, he was released by KC earlier this month before finding another home in the midwest: the Cleveland Browns.
Between KC, Pitt, Green Bay, Minnesota, and New York, Cleveland might as well be South Beach, Florida weather-wise.
Reporters might want to ask Griffin-Stewart which franchise had the smoothest cup of joe because that’s about all he’s had the time to do so far in his NFL career.
2. Late Start
Griffin-Stewart has, in fact, appeared in an NFL game.
He earned his debut with Kansas City in Week 16 of the 2021-22 season last year.
Curiously enough, the game was against a familiar-ish foe: the Steelers.
Generally, one might expect a pro footballer to get their debut much earlier than the second year of their career.
After all, this isn’t baseball where prospects linger around the minors for years.
But Griffin-Stewart is a different case.
But I’ll bet he’s just glad to have received the opportunity in the first place.
Do you think Baker Mayfield asked Griffin-Stewart what Patrick Mahomes’ secret is?
3. Roster Turnover
Given his history, don’t expect Griffin-Stewart to see much playing time.
The squad has two entrenched gamers in David Njoku and Harrison Bryant.
In fact, Griffin-Stewart is currently listed fifth on the Browns’ depth chart, behind Njoku, Bryant, Miller Forristall, and Marcus Santos-Silva.
Nakia Griffin-Stewart has landed in Cleveland and looks to compete for a depth spot on a Browns roster that already has five other tight ends 👀 pic.twitter.com/J4269qIBJq
— Browns Nation (@BrownsNationCP) May 25, 2022
Santos-Silva, by the way, played even fewer career snaps than Griffin-Stewart.
If he’s lucky, he might make the practice squad.
If he’s unlucky, well, I hear Seattle brews a mean cup of coffee.
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