BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns on Thursday signed veteran WR Earl Bennett and undrafted free agent DL Elhadji Ndiaye. General Manager Ray Farmer made the announcement.
Bennett, a 5-11, 209-pound veteran, enters his seventh NFL season out of Vanderbilt. Originally a third-round (70th overall) draft pick by Chicago, Bennett has appeared in 78 games with 29 starts all with the Bears. He has totaled 185 receptions for 2,277 yards with 12 touchdowns. In 2013, he recorded 32 receptions for 243 yards with four touchdowns in 15 games.
He finished his collegiate career as the SEC's all-time leader in receptions with 236. He logged 2,852 receiving yards with 20 touchdowns and set school records for receiving yards in a game (223), touchdown receptions in a game (five) and games with 10 or more receptions (nine). A native of Birmingham, Ala., Bennett graduated from West End High School.
Ndiaye, pronounced ee-LIE-juh JIE (rhymes with tie), joins a group of 11 undrafted free agents signed by the Browns Monday.
Born in Senegal, the 6-4, 265-pound Ndiaye attended Nebraska-Kearney, where he led the team with six sacks in 2013. He attended New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn and transferred to Nebraska-Kearney after playing basketball at Grossmont (Calif.) College. His younger brother, Dame, is a defensive lineman at Portland State.
