Mountaineers in the Pros
Cleveland Browns Bring Back Former Mountaineer Long Snapper
A month after being waived, former West Virginia Mountaineer Rex Sunahara is back with the Cleveland Browns. An injury to Charley Hughlett has now opened up an opportunity for Sunaharra to return to the Browns as their long snapper, according to Pro Football Talk among other outlets.
The Browns initially signed Sunahara on Aug. 8 before eventually releasing him after their final preseason game. Before his short stint with the Browns, Sunahara played in the UFL after spending time on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad last season.
The 6-foot-6, 242-pound Sunahara was a basketball player at Rhode Island before transferring to West Virginia to become a long snapper. He was the team’s primary long snapper in 2018 and 2019.
After that season, he was a semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award and participated in the 2020 NFLPA Collegiate All-Star Game and 2020 Hula Bowl.
Professionally, Sunahara also signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent, but was eventually released. He then re-signed with the Dolphins in January on a reserve/future contract for the 2021 season. He was released in July, re-signed in August, and then released again on Aug. 10 of that year.
For a related story, WVU product Bryce Ford-Wheaton capped off the Giants win over Geno Smith and the Seahawks.