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The Browns will waive free safety Eric Hagg today, a league source confirmed for the Beacon Journal.
Adam Caplan of TheSidelineView.com first reported the news.
Hagg, a seventh-round draft pick in 2011, started the first two games of the 2012 season before he was demoted. He later started the final two games of the season after T.J. Ward, Tashaun Gipson and Usama Young suffered injuries.
This offseason, the Browns have inserted Gipson into the top slot on their depth chart at free safety. T.J. Ward is locked in as the starting strong safety.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Hagg started four of the 12 games in which he appeared last season and tallied 22 tackles and a pass defensed. As a rookie in 2011, he played 10 games and compiled 10 tackles, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery.
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I am not savvy enough to know if he played well or not, if he'll be missed or not. The fact that he got benched in favor of Usama Young speaks volumes, though. I'm pretty sure a hat rack with an umbrella on it was better than Usama Young.
Interesting.... I wonder what he did wrong?
It seems awfully premature to release a player based on performance... unless he is just REALLY terrible compared to the others.
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Interesting.... I wonder what he did wrong?
It seems awfully premature to release a player based on performance... unless he is just REALLY terrible compared to the others.
Again, he was benched in favor of USAMA YOUNG.
Hey, we got 2 years out of a 7th round draft pick, who will be claimed by somebody...Not bad...most 7th rounders are cut after mini-Camp...I actulaly liked the kid but when your a 7th rounder, sometimes it's all about numbers....
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Hey, we got 2 years out of a 7th round draft pick, who will be claimed by somebody...Not bad...most 7th rounders are cut after mini-Camp...I actulaly liked the kid but when your a 7th rounder, sometimes it's all about numbers....
+1
He lacks the athleticism that Bademosi and Gipson have, not to mention he was very poor with his first read/jump to the ball. Combine those two things and it doesn't bode well for someone trying to make it as a safety.
They are probably cutting him now so he has a chance to catch on with another team before camp.
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They are probably cutting him now so he has a chance to catch on with another team before camp.
Cleveland Browns to release safety Eric Hagg; have signed rookie tryout LB Tommy Smith
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Browns will release backup safety Eric Hagg today, a league source confirmed.
Adam Caplan of Sirius XM radio first reported the news.
Hagg, the Browns' seventh-round pick in 2011 out of Nebraska, started the first two games of 2012 at free safety before being benched. He was inactive the next two games and played sparingly until the end of the year when he started two more games because of injuries, one at free safety and one at strong safety.
Hagg finished the season with 22 tackles and one pass broken up. Second-year safety Tashaun Gipson is the frontrunner at free safety, and the Browns drafted Jamoris Slaughter out of Notre Dame in the sixth round.
SMITH SIGNED
The Browns have signed former Boise State linebacker Tommy Smith as a rookie free agent, according to his representatives at KLASS Sports.
Smith participated in Browns rookie camp on a tryout basis. He'll compete at inside linebacker, but he also has the ability to play fullback.
Smith made 61 tackles in 13 games for Boise State last season.
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2013/05/cleveland_browns_to_release_sa.html
had to make room.
Ok, there's the reason... bottom of the roster and making room for another signing.
Cya Hagg. G'luck to you.
Just the new guys cleaning out some players the old guys brought in.... happens every time there's a change in direction. We are growing ever thinner at safety.....But since pass rush is the only goal, the secondary doesn't matter much....
I like the idea of this kid being able to play fullback, too. I know they had some fluff about Marecic earlier in the week, but I am definitely not sold on him. Is Smelley still around?
He has AWFUL feet!
Smelly too.
Every time you guys talk about feet, I have horrible flashbacks to that announcer gushing over Jamal Lewis.
Was it Paul McGuire? I can remember the guy's ranting and raving over them, just can't put the name to his voice.
I think that it's obvious that the front office and coaches like Gipson and Bademosi a lot more than they liked Hagg. (and I would agree with that assessment) Hagg seemed like a hard working kid, but he just didn't have the ability to be more than a special teams guy.
