The Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns play this weekend in Week 15 at State Farm Stadium. It is the first time the two teams play each other since 2015. There are plenty of connections between the two teams.
On the Cardinals roster, there are two former Browns players. The Browns have three former Cardinals on the roster. But the connections go even beyond that. The Browns have six coaches on their staff who either were coaches or players for the Cardinals in recent years.
Who are those connections?
6 coaching connections
The former Cardinals on the Cleveland coaching staff are many.
Head coach Freddie Kitchens was a Cardinals assistant for 11 years. He was tight ends coach under Ken Whisenhunt from 2007-2012. He was quarterbacks coach and later running backs coach under Bruce Arians from 2013-2017.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was head coach of the Cardinals in 2018 before being let go after one season.
Linebackers coach Al Holcomb was defensive coordinator for the Cardinals under Wilks last year. Holcomb is also the run game coordinator for the Browns.
Defensive quality control coach Alfonso Escalante held the same position in 2018 with the Cardinals.
Quarterbacks coach Ryan Lindley was drafted by the Cardinals and played for them from 2012-2014.
Running backs coach Stump Mitchell played for the Cardinals from 1981-1989 and then was running backs coach under Bruce Arians from 2013-2016.
Tight ends coach Jim Dray was drafted by the Cardinals in 2010 and played for them from 2010-2013.
P Andy Lee
Lee punted for the Browns in 2015.
K Zane Gonzalez
Gonzalez was originally drafted by the Browns in 2017. He spent all 2017 and part of 2018 on their roster.
TE Ricky Seals-Jones
Seals-Jones joined the league as an undrafted rookie in 2017 with the Cardinals. He played in 25 games and caught 46 passes in two seasons.
This year, he has played in 11 games and has caught 10 passes, scoring twice.
QB Drew Stanton
Stanton is currently on injured reserve. He has been with the Browns for two seasons and has not played a game. He spent five seasons with the Cardinals from 2013-2017 as the team’s backup quarterback. He started 13 games for Arizona, going 9-4 in them.
CB Tavierre Thomas
Thomas was an undrafted rookie with the Cardinals last year. He returns kicks for the Browns, averaging 20.6 yards per return.
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