The Cleveland Browns have tried hard to get some depth this season. Quality depth was a huge problem last year. Attrition happens with every NFL club every year. The ones who have adequate help to fill in are the ones who don’t miss a beat and continue getting wins.
This year, there are an abundance of positions up for grabs: all three LB spots, starting safety, starting outside cornerback (with the injury to MJ Emerson), long snapper, starting and backup RB, TE2 as well as TE3, starting outside WR,
slot receiver, kicker, backup center, and swing tackle.
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The exhibition games have their purpose. They incorporate players that are new to the roster and acclimate them to the Browns’ playbook. But the main purpose is to see which players to cut. Currently, all NFL clubs are able to keep 90 athletes on their training camp rosters. Next Tuesday, the squads are cut down to just 53 players. So, who does the coaching staff keep, and who do they let go?
The preseason games are a good gauge to determine this.
Cleveland has already played two exhibition games, with their final one this Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams. There are many players on the bubble, and this last game will determine whether the coaches keep certain guys or allow them to walk.
Being in training camp for over a month, nobody wants to leave. When a player is cut, then open to the waiver wire, then signed to a new club, suddenly they are required to study a brand new playbook and memorize a different set of plays, often with a divergent array of terminology. They have to learn new schemes and get used to dissimilar guys very quickly.
Who wants to start all over when a player can just stay where they are?
Here are three Browns players who will need a fantastic game on Saturday so that the Turk passes their door next Tuesday without a knock on the door stating, “Coach wants to see you. Bring your playbook.”
DT Ralph Holley, Jr.
Holley tore up the Canadian Football League last year and was a dominant force in the middle of the Toronto Argonauts’ defense. He was a main player in their Grey Cup win. He missed the first three games and ended up tied with the league’s most sacks.
His forte is his get-off. Holley came to the Browns hungry to prove he belonged. But so far, although he has been having a very good camp, his game numbers are just not what they should be.
Against the Panthers, he had one tackle. He should have gotten a half sack on QB Andy Dalton after he fell, but wasn’t given the credit. Holley did show good gap penetration and played quite a bit, getting 25 snaps, the third most of any defensive player.
In the Eagles game, Holley had the second most snaps with 25, which was 53% of all defensive plays. Yet, he did not register any stats whatsoever.
In the meantime, both DT Jowon Briggs and DT Adin Huntington are getting plenty of game-worthy statistics, including sacks, which pushes Holley down the depth chart. If Holley wants to secure a spot on the main roster instead of the practice squad, the Rams game is pivotal to prove that this Browns defense needs his services as a rotational defensive tackle.
RG Zak Zinter
Zinter was drafted in the third round as the primary backup guard in case either Joel Bitonio or Wyatt Teller became hurt. He came from Michigan, which places a good number of offensive linemen into the NFL.
But Zinter isn’t playing up to those standards. When you are expected to become the first guard off the bench, that is a huge responsibility, and you must be at the ready. There are those who assume that he is a lock to make this team, but is he?
He did not play that well last year when inserted, and in the Eagles game, he appeared lost. Considering he was playing against Philly’s second teamers, that is concerning.
Zinter (6’-6”, 322 pounds) has the size that the coaches love, but his pass blocking has a lot to be desired. He has an issue with staying engaged with his defender, and despite being 322 pounds, he can be bullrushed. His Pro Football Focus grade last year was a horrible 43.9 with 233 offensive snaps played. Luckily, both Bitonio and Teller were injury-free last year, and fingers are crossed for this season.
The competition for Zinter’s roster spot is veteran Teven Jenkins (6’-6”, 321 pounds) and the youngster Javion Cohen (6’-4”, 322 pounds), who went undrafted in 2024 out of Alabama/Miami. Cohen has a high football IQ and has shown the ability to adapt quickly to complex play designs, and is a good pass protector.
So far, Zinter has been getting more game snaps than both Jenkins and Cohen, but he will need to show that he can pass block better if he wants to hear his name called for the final roster.
Is it inconceivable that Browns GM Andrew Berry would cut Zinter? This year, probably but, since he took over as being responsible for player personnel, Berry has released or failed to re-sign six third-round draft picks. So, there’s that.
K Dustin Hopkins
When the Browns traded for Hopkins, he came in, and before his injury, he was the leading candidate to make the AFC Pro Bowl as the squad’s kicker. He had a fantastic season and was ranked the league’s #7 kicker. Going forward, that was considered to continue into last year.
But he went into a strange funk. His meat-and-potatoes was kicking the long ball, having gone 8 for 8 of kicks of 50 yards plus. Last year, this is where he struggled, going 4-8 of 50+.
This season, Berry signed Andre Szmyt to compete for the kicking position. Szmyt went undrafted in 2023 and ended up in the UFL playing for St. Louis, where he was the field goal leader. He won the Groza Award for the nation’s best kicker and was voted Unanimous All-American. In college, Szmyt made 85 of 105 field goals (76.9%), 199 of 203 PATs (98%), and scored 454 points.
Both players are having a good camp. In two preseason games, their stats are:
vs. Panthers
Hopkins: 1-1 on FG (23 yards), 3-4 on PATs, six points scored
Szmyt: no stats
vs. Eagles
Hopkins: 1-1 on FG (46 yards), 0-0 on PATs, three points scored
Szmyt: 2-2 on FG (49 yards, 33 yards), 1-1 on PATs, seven points scored
The fact is, Szmyt is giving Hopkins a run for his money. Speaking of funds, Hopkins is in the middle of his three-year extension he signed for $15.9 million, which makes him one of the league’s highest-paid kickers. His 2025 salary is $1.255 million with a cap hit of $2.848 million. Szmyt is under a one-year deal for $840,000.
In the UFL, Szmyt made 19-21 FGs, including 4-5 of 40+ and 4-5 of 50+.
Last year, Hopkins went 18-27 on FGs (66.7%), 17-20 on PATs (85.0%), and scored 71 points. He was the league’s 29th-ranked kicker. The season before, Hopkins had scored 123 points.
The big question at this juncture for the Browns regarding Hopkins is: This season, will they get the 2023 “almost Pro Bowl version” or the 2024 “suckified edition”? It’s too late to find out which one they actually have when the real games begin.
