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Brandon Jackson and the Browns' running game never mustered much positive yardage in Thursday's victory over the Bears, and has been cut, according to a report.

(John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND -- When the preseason began, the Browns were loaded at tailback with Trent Richardson, Montario Hardesty, Dion Lewis and Brandon Jackson.

Now, Richardson is the last man standing and the Browns are going back to the drawing board for a backup, claiming two young running backs on waivers Sunday, including one from the Ravens.

Jackson, a seventh-year pro who was re-signed to a one-year deal in the offseason, was cut by the Browns Sunday along with five other players in the second wave of final roster decisions.

When Hardesty (knee) and Lewis (broken leg) were placed on injured reserve for the season, Jackson blew a prime opportunity to seize the moment, rushing for only 43 yards on his 28 carries for a 1.5-yard average. Against the Bears, he managed a meager five yards on five carries.

The Browns still have Chris Ogbonnaya if Richardson needs a blow, but Ogbonnaya will focus more on fullback now with Owen Marecic gone.

The other players let go Sunday were tight ends Kellen Davis and Brad Smelley, second-year linebacker L.J. Fort, and offensive linemen Jarrod Shaw and Caylin Hauptmann. All were waived except for Davis and Jackson, whose contracts were terminated.

The Browns then looked to the waiver wire to restock some of those positions -- adding five undrafted rookies from the 2013 class and one from the 2012 class. They now have nine undrafted rookies from 2013 and four from 2012 on their 53-man roster.

The Browns were awarded the following six players on Sunday: tight ends MarQueis Gray from the 49ers and Keavon Milton from the Saints; running backs Dennis Johnson from the Texans and Bobby Rainey from the Ravens; center Patrick Lewis from the Packers and linebacker Brandon Magee from the Cowboys.

Absent from the list is a kicker, but the club will most likely have some in early this week for tryouts. Among those available are Dan Carpenter, Billy Cundiff and Havard "Kickalicious" Rugland of Norway.

"Again, our roster is fluid right now," coach Rob Chudzinski said in a release. "We still need to address our kicker position, so we’re not done. We’re a young and hungry team with some solid veteran leaders. I like the foundation we have in place as we enter the season. I’m excited to see what we can do.”

Davis (6-7, 265) was signed as a free agent from Chicago in the offseason, but failed to show much in preseason. The Browns now have only two veteran tight ends on the roster in Jordan Cameron and Gary Barnidge. Fort was an undrafted rookie out of Northern Iowa in 2012 who played in 15 games last season and started one, but the Browns were more intrigued by Magee.

Smelley, the Browns' seventh-round pick out of Alabama last season, had the versality to play tight end and fullback, but became expendable when the Browns spotted Gray and Milton on the waiver wire. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, at least six teams put in claims on Gray.

Smelley became the fourth member of the 2012 draft class cut since Tuesday, including fourth-rounder James-Michael Johnson, fifth-rounder Ryan Miller, and seventh-rounder Trevin Wade.

A look at the newcomers:

* Rainey (5-8, 212), signed by the Ravens as an undrafted rookie last year out of Western Kentucky, spent the first five weeks on the Ravens’ practice squad before moving up to the active roster. He was inactive for three games and placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Nov. 13. This preseason, he led the Ravens with 89 yards rushing on 23 carries with two touchdowns, while adding three receptions for 17 yards. The Ravens hoped to sneak Rainey through waivers and onto their practice squad.

* Johnson (5-7, 193) was signed by the Texans as an undrafted rookie out of Arkansas on May 10. In the preseason, he rushed 33 times for 129 yards (3.9 avg.) with one touchdown, adding five receptions for 31 yards (6.2 avg.). At Arkansas, he rushed for 2,036 yards on 345 carries (5.9 avg.) and scored 20 touchdowns (13 rushing, four receiving and three kickoff returns).

"I like the depth we've been able to add at running back," Chudzinski said. "Both Johnson and Rainey have been productive runners. They also give us some options as a kickoff returner. We'll look at that in the next few days."

* Gray (6-4, 250) was signed by the 49ers as an undrafted rookie out of Minnesota, where he started a combined 26 games at quarterback and receiver. He passed for 2,053 yards and 14 TDs, rushed for 1,731 yards and 12 TDs, and added 766 yards receiving with six TDs. Most NFL teams view him as a tight end, but he's versatile.

* Milton (6-4, 293) was originally signed by New Orleans on May 10 as an undrafted tight end out of Louisiana-Monroe. He appeared in all four of the Saints' preseason contests and recorded one reception for 10 yards. In college, he appeared in 45 games and totaled 220 receiving yards on 25 receptions with four touchdowns.

"Gray has experience as a quarterback and wide receiver," Chudzinski said, "so he’s a heck of an athlete. Milton gives us a guy with good blocking ability and hands."

* Lewis (6-1, 311) signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent May 10 out of Texas A&M. He started at guard his first two seasons and was switched to center, where he earned All-Big 12 honorable-mention accolades as a junior and bolstered an Aggie offense that finished third nationally in both total offense and scoring in 2012.

"Lewis can play both guard and center, so I like the versatility there on the interior of our offensive line," Chudzinski said.

* Magee (5-11, 225) was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted rookie out of Arizona State and recorded 16 tackles in two preseason games. But he suffered a concussion Aug. 19 and sat out the final two exhibition games. The Cowboys thought so much of him when they signed him that they gave him $70,000 guaranteed, rare for an undrafted rookie. In college, he appeared in 44 games and recorded 231 tackles. Also an outfielder, he helped the Sun Devils advance to the College World Series twice and was selected in the MLB draft three times.

"Magee is just a tough, old-school linebacker with good instincts," Chudzinski said. "I believe he can help us."

The new players will be on the field Monday when the Browns begin preparing for Sunday's opener against the Dolphins.

In other Browns news:

* Johnson, cut Saturday, was claimed by Kansas City.

* Offensive lineman Braxston Cave was picked up by New England.

* The Browns signed former Mount Union receiver Jasper Collins to their practice squad, according to his Twitter account.