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He has AWFUL feet!
Smelly too.
Smelly has bad feet?
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Just the new guys cleaning out some players the old guys brought in.... happens every time there's a change in direction. We are growing ever thinner at safety.....But since pass rush is the only goal, the secondary doesn't matter much....
This may be true to some extent, but Hagg wasn't much. A seventh rounder to was able to make the team is surprising enough. No loss that he is gone.
Looking at the glass half full I think this shows the expectations the Browns have for Gipson/ Bademosi. Not sure which one got more time there or who their targeting but I think Hagg was out of the picture from the beginning and only saw playing time last year because of injuries/underperformance of Usama Young.
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Just the new guys cleaning out some players the old guys brought in.... happens every time there's a change in direction. We are growing ever thinner at safety.....But since pass rush is the only goal, the secondary doesn't matter much....
This may be true to some extent, but Hagg wasn't much. A seventh rounder to was able to make the team is surprising enough. No loss that he is gone.
not surprising at all. not with nutcase heckert with control. 
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not surprising at all. not with nutcase heckert with control.
Banner is GONE??? 
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Just the new guys cleaning out some players the old guys brought in.... happens every time there's a change in direction. We are growing ever thinner at safety.....But since pass rush is the only goal, the secondary doesn't matter much....
This may be true to some extent, but Hagg wasn't much. A seventh rounder to was able to make the team is surprising enough. No loss that he is gone.
not surprising at all. not with nutcase heckert with control.
Your "nutcase" thing is rather stupid and I hate being the first one here to acknowledge any post of yours when you use that term. It's too bad you won't recognize we had a GM that built a solid foundation of talent coupled with great cap availability. The best foundation this team has seen since '99. Like any GM, they certainly aren't flawless but you simply have an uneducated hate for no reason other than to argue with people that like what he did. You post this "nutcase" thing simply for shock value and nothing more.....Fail. You remind me of someone...
No problems here. Looks like Bademosi showed up better at free safety than Hagg thus far in OTA's...
Hagg was a horrible safety. Switching between him and Usama yielded minimal difference, they both sucked at the position.
See ya Hagg, sorry to say I won't miss ya...
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No problems here. Looks like Bademosi showed up better at free safety than Hagg thus far in OTA's...
Hagg was a horrible safety. Switching between him and Usama yielded minimal difference, they both sucked at the position.
See ya Hagg, sorry to say I won't miss ya...
One doesn't normally miss 7th rounders..... 
ok. was wonder about the SS thing.
Who are they going to get to replace him? Charles Woodson?
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Just the new guys cleaning out some players the old guys brought in.... happens every time there's a change in direction. We are growing ever thinner at safety.....But since pass rush is the only goal, the secondary doesn't matter much....
This may be true to some extent, but Hagg wasn't much. A seventh rounder to was able to make the team is surprising enough. No loss that he is gone.
not surprising at all. not with nutcase heckert with control.
Your "nutcase" thing is rather stupid and I hate being the first one here to acknowledge any post of yours when you use that term. It's too bad you won't recognize we had a GM that built a solid foundation of talent coupled with great cap availability. The best foundation this team has seen since '99. Like any GM, they certainly aren't flawless but you simply have an uneducated hate for no reason other than to argue with people that like what he did. You post this "nutcase" thing simply for shock value and nothing more.....Fail. You remind me of someone...
+1 
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Ok, there's the reason... bottom of the roster and making room for another signing.
Cya Hagg. G'luck to you.
I agree. I think the team sees it's players at safety and Hagg wasn't going to fit. A few OTA's combined with game tape told them that. So you might as well bring in a player who might make the team, be it a long shot. A long shot is better to have over a no shot. JMO
Plus, the guy is said to be able to play fullback. That should excite some people.
