Former Texas Longhorns star who went undrafted after legal trouble has now officially signed with the Cleveland Browns
News surface last week former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond was planning on signing with the Cleveland Browns. Now, the NFL organization has officially announced the signing.The announcement, as reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, comes just a few days removed from a grand jury declining to indict Bond on sexual assault charges. The […]
News surface last week former Texas Longhorns wide receiver Isaiah Bond was planning on signing with the Cleveland Browns. Now, the NFL organization has officially announced the signing.
The announcement, as reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, comes just a few days removed from a grand jury declining to indict Bond on sexual assault charges. The allegations against Bond were made just before the draft and seemingly led to him being passed over for all seven rounds despite being projected by many to go very early.
While Bond avoided criminal charges, he could still face NFL discipline. The league said it is reviewing the allegations under the Personal Conduct Policy.
The Cleveland Browns have signed Isaiah Bond to quite the contract.
As Mary Kay Cabot reported, the Browns “signed Bond to a three-year deal worth a fully guaranteed $3.018 million – which is more consistent with a third-round pick than an undrafted free agent”.
Bond reportedly traveled to Cleveland with his agent, Damien Butler, to finalize the deal – dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. The expectation is Bond will be on the field Tuesday when practice resumes for the Browns.
Isaiah Bond was No. 201 on The Athletic’s Dane Brugler’s draft big board.
However, Bond turned himself in to the authorities April 10 after an arrest warrant was issued by the Frisco Police Department for sexual assault. He later filed a federal complaint against the accuser – alleging he was “pursued and preyed upon for months” by the defendant, a woman he previously met on Instagram.
In his lone season with the Longhorns, Bond caught 34 passes for 540 yards and five touchdowns. He spent his first two seasons at Alabama where he hauled in 65 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns.
The 5-foot-11, 180 pound prospect was highly-thought of coming out of Texas. He ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine and impressed scouts in attendance with his 10-yard split times and was compared to former Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.
“Fluid, fast and untapped.”
Bond played decoy for the betterment of Texas’ offense but clearly has the talent to take on a more focused, productive role. He’s a capable route-runner, has good hands and can play wide or from the slot,” Zierlein said. “An offense should feed him a heavier diet of shallow crossers, deep digs and quick-game throws, allowing him to make magic with the ball in his hands and add to their chunk play total.
“He’s tough but can struggle on combat catches and against contact-oriented coverage. Bond is an explosive athlete with above-average skill. He simply needs more targets to reach his potential,” Zierlein said. “He’s well-suited to the NFL game and could become a very good pro within his first three seasons.”
