Browns to Sign OT Hakeem Adeniji, Per Report
Hakeem Adeniji, a free agency offensive lineman, and the Cleveland Browns have reached an agreement, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
The Cleveland Browns and free agent offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji have reached an agreement to sign Adeniji to a one-year contract, according to a report from Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
After spending a season with the Minnesota Vikings, Adeniji joins the Browns. He was originally drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. At the University of Kansas, he was an offensive tackle who was particularly skilled at producing explosive force. Although he was 6’4″ 3/8″ and 300 pounds, he had a decent 40, but not a fantastic one. It made logical for him to be moved inside to guard after he demonstrated poor agility at Pro Day.
Due to injuries sustained in a trial by fire, the Bengals required Adeniji to fill in at both tackle places. It made sense that he had difficulty. He played 555 snaps at right guard in his second season, but his performance wasn’t much better. He played some right tackle in his final season with the Bengals. He signed a free agent contract with the Vikings after failing to establish himself with the Bengals.
This past season, Adeniji was not used by the Vikings in any snap counts. Additionally, there is a chance that this was precisely what he needed. That might have given him the freedom to concentrate solely on growing and getting better at his job. The 26-year-old offensive guard may be of interest to the Browns for that reason.
In her report, Cabot lists him as a tackle. It’s unclear if the Browns plan to use him as a guard or if they just want him to work there. An additional reason to consider him is that he has experience playing three different positions. It is important to have depth that can cover several roles. To get Adeniji to the point where he’s competent enough to merit that job, he must work with the Browns coaching staff. It appears that the Browns offense is leaning toward a strong gap approach, and Adeniji might work well in that configuration.
With so many players returning from injury in the coming months, the Browns will need bodies to work with. It’s likely that during minicamps, guys like Jack Conklin will concentrate only on regaining health. A guy like Adeniji might then have more opportunities to receive repetitions and be assessed.
In the next draft, the offensive line is probably still something the Browns are considering. But Adeniji gets a chance to show the Browns and this new offensive coaching staff how valuable he is in what is probably a flyer type contract.
Leave a Reply