As far as Hagg goes, if you are going to get released, this is a good time. It gives him and his agent time to try to find a new landing spot early enough to have a legit shot.
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Just the new guys cleaning out some players the old guys brought in.... happens every time there's a change in direction. We are growing ever thinner at safety.....But since pass rush is the only goal, the secondary doesn't matter much....
This may be true to some extent, but Hagg wasn't much. A seventh rounder to was able to make the team is surprising enough. No loss that he is gone.
not surprising at all. not with nutcase heckert with control.
Your "nutcase" thing is rather stupid and I hate being the first one here to acknowledge any post of yours when you use that term. It's too bad you won't recognize we had a GM that built a solid foundation of talent coupled with great cap availability. The best foundation this team has seen since '99. Like any GM, they certainly aren't flawless but you simply have an uneducated hate for no reason other than to argue with people that like what he did. You post this "nutcase" thing simply for shock value and nothing more.....Fail. You remind me of someone...
+1
no just a control freak telling the coaching staff who to play. just like the nutcase trying to jam hagg into a starter in the first 2 games. just like he try to make marcy int a fullback for a year and a half.
if he would have just stuck with the draft he would probley still be here. the nutcase. 
None of what you've said even remotely indicates anything that would warrant the term 'nutcase'.
You think he's a 'nutcase' because he wanted or had roster control?
And what leads you to believe that Shurmur would have done any better in that regard, anyway?
Greco was a guy shumer wanted. I saw him play better guard than either lava or pink.
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Just the new guys cleaning out some players the old guys brought in.... happens every time there's a change in direction. We are growing ever thinner at safety.....But since pass rush is the only goal, the secondary doesn't matter much....
This may be true to some extent, but Hagg wasn't much. A seventh rounder to was able to make the team is surprising enough. No loss that he is gone.
not surprising at all. not with nutcase heckert with control.
Your "nutcase" thing is rather stupid and I hate being the first one here to acknowledge any post of yours when you use that term. It's too bad you won't recognize we had a GM that built a solid foundation of talent coupled with great cap availability. The best foundation this team has seen since '99. Like any GM, they certainly aren't flawless but you simply have an uneducated hate for no reason other than to argue with people that like what he did. You post this "nutcase" thing simply for shock value and nothing more.....Fail. You remind me of someone...
+1
no just a control freak telling the coaching staff who to play. just like the nutcase trying to jam hagg into a starter in the first 2 games. just like he try to make marcy int a fullback for a year and a half.
if he would have just stuck with the draft he would probley still be here. the nutcase.
I'd like for you to go and investigate how many GMs have control of the roster... and in recent years, how many GMs (or related positions) won't take a job unless they have that control. I'll save you the trouble, it's the majority. Is there consultation with coaches, other personnel people, etc? Of course. And there was with Shurmur (good or bad), so please don't come at this debate like Heckert sat on a throne and disregarded the opinion of others. That's laughable. If anything, you have a better argument of saying that about Holmgren. And to say he told the coaching staff who to start on Sundays is even more laughable....and unsubstantiated I might add. You are grabbing at straws. If you want to attempt to bash Heckert as the worst GM ever, go ahead and start a thread about it.
Hagg is gone. Next....
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Greco was a guy shumer wanted. I saw him play better guard than either lava or pink.
Wait, Greco was a Shurmur guy?
I thought Heckert was a control freak that told the coaching staff who to play? How did Shurmur convince the nutcase control freak both to execute a trade for and then play his guy?
I mean, how could one reason with or convince a nutcase control freak like that?
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Greco was a guy shumer wanted. I saw him play better guard than either lava or pink.
Wait, Greco was a Shurmur guy?
I thought Heckert was a control freak that told the coaching staff who to play? How did Shurmur convince the nutcase control freak both to execute a trade for and then play his guy?
I mean, how could one reason with or convince a nutcase control freak like that?
one of the few tokens to the coaching staff. notice heckert would not let him start unless injury even though he is better?
