Running back Duke Johnson has reached agreement with the Browns on a three-year
Deion Sanders Jersey , $15.6 million contract extension.Johnson was Cleveland’s top playmaker last season when the club went 0-16. The 2015 third-round draft pick from Miami led the Browns with 74 catches and
693 yards receiving. He also rushed for 348 yards and scored four
touchdowns.
The tough 5-foot-9, 210-pounder has at least 500 yards receiving in each of his first three seasons, joining Herschel Walker as the only players to do
so.
The deal includes $7.7 million guaranteed and a $5 million signing bonus.
”I’m excited,” Johnson said. ”It’s fun to see how this team is shaping out and I want to be a part of it. You can see it with the guys they brought in on
offense like Tyrod (Taylor) and (Jarvis) Landry plus the guys we already had. I
think bringing in coach (Todd) Haley adds another dimension to our offense and
it gives coach (Hue) Jackson the chance to be the head coach.(General manager)
John Dorsey has been bringing in guys that can play, that can ball, and that
gives us a chance. Now it’s about going out and doing it now.”
Among the league’s backs since 2015, Johnson is first with 6.3 yards per touch from scrimmage, 1,741 yards receiving
Authentic Ronnie Harrison Jersey , and 188 catches.
”Duke Johnson is a good football player,” Dorsey said. ”His hard work and commitment to the Browns organization is appreciated and we are excited to
extend his contract and keep him in a Browns uniform for years to come. Duke is
an excellent representative our organization. He leads by example and we look
forward to him playing an important role with the Cleveland Browns moving
forward.”
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Eric Fehr and Marcus Sorensen spent most of the season toiling in the AHL, just waiting for their chance.
That opportunity has arrived in the playoffs for San Jose and those two fourth-line forwards are a major reason why the Sharks swept Anaheim to advance
to a second-round series against Vegas.
Fehr scored one goal while anchoring the fourth line and Sorensen had three as San Jose’s bottom group of forwards that also includes Melker Karlsson
matched the scoring output of the entire Anaheim team in the series.
”It’s awesome to see,” top-line forward Evander Kane said. ”It really gives a big spark to our group when you see those guys go out there and play in the
offensive zone, create scoring chances and score goals. That really adds to our
group. It takes pressure off us as top players to know all four lines can
score.”
The deadline addition of Kane provided the Sharks a major spark down the stretch but a lower-profile deal a week earlier for Fehr was also key to San
Jose’s success.
Fehr stepped right in as San Jose’s fourth-line center, giving coach Peter DeBoer the confidence to roll four lines and keep his top players fresh. It was
a surprising development since Fehr’s career looked to be nearing its end after
12 seasons when he cleared waivers for Toronto back in November and got loaned
to Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego.
He remained there hoping to return to the playoffs where he helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup against the Sharks two years ago. His opportunity came when
the Sharks dealt a 2020 seventh-round pick for him.
”That’s what kept me playing, the chance to come in here and play some playoff hockey,” he said. ”That’s the best time of the year. This is what you
play for.”
While Fehr is on the back end of his career, Sorensen should be ascending. He was expected to make the team out of training camp after playing well in the
postseason last year against Edmonton.
But Sorensen was beaten out by Barclay Goodrow and spent most of the season in the minors or as a healthy scratch before playing the final five games of the
regular season after Goodrow broke a finger.
Sorensen showed enough there for DeBoer to have confidence to use him in the playoffs and the move paid off with him scoring goals in the final three games
of the sweep.
”I think he’s a player who enjoys playing at this time of the year
Redskins Game Jerseys ,” teammate Logan Couture said. ”He plays a hard game but this is probably the best hockey I’ve seen him play, at least the NHL level
because he’s making a difference every shift.”
The Sharks aren’t alone in getting key contributions from fourth liners, whether it’s two goals from Colorado’s Gabriel Bourque, a key empty-net goal
from Nashville’s Ryan Hartman, strong overall play from Washington fourth-line
center Jay Beagle, or Boston’s Sean Kuraly chipping in with a goal and two
assists.
After missing the opener with an upper-body injury, Beagle scored a goal in Game 2 against Columbus and has won 71 percent of his faceoffs in his three
games in the series after Washington lost nine of 10 defensive-zone draws late
in a Game 1 loss.
”Especially this time of year, Beags is an all-in guy, a true pro
Jordan Whitehead Jersey Elite , a buy that will give up his body to make a difference,” coach Barry Trotz said. ”For me, it’s a mentality. There’s other
guys that can probably kill (penalties) as well as Jay, but he pulls people in
the fight. And when it comes to the penalty kill unit, he has a lot of pride,
and he’ll pull the other guys in.”
The Wild got no goals or assists from some of their most skilled forwards, Jason Zucker, Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle, one reason they lost to
Winnipeg in five games.. But their fourth line was a valuable asset
Roquan Smith Jersey , providing more than just a couple of token checks before retreating to the bench. Daniel Winnik (one assist), Joel Eriksson Ek
(one assist) and Marcus Foligno (one goal) gave the Wild plenty of productive
shifts against the Jets.
”It’s a really tough job for a big man to sit on the bench and come out with a lot of energy,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”Every big guy that I’ve had has
always said, `I’ve got to get into it. I’ve got to get into it. I can’t
sit.”’
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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell and Teresa Walker contributed to this report.
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