Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Audric Estimé was released by the Cleveland Browns on Monday, ending a short stay on the active roster that began with a mid-October signing and included one memorable touchdown.
Estimé, the 2023 Notre Dame single-season rushing touchdown record holder, joined the Browns on Oct. 13 from the Minnesota Vikings practice squad as Cleveland dealt with injuries in its backfield.
He appeared in one game, the Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens, rushing nine times for 19 yards and scoring the game-tying 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
With other running backs returning from injury, he was later inactive before the team moved on.
For Irish fans, the move is another chapter in a professional career that has yet to match the production Estimé delivered in South Bend.
In 2023, the 5-foot-11, 227-pound back carried 210 times for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns, breaking the program single-season rushing touchdown record previously shared by Allen Pinkett (1984) and Vagas Ferguson (1979).
He finished with six 100-yard games, including a career-best 238 yards and four scores against Stanford, and earned second-team All-American honors plus Notre Dame Offensive Player of the Year recognition.
Across three seasons with the Fighting Irish (2021–23), Estimé totaled 373 carries for 2,321 yards (6.2 average) and 29 touchdowns, ranking among the program’s all-time leaders in both yards and scores despite limited early playing time behind Kyren Williams.
His power, vision between the tackles, and ability to finish runs made him one of the most productive backs of the Marcus Freeman era.
The NFL path has been far more modest. A fifth-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2024, Estimé has bounced from Denver to practice-squad or short stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Vikings, and now the Browns.
Entering the waiver, his career regular-season totals stood in the neighborhood of 130 carries for roughly 530 yards and four touchdowns.
The limited sample with Cleveland—solid enough for a depth piece but not enough to stick once the room stabilized—fits the pattern of a physical runner still seeking consistent opportunity.
At 23, Estimé remains young enough to land elsewhere if he clears waivers, potentially returning to a practice squad or joining another team in need of a power back.
Notre Dame supporters will remember the record-setting junior season and the downhill style that produced highlight-reel scores in South Bend; the Browns’ decision simply underscores how different the professional landscape has been for the former Irish standout.