I might say that Greco is one of the only positive things Shurmur did for this franchise. I can't think of too many more positives.
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I might say that Greco is one of the only positive things Shurmur did for this franchise. I can't think of too many more positives.
But that's not what pblack is saying. He says Heckert has final say on everything, including a guard only Shurmur worked with. It's not a Heckert guy...wait, what?
was never impressed with him.. his demeanor always reminded me of Brodney Pool.. played the game with no emotion.
I just thought his athleticism wasn't anywhere near Gipson or Bademosi. He never seemed to "flash" or do anything noteworthy.
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I might say that Greco is one of the only positive things Shurmur did for this franchise. I can't think of too many more positives.
But that's not what pblack is saying. He says Heckert has final say on everything, including a guard only Shurmur worked with. It's not a Heckert guy...wait, what?
when you gut a roster like nutcase did the only people left are what? just that nutcase made sure his draftpicks had the playing time no matter what. talent or earning the position did not matter.
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I might say that Greco is one of the only positive things Shurmur did for this franchise. I can't think of too many more positives.
But that's not what pblack is saying. He says Heckert has final say on everything, including a guard only Shurmur worked with. It's not a Heckert guy...wait, what?
when you gut a roster like nutcase did the only people left are what? just that nutcase made sure his draftpicks had the playing time no matter what. talent or earning the position did not matter.
Yeah, I'd prefer most of the talent before Heckert came here. 
Yikes...
They (not just Heckert) gutted a roster of past their prime jets and over jealous special teamers. If you want that, fine. Not me. I'll take the talent and approached Heckert developed over the past three years.
Also, I'll take the FA signings of this current regime. I think they did a good job, but like any defensive/offensive change there are unknowns.
Finally, let me get your take on this....which is better? A seventh rounder that is cut in year two or an UDFA taken over the 7th rounder considered to be a possible starter in year two?....both signed by Heckert.
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I might say that Greco is one of the only positive things Shurmur did for this franchise. I can't think of too many more positives.
Gawd it sucks that I'm ageeing to this. First off, I believe that Greco was a conditional pick from the Rams that we never had to pay up for him bc he never started a game in 2011.
I actually think we kinda fleeced the Rams. Greco can play multiple spots albeit he aint a Pro Bowler.
Exaggerated Shurmy's contributions and success at the same time. Thanks to Hagg for the real work he did and I wish him luck. This is agood time to move on for him and for us. Our shopping continues apparently.
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Thanks to Hagg for the real work he did and I wish him luck. This is agood time to move on for him and for us. Our shopping continues apparently.
I for one, am happy the FO is still searching.
Better than drafting your guys and ONLY running with them.
We might get a hidden gem. Shows the coaching staff has a plan, and are gonna keep going till they get what they want.
Big men that can run, little men that can hit... wasn't that what Horton said,, perhaps they don't feel he can hit? At least not as well as others on the roster.
If that's what they think, then it's good they let him go now, he's got time to hook up with another team.
j/c
I don't know why this is even being debated.
HE GOT BENCHED IN FAVOR OF USAMA YOUNG! That's like being a basketball player and getting benched in favor of me.
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I might say that Greco is one of the only positive things Shurmur did for this franchise. I can't think of too many more positives.
But that's not what pblack is saying. He says Heckert has final say on everything, including a guard only Shurmur worked with. It's not a Heckert guy...wait, what?
when you gut a roster like nutcase did the only people left are what? just that nutcase made sure his draftpicks had the playing time no matter what. talent or earning the position did not matter.
