Browns make 2 eye-opening roster moves ahead of Saints contest

One Brown is in and one Brown is out for Sunday vs. the Saints.

The Cleveland Browns made two intriguing roster moves ahead of their Week 11 game with the New Orleans Saints. The AFC North side is coming off a bye and shuffling the deck a bit as injuries and trades take a toll on the depth chart. This is bad news for offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. but good news for pass-catcher Kadarius Toney.

“Browns elevated WR Kadarius Toney from their practice squad to their active roster for Sunday’s game at New Orleans and downgraded OT Jedrick Wills Jr. to out due to a knee injury,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported on Saturday.

Toney, a 2021 first-round pick of the New York Giants and two-time Super Bowl winner with the Kansas City Chiefs, signed with Cleveland in September but hasn't played for the team yet this season. After the Amari Cooper trade and David Bell going on IR, the Browns are thin at wide receiver heading into Week 11 against the Saints.

Wills, on the other hand, is just the latest Browns lineman to struggle with injuries. The team already has four O-linemen on IR (James Hudson, Hakeem Adeniji, Nick Harris, and Luke Wypler), and All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio was also on the injury report heading into this game.

This is Wills' second game missed with a knee injury, but his absence from this game may be as much based on his situation as on his leg. The 2020 No. 10 overall pick is playing on his fifth-year option and will be a free agent after this season.

After first hurting his knee, Wills told reporters he made a “business decision” not to play in the Browns' Week 8 clash with the Baltimore Ravens. After that, he said he was demoted to a backup role, so sitting out in Week 11 may be based on more than meets the eye.

The Browns and Saints kick off at 1 pm ET on Sunday in New Orleans.