Duke Johnson has a contract

There was no announcement of a contract agreement between the Browns and running back Duke Johnson before the start of the team’s minicamp on Tuesday, but Johnson was taking part in practice which seemed to indicate that such an announcement wasn’t far off.

And it wasn’t. The Browns announced a four-year deal with Johnson on Tuesday evening, which means that the team has signed all 12 of their draft picks.

Johnson became the all-time leading rusher in the history of the University of Miami before the Browns made him a third-round pick in May. He joins Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West in the Cleveland backfield and could wind up on the top of the depth chart if he makes good on comparisons that running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery threw out for the rookie.

“The best way I can describe Duke is what Thurman Thomas was for Buffalo,” Montgomery said. “It’s going to be all over the field. It’s a ‘Where’s Waldo?’ He gives you another dimension. He creates one-on-one problems. We hope he can be a little bit like the kid, [Giovani] Bernard, in Cincinnati. If he can do that for us, that gives us a different perspective on how we approach the field and gives us a chance to move people around and taking advantage of a mismatch.”

Johnson and the Browns wrap up minicamp over the next two days and then will reconvene for training camp next month.


(profootballtalk.com)