Former Chiefs cornerback Phillip Gaines finds new home with Cleveland Browns

The wait for new employment wasn’t too long for Phillip Gaines who was claimed by the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday after his Tuesday release.

Phillip Gaines didn’t have to wait long (or move too far) to find his newest home in the National Football League. One day after being released by the Buffalo Bills, Gaines will now head just a bit south and west to his new home with the Cleveland Browns.

Gaines was claimed by the Browns on waivers on Wednesday along with safety Jermaine Whitehead by general manager John Dorsey as part of a bit of rehab work on the team’s ailing secondary. Just days after playing the Kansas City Chiefs, the Browns were trying to make do with a number of injuries, short- and long-term, including the loss of E.J. Gaines, cornerback, for the rest of the season.

Gaines came into the NFL with the Chiefs back in 2014 as the team’s third round pick in the draft out of Rice. From there, Gaines dealt with inconsistency and injuries and left via free agency after his rookie deal ran out last winter. The Bills came calling in free agency and signed Gaines to a one-year deal after, interestingly enough, E.J. Gaines left Buffalo for Cleveland—all in a bit of cornerback musical chairs.

The Browns are patching holes after losing Gaines for the year as well as linebacker Christian Kirksey. In the secondary, they’ve already lost Terrance Mitchell for the year (another former Chiefs corner) and played K.C. on Sunday without Damarious Randall. Then during the game, Denzel Ward, the team’s pick at No. 4 overall in the draft, came up injured and didn’t return. Dorsey, who is familiar with Gaines from his tenure in K.C., simply needs bodies at this point to compete until others can return.

Gaines had 30 tackles, including one for a loss, in seven games for the Bills so far this season.