Browns elevate WR to active roster

Cleveland adds James Proche II, who just joined the squad this week, to the roster for Sunday’s game against Arizona.

The Cleveland Browns made a minor roster transaction on Saturday with the elevation of wide receiver/kick returner James Proche II to the active roster.

It is a quick ascension for Proche as he just signed with the team’s practice squad on Tuesday in the wake of the trade that sent wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones to the Detroit Lions.

With Peoples-Jones no longer around to return punts, it would not be surprising to see Proche fill that role on Sunday. The Browns are also down a second wide receiver with David Bell already ruled out with a knee injury, so depending on how things break on offense, Proche may find himself seeing some snaps on offense as well.

The 5-foot-11 and 193-pound Proche was originally a sixth-round selection by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2020 NFL Draft. He played in 43 games for the Ravens, catching 25 passes for 278 yards. The Ravens released him at the end of training camp and he was not with another team before signing with the Browns.

Proche has seen action in the return game as he has 27 career punt returns for an average of 8.2 yards per return, and 22 career kickoff returns for an average of 11 yards per return. He only returned four kicks in total in 15 games in 2022, however, so hopefully he was able to shake off the rust this week in practice and will be prepared in called upon against the Cardinals.