Browns announce signings of WR Janis, QB Stanton
The Cleveland Browns continue to overhaul their roster, revealing two more deals on Friday afternoon.
The team announced it has agreed to contracts with former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton and former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jeff Janis.
Terms were not available, but Stanton's deal was originally reported to be for two years.
The moves add a third quarterback to Cleveland's roster, with the team widely expected to take another with the first overall pick in next month's draft.
Acquired from the Buffalo Bills earlier this offseason, Tyrod Taylor has already been named the starter by head coach Hue Jackson, who has said he doesn't view Taylor as simply a "bridge quarterback."
The Browns also have third-year signal-caller Kevin Hogan (who made one start in 2017). Cleveland traded both Cody Kessler (eight starts in 2016) and second-year quarterback DeShone Kizer (15 starts as a rookie in 2017) earlier this offseason.
Stanton, who turns 34 in May, spent the last four years in Arizona, compiling a 9-4 record as a starter in relief of Carson Palmer. His numbers during that span don't rate as highly, however, as Stanton completed just 51.1 percent of his passes for 2,901 yards (6.1 per attempt) with 15 touchdown passes, 15 interceptions and a 67.6 passer rating.
A second-round pick out of Michigan State in 2007, Stanton missed the entire '07 season after suffering a knee injury in training camp. He spent his first three active seasons with the Lions (2008-10) before joining the Indianapolis Colts for one campaign in 2012. He is 11-6 in his career as a starter while completing 52.4 percent of his passes for 4,059 yards (6.2 per attempt) with 20 TD passes, 24 interceptions and a passer rating of 66.3.
Janis was a seventh-round pick by the Packers out of Saginaw Valley State in 2014. In 51 games with Green Bay, Janis had just 17 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown. But he is a big target at 6-foot-3, something that came in handy when he caught a Hail Mary from Aaron Rodgers with no time left to send a playoff game against the Cardinals into overtime in 2016.
He has also pitched in on special teams (22 tackles, 23 kickoff returns for 568 yards).
--Field Level Media
