Browns place Derrick Willies on reserve/retired list

Wide receiver’s moment in the sun came in overtime win over Baltimore in 2018.

The Cleveland Browns placed wide receiver Derrick Willies on the reserve/retired list on Friday.

The news came out shortly after the end of training camp and was reported by several of the team’s beat writers.

Willies originally joined the Browns in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech. The high point of his NFL career came that season in Week 5, when his 39-yard catch-and-run helped set up the game-winning field goal in the Browns overtime win against the Baltimore Ravens.

Unfortunately for Willies, he broke his collarbone the following week in practice and landed on injured reserve.

Willies gained some attention during training camp in 2019 after spending time working with the starters on offense, but he was released during the roster cutdown that year and signed to the practice squad.

He spent the last few weeks of the 2020 season on Cleveland’s practice squad, and was activated for the Week 16 game against the New York Jets after the Browns lost their starting wide receiver unit for the game due to COVID-19.

Willies was on the field for three plays against the Jets, but did not record a stat.

He finishes his time in Cleveland having played in six games, catching three passes for 61 yards.