The Cleveland Browns added veteran cornerback Mekhi Blackmon this week claiming the former Indianapolis Colts starter off waivers one day after Indianapolis released him.

Cleveland waived wide receiver Cedric Tillman to clear a roster spot. The claim was set to become official Friday because the Browns were scheduled to play their preseason finale Thursday night.

Blackmon, 27, is a 5-foot-11, 178-pound corner in his fourth NFL season. Minnesota selected him in the third round (102nd overall) of the 2023 draft out of USC after he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2022.

He appeared in 15 games with three starts as a rookie, recording 41 tackles, eight passes defensed, one interception and a fumble recovery. A torn ACL on the first day of 2024 training camp wiped out his entire second season.

The Vikings traded him to Indianapolis late in the 2025 preseason for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Injuries at corner forced Blackmon into a larger role than expected.

He played all 17 games and started 11, logging 783 defensive snaps — the most among Colts corners — and finishing with 64 tackles, seven pass breakups, two interceptions and a sack. Career totals through two active seasons: 32 games, 14 starts, 105 tackles, 15 passes defensed, three interceptions and one sack.

Indianapolis waived him after a rough preseason stretch. Reports cited struggles in joint practices against New England and Atlanta, plus seven catches allowed and four pass-interference flags in exhibition games.

The Colts replaced him with an undrafted rookie. Cleveland is betting the tape from last season, not August, is the better indicator.

Blackmon will not threaten starters Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell if they stay healthy. He is primarily a boundary corner with some slot experience (69 snaps there last year) and should compete for backup snaps and special-teams work behind an unsettled group that has included D’Angelo Ross and Myles Harden.

He still has one year remaining on his original four-year rookie deal.

The move fits a familiar Browns pattern of adding experienced depth on the waiver wire as they finalize the 53-man roster.

Tillman’s release reflects a crowded receiver room after Cleveland used early 2026 draft capital on the position.

Blackmon now has a chance to stick in his third NFL city and show that last year’s production, not this summer’s slump, is who he is.