Training camp hasn't even opened and the Browns are already tinkering with the cornerback room. On Tuesday, Cleveland signed Damarri Mathis and waived Dom Jones with a failed physical designation, a straightforward swap that says a lot about how thin this position group actually is behind the top two guys.
Adam Schefter broke the corner swap: Mathis in, Jones out on a failed physical.
Browns have signed former Broncos CB Damarri Mathis and waived CB Dom Jones with a failed physical designation.
Mathis isn't a name Browns fans know well, but he's got real starting experience. Denver took him in the 4th round back in 2022 out of Pittsburgh, and he was thrown into the fire as a rookie, taking over as the Broncos' second starting corner by Week 6. He logged 43 games and 18 starts across three seasons in Denver, but the tape came with warts — a grabby, penalty-prone style and tackling issues that eventually cost him his job. Denver waived him last summer, Carolina claimed him, and he never got on the field there, landing on IR with a torn ACL. Now, at 27, he's chasing a roster spot in Cleveland, likely competing to be the No. 3 outside corner behind Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell.
Jones, meanwhile, is the one paying the price. The 26-year-old made his NFL debut with the Browns last season, playing in 8 games, but he sat out the entire offseason program with an undisclosed injury. A failed physical designation now means he's off the roster entirely just as camp is about to start, which is about as unceremonious an exit as it gets.
None of this is a blockbuster move, but it's a reminder of how volatile the bottom of an NFL roster is in late July. Cleveland's cornerback depth behind Ward and Campbell has been a lingering question all offseason, and swapping a hurt, unproven corner for a healthy one with actual starting snaps on his résumé is a low-cost way to add a body who can compete. Mathis gets a fresh shot to prove the ACL is behind him; Jones has to find a new opportunity somewhere else before the league year moves on without him.