Cleveland Browns 53-Man Roster Projection

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It is time for my 53-man roster projection for the Cleveland Browns. Head coach Todd Monken will get together and consult with General Manager Andrew Berry, as they work together to trim the roster to 53 players by 6:00 PM ET on Sunday, August 30. This projection is based on the weeks of training camp reports, the preseason games to date, and my general instincts.

Browns 53-Man Roster & Cuts Projection

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Reserve/PUP: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
NFI: N/A

The list above contains 53 players that I kept. Because practice squads are so big (16 players), I have created a specific column for those players too — although I did not fully fill it. Listed below would be just the 53-man roster, if I was correct on everything.

53-Man Roster Depth Chart (Projected)

General Roster Projection Notes

• On my first pass through coming up with a 53-man roster, I had 52 players on my list, meaning there was only one player who I needed to add. I debated what to do, but I ultimately threw TE Joe Royer on the roster, not knowing what his status is since he’s missed camp for personal reasons.
• After the final preseason game, I made one change to my 53-man roster: I removed WR Gage Larvadain and added WR Luke Floriea.
• I have 10 players listed on my practice squad (16 players can make it).
• QB: The biggest decision here is to keep three quarterbacks vs. four quarterbacks. Based on what I’ve seen from Dillon Gabriel, I don’t see him cutting it out as a starter. I liked what I saw in the final preseason game, but that was also a very basic defense that he thrived against. We’ve seen him against starting defenses, and things fall apart because teams know what to expect from him. Could he be a decent backup? Maybe. But Shedeur Sanders won that role, and Taylen Green was drafted. I’m forecasting Gabriel being dealt somewhere for a minimal draft pick.
• RB: The competition at running back is supposed to be Ahmani Marshall vs. Raheim Sanders. I like Sanders, and think he would be the team’s best blocking back too for pass protection, so I picked Sanders. I also threw veteran fullback Michael Burton on the roster, even though he’s missed most of camp. Todd Monken uses fullbacks, and Burton can be leveraged there while Carsen Ryan floats over to tight end.
• WR: The first four are locked in for sure: Jerry Jeudy, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, and Isaiah Bond. After that, determining the remaining two spots is difficult. On one hand, I wanted to pick Gage Larvadain and Luke Floriea, but then I’m thinking, “Is Tylan Wallace going to return punts, and why isn’t Malachi Corley being given more consideration?” I could easily see any combination of the four making it. Initially, I rolled with Larvadain and Wallace. I made the switch after the final preseason game to put Floriea on instead of Larvadain. Unfortunately, Larvadain has shown a bit of a knack of trying to make something out of nothing at times, both at receiver and on punt returns. Floriea has done everything one could ask of a receiver this camp, he gets open, he wins match-ups, and he catches everything. I think either one could clear waivers and get to the practice squad, but I think there’s a slight chance Floriea catches people’s attention, whereas Larvadain more easily gets to the practice squad.
• TE: The depth here appears thin or inexperienced, and with Jack Stoll on IR, the team lost their potential blocking back. I think they’ll look closely at the waiver wire for a blocker.
• OL: I don’t think I have anything too surprising here, except whether to keep Zak Zinter or not. I think he and Luke Wypler can slip to the practice squad.
• DL: Same thing on the defensive trench — I think it seems pretty obvious who will be kept, the question is more so will they keep an extra (tenth) guy.
• LB: Rinse-and-repeat, there wasn’t a whole lot of debating at linebacker. Although if Carson Schwesinger is to miss any regular season action, they’d need an extra guy temporarily.
• CB: This is challenging. Michael Coats earned a spot as an undrafted player, but now he’s hurt, and we don’t know how long. I’m hoping it’s just a small ankle injury that maybe warrants short-term IR. New this year, teams can designate two players to go directly to IR without having to “put them on the roster, cut someone else, and then put the player on IR.” Myles Bryant could also make it here over Tre Avery, but I just don’t know his health. And I know very little about Mekhi Blackmon, but Cleveland claimed him on Thursday, so I assume he’s making the initial 53-man roster.
• S: Considering the top three safeties are basically starters, it might be necessary to have two backups here. For now, I just have one.
• ST: It’d be a stunner if this differed at all.
• Note: I have the option to update my 53-man projection if injury-related or other news comes out by Saturday, as far as counting my accuracy goes. I always try to aim for at least 49/53!

What Do You Think?

Feel free to share your roster projections here, or some changes you would make to mine.

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