GUT a roster? Gut the roster of WHAT exactly? The oldest and slowest players in team HISTORY? When Heckert arrived we had NOTHING. Well, we had ONE thing. Joe Thomas. Otherwise this roster was in DIRE shape. We were coming off the worst draft in decades and were one of the oldest teams in the league. We had very little cap room to work with. In three years time, he turned us into one of the youngest teams in the league with huge amounts of cap space. He tied up Joe Thomas long term. He drafted linemen in every draft on both sides of the ball, something Browns fans had been carping about for DECADES. He didn't spend like a nutcase on washed up free agents. He rebuilt the entire scouting department. And ended years of horrible drafts. Sure, he made mistakes. Every GM does. Oªzy isn't infallible. However, Tom Heckert was the best GM this team has had in several decades. Since LONG before the move. He was the antithesis of a nutcase.
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Interesting.... I wonder what he did wrong?
It seems awfully premature to release a player based on performance... unless he is just REALLY terrible compared to the others.
Didn't get past your post as it was pretty much exactly what I was thinking after reading the Thread's opening post.
He looked out of place as a starter early last year...but when he got some reps at the end of the season he looked liked a different player.
So instantly I'm thinking he must failed some drug test or something - I believe Strike One is not announced and there is no suspension??? At least with old CBA.
But it is very unusual to not let him compete for the roster spot n then cut him on TURK day if his play wasn't what we want.
To me this had to do with one or a combo of the following:
He came into OTA's completely OUT OF SHAPE.
He failed a drug test n the team was notified. Bubble guys don't get 2nd chances.
We have a good repoire with his AGENT n as a favor is letting him hook up with another team as its easier to get a job on a 80+ man roster n win a spot on the 53???
This is his final contract year n his Agent was making some dumb demands for a new contract and we said - 
Goodbye!
JMHO but very unusual timing at a position we are not OVER LOADED on as the Press release sort of suggests.
what I'm reading is that Gipson is the front runner and Bademosi a swing fs/cb
With Slaughter in the mix a numbers game as previously mentioned.
Notice that X Rhodes is not being pursued!
FO seems to really like Gipson
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what I'm reading is that Gipson is the front runner and Bademosi a swing fs/cb
With Slaughter in the mix a numbers game as previously mentioned.
Notice that X Rhodes is not being pursued!
FO seems to really like Gipson
I'm curious which S in the mix would backp Ward.
In a Horton defense (whatever that may mean) is the FS v SS interchangeable-enough where a player like Bademosi is viewed as the backup SS and not just a swing CB/S...or can Slaughter simply play as a SS?
Perhaps Slaughter backs up Gipson...Bademosi effectively backs up all the DBs including Ward...and Skrine plays a little FS in a pinch/scheme?
There are a ton of DBs currently on the roster that I've never even heard of...could we go with Ward, Bademosi, Gipson, Slaughter with a little Skrine in the mix? Seems reasonable to me.
Hagg no business being on the field last year much less starting.
That just goes to show you the coaches had no clue as far as putting the best players on the field and it goes to show last years front office had no intent to win.
They wanted to lose... that's gotta be it.
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That just goes to show you the coaches had no clue as far as putting the best players on the field and it goes to show last years front office had no intent to win.
If they had no clue as far as putting the best players on the field, how would they know how to properly sabotage things to fulfill their intent to not win?
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and it goes to show last years front office had no intent to win.
So, you're saying then that they were successful.
Just ignore that crap, bro. It's as stupid as the crap mac posts. Fueled by hate w/no facts to support it.
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Hagg no business being on the field last year much less starting.
That just goes to show you the coaches had no clue as far as putting the best players on the field and it goes to show last years front office had no intent to win.
I definitely agree with the first sentence , in that Hagg really struggled on the field last year. He was awful starting the year. Unfortunately, Young was just as bad. Who do you think that coaches should have put on the field at FS? Gipson? They tried him till he got hurt. Those were our 3 FS candidates last year. They looked at Bademosi (who was my choice to get work at FS) as a CB last year. We really didn't have much in the way of options, and it's hard to just manufacture guys at FS. It really has become a position that has become devalued in many college programs because of so many teams facing so many spread offenses, and using an extra CB instead of a traditional FS as their base.
Anyway, who would you have put in at FS last year?
