Emergency signings rarely last long in the NFL. Teams bring in depth when injuries pile up, and those players often have only a few weeks to prove they belong before the starters get healthy. A big moment can earn a player a role, but it does not guarantee him a roster spot. One Browns running back learned that on Monday.
The Browns waived RB Audric Estime.
“We’ve waived RB Audric Estime,” Cleveland Browns wrote.
We've waived RB Audric Estime
📰 » https://t.co/fGGqFjfNWy pic.twitter.com/KrsvP4Lhz8
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 2, 2026
Estime’s stay in Cleveland lasted about 3 weeks. The Browns signed him off the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad on October 12, a day after Quinshon Judkins hurt his ankle against the New York Jets. Raheim Sanders was placed on injured reserve with a hip injury the next day, and Dylan Sampson was still recovering from a knee injury.
He made the most of his first chance. In his Browns debut against the Baltimore Ravens, Estime carried 9 times for 19 yards and scored the 2-yard touchdown with 8:33 left that tied the game at 10. Andre Szmyt won it with a 37-yard field goal as time expired, and that win moved the Browns into 1st place in the AFC North.
After that, the backfield got crowded. Judkins returned the next week against the Tennessee Titans and ran for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Sampson came back from injured reserve in the same game. Estime was inactive that day, and he did not get a carry in Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The roster math is also part of this. The Browns are carrying 4 quarterbacks after activating Dillon Gabriel from injured reserve, and every spot elsewhere has to be justified.
He should draw some interest. Estime is only 23, and the 2024 5th-round pick out of Notre Dame has 527 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns in 21 career games with the Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints and Browns, averaging 4.0 yards per carry.
The move does not solve Cleveland’s biggest problem. The Browns ran for just 34 yards in Pittsburgh, with Judkins held to 25 yards on 11 carries. Clearing a roster spot gives Andrew Berry more flexibility before the November 10 trade deadline.
For now, the backfield belongs to Judkins and Sampson as the Browns head to New Orleans as 2.5-point underdogs. If the run game stays stuck, the bigger question is whether Berry decides he needs more than the backs already on the roster.
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