Waiver claims can come with some interesting timing. When a team lets a player go, it gives up control over where he lands, and every so often he ends up with the very team it is about to face. That creates a storyline neither side planned for. It happened to the Browns this week.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that the Saints have claimed RB Audric Estime.
“Saints released K Daniel Carlson and have claimed RB Audric Estime off waivers from Cleveland,” Schefter wrote.
Saints released K Daniel Carlson and have claimed RB Audric Estime off waivers from Cleveland.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 3, 2026
The Browns waived Audric Estime on Monday, ending a stay of about 3 weeks. One day later, he was claimed by the New Orleans Saints, who host Cleveland on Sunday.
It is also a homecoming of sorts. Estime spent part of last season with the Saints, catching 12 of his 13 targets for 103 yards as a change-of-pace back. New Orleans clearly liked what it saw, enough to release kicker Daniel Carlson to open a roster spot.
His time in Cleveland was short but memorable. The Browns signed him off the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad in October after injuries to Quinshon Judkins and Raheim Sanders. In his debut against the Baltimore Ravens, Estime scored the 2-yard touchdown that tied the game in the 4th quarter before Andre Szmyt won it with a field goal as time expired.
Once Judkins and Dylan Sampson returned, Estime fell out of the rotation. He was inactive against the Tennessee Titans and did not get a carry in Pittsburgh, which made him the odd man out when the Browns needed roster flexibility.
The claim also ends any chance of bringing him back to Cleveland’s practice squad.
The Browns signed offensive lineman Xavier Truss, who played 7 games for the Saints last season, to their practice squad on Tuesday. Both teams now have a player who just came from the other side heading into Sunday’s game.
Estime will not bring much inside information after only a few weeks in Cleveland, though he will know some of the terminology and tendencies the Browns used. The bigger question is whether he gets enough work for that to matter. New Orleans enters the game as a 2.5-point favorite coming off its bye.
NEXT: Browns’ Practice Squad Gets A Major Shake-Up
