CLEVELAND (AP) Antonio Callaway doesn’t have to worry about running late to any more Browns games.
Cleveland cut the troubled wide receiver on Thursday just hours before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Callaway’s release came after he was benched by first-year coach Freddie Kitchens for Sunday’s game against Buffalo because he didn’t get to FirstEnergy Stadium on time. Earlier this week, Kitchens said he didn’t know if Callaway got the message with the discipline.
The Browns sent a harsher one, releasing the speedy Callaway, whose problems followed him from Florida.
The 22-year-old was suspended for the first four games this season by the NFL for violating the league’s drug policy. He caught eight passes for 89 yards in four games since his re-instatement and the Browns were holding out hope he’d mature.
That didn’t happen, so they’ve moved on.
Last year, he had 43 receptions for 586 yards and five touchdowns. Callaway talked in the preseason about putting up big numbers in 2019 and was confident he had put any off-field issues behind him.
With Callaway gone, Rashard Higgins will get more playing time. Higgins had been conspicuously absent from Cleveland’s game plan despite being a favorite target of quarterback Baker Mayfield a year ago.
Mayfield threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Higgins with 1:44 to go as the Browns beat the Bills 19-16 to end a four-game losing streak.
The Browns also activated rookie offensive lineman Drew Forbes from injured reserve. The sixth-round pick sustained a knee injury in Cleveland’s exhibition finale against Detroit.
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