Sports

Maysonet claimed off waivers by Cleveland Browns

ROBERT O’ROURK FILE PHOTO | Stony Brook running back Miguel Maysonet, a Riverhead High graduate, rushed for 220 yards against Army this season.
ROBERT O’ROURK FILE PHOTO | Stony Brook running back Miguel Maysonet, a Riverhead High graduate, rushed for 220 yards against Army this season.

The Cleveland Browns claimed Riverhead’s Miguel Maysonet off waivers this afternoon, the team announced.

Maysonet was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles Monday morning, a move that put him through the NFL’s waiver process. The Browns opted to pick him up and waived another player, Jamaine Cook, to create a spot.

Maysonet boarded a plane for Cleveland after being informed of the pickup. He tweeted that he arrived in Cleveland just after 10 p.m. Tuesday night.

Maysonet is the sixth running back on the Cleveland roster, highlighted by former Alabama star Trent Richardson, who rushed for 11 touchdowns last season.

After a stellar career at Stony Brook University, Maysonet had high hopes of being drafted into the NFL. But the disappointment of going undrafted quickly faded when he signed with the Eagles shortly after the draft ended, and inking a $10,000 signing bonus along the way, a higher figure than most undrafted rookies receive.

Maysonet spent three days from May 10-12 at the Eagles’ rookie minicamp before returning to Stony Brook. NCAA rules prohibited him from continuing with the team’s Organized Team Activities (OTAs) that followed until Stony Brook held its graduation.

The Eagles picked up former Dallas Cowboys running back Felix Jones last week, a move that added depth to their running back spot behind LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown, who rushed for 564 yards last year.

The Browns feature four-year veteran Montario Hardesty at running back. He rushed for 271 yards and a touchdown last year. Dion Lewis, a third-year player from Pittsburgh and fourth-year player Chris Ogbonnaya would be next on the depth chart. They also featured sixth-year player Brandon Jackson from Nebraska. Jackson started 13 games in 2010 for Green Bay, rushing for 703 yards.

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