The Browns announced on Tuesday that the team is signing former WR Rashard Higgins and LB Christian Kirksey to one-day contracts, as both players will retire as members of the team.
Higgins, 29, is a former fifth-round pick of the Browns back in 2016. He was entering the second year of his four-year, $2.584 million contract when the Browns elected to cut him loose at the start of the 2017 season.
Higgins was later signed to the Browns’ practice squad before eventually being promoted to their active roster during the 2017 season. Cleveland brought Higgins back on a one-year restricted deal worth $2.025 million for 2019 and re-signed him to a one-year deal in 2020.
He came back to the Browns on another one-year deal in 2021, which would be his last season with the team as he tested the open market in 2022 and found a new home with the Panthers.
In 2022, Higgins appeared in three games for the Panthers but did not record any statistics.
For his career, Higgins appeared in 85 games and caught 137 passes for 1,890 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Kirksey, 31, is a former third-round pick of the Browns back in 2014. He was in the final year of his four-year, $3.04 million contract when he agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $38 million with $20 million guaranteed.
Kirksey was set to make a base salary of $7.75 million for the 2020 season when the Browns released him in March. The Packers later signed him to a two-year, $16 million contract and he was entering the second year of his deal when Green Bay waived him with a failed physical.
The Texans signed him to a one-year deal in 2021 and re-signed him to a two-year contract entering the 2022 season. However, he was cut coming out of the preseason and landed with the Bills practice squad.
He had previously informed the Bills that he planned to retire back in September.
In 2022, Kirksey appeared in all 17 games for the Texans and recorded 124 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, a fumble recovery, two interceptions, and five pass deflections.
For his career, Kirksey appeared in 114 games for the Browns, Packers, and Texans. He recorded 778 tackles, 16.5 sacks, seven interceptions, and six fumble recoveries.
We wish Higgins and Kirksey the best in their retirement from the NFL.
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