Cleveland Browns 53-Man Roster Projection

It is time for my 53-man roster projection for the Cleveland Browns. Head coach Kevin Stefanski will get together and consult with General Manager Andrew Berry, as they work together to trim the roster to 53 players by 4:00 PM ET on Tuesday, August 26. 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

Pos	Final Roster	Practice Squad (Cut)	Players Cut / IR / Opt-Out
QB (4)	Joe Flacco Dillon Gabriel Shedeur Sanders Kenny Pickett		Tyley Huntley
RB (3)	Jerome Ford Dylan Sampson Pierre Strong	Ahmani Marshall	Trayveon Williams
WR (6)	Jerry Jeudy Cedric Tillman Jamari Thrash Gage Larvadain Isaiah Bond DeAndre Carter	Kaden Davis Kisean Johnson	Diontae Johnson Cade McDonald Chase Cota
TE (3)	David Njoku Harold Fannin Blake Whiteheart	Brenden Bates	Sal Cannella Mitch Van Vooren
OL (9)	Dawand Jones Joel Bitonio Ethan Pocic Wyatt Teller Jack Conklin Cornelius Lucas Teven Jenkins Zak Zinter Luke Wypler	Jackson Barton Javion Cohen	Jason Ivey Sebastian Gutierrez Lorenzo Thompson Dartanyan Tinsley Bucky Williams Killan Zierer Brady Latham
DL (10)	Myles Garrett Mason Graham Maliek Collins Isaiah McGuire Alex Smith Joe Tryon-Shoyinka Shelby Harris Sam Kamara Adin Huntington Julian Okwara	Cameron Thomas K.J. Henry	Titus Leo
LB (5)	Carson Schwesinger Devin Bush Mohamoud Diabate Jerome Baker Winston Reid		Easton Mascarenas-Arnold Marvin Moody Charlie Thomas III
S (4)	Grant Delpit Ronnie Hickman Rayshawn Jenkins Damontae Kazee	Christopher Edmonds	Nik Needham Donovan McMillon
CB (6)	Denzel Ward Greg Newsome Cameron Mitchell Myles Harden Tony Brown Dom Jones	Keenan Isaac LeMareon James	Chigozie Anuslem Christian Holmes Darius Rush
ST (3)	Andre Szmyt Corey Bojorquez Rex Sunahara		Dustin Hopkins

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PUP: QB Deshaun Watson, DT Mike Hall Jr
NFI: WR David Bell
Unsigned: RB Quinshon Judkins

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)

Position	Starter(s)	Backup(s)
QB – 4	Joe Flacco	Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders
RB – 3	Jerome Ford	Dylan Sampson, Pierre Strong
WR – 6	Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, Jamari Thrash	Gage Larvadain, Isaiah Bond, DeAndre Carter
TE – 3	David Njoku	Harold Fannin, Blake Whiteheart
OT – 3	Jack Conklin, Dawand Jones	Cornelius Lucas
Guard – 4	Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller	Teven Jenkins, Zak Zinter
Center – 2	Ethan Pocic	Luke Wypler
DE – 5	Myles Garrett, Alex Wright	Isaiah McGuire, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Julian Okwara
DT – 5	Mason Graham, Maliek Collins	Shelby Harris, Sam Kamara, Adin Huntington
LB – 5	Carson Schwesinger, Devin Bush	Mohamoud Diabate, Jerome Baker, Winston Reid
CB – 6	Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II, Myles Harden	Cameron Mitchell, Tony Brown II, Dom Jones
Safety – 4	Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman	Rayshawn Jenkins, Damontae Kazee
Kicker – 1	Andre Szymt
Punter – 1	Corey Bojorquez
LS – 1	Rex Sunahara

General Roster Projection Notes

On my first pass through coming up with a 53-man roster, I had 48 players on my list, meaning there were five players I needed to add. One of the biggest realizations I had was that at the safety position, after our starting safeties, I hadn’t really thought yet about whether the team would keep two veteran backups, or inject some youth into the backup spot.
One of the other challenges was deciding what to do with players who are injured, but might be ready to return soon. I’m referring to the likes of WR David Bell, DT Mike Hall, and QB Kenny Pickett.
Ultimately, the last five players I ended up tacking on to the Browns’ roster were QB Kenny Pickett, DE Julian Okwara, S Rayshawn Jenkins, S Damontae Kazee, and CB Dom Jones.
I have 11 players listed on my practice squad (16 players can make it). I think WR Michael Wood and WR Luke Floriea will be added to it too, but they are not with the team right now.
QB: I didn’t want to keep four quarterbacks. Or if I did, I would have kept Joe Flacco and the two rookies on the main roster, and had Tyler Huntley on the practice squad. However, I can’t ignore the headlines that the team seems to like Kenny Pickett being with the club. Whether they use him for trade leverage at some point, we’ll see. After that last preseason game, we also have to be a little more understanding that Shedeur Sanders isn’t close to being ready for the speed of a starting-caliber defense yet, but they have to stash him on the 53 as somewhat of an extended practice squad spot.
RB: Based on utilization, the three people with spots seem to be Jerome Ford, Dylan Sampson, and Pierre Strong, in any order. Sadly, we don’t have much outlook on what’s going to happen with Quinshon Judkins, and we did hear that rumor that the Browns could be looking to add a running back.
WR: This is the first position where it gets tricky. After a whole training camp, I feel like we didn’t learn a whole lot more after our top two receivers (Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman). We were hoping that Diontae Johnson would rise to the occasion, but I just didn’t see it this whole camp and preseason, so me cutting him might be my biggest gamble. I thought rookie Gage Larvadain impressed and earned a spot, and I think DeAndre Carter will hold on to the return role. Jamari Thrash made all the catches when targeted this preseason, so I think that bodes well for him. Isaiah Bond getting a roster spot automatically after a few days of camp only also hurts Johnson’s chances.
We also have David Bell not having played all camp, as he is still on the Non-Football Injury list. Speaking of which, we never found out what happened with Bell. Yes, he had the dislocated hip last year, but if that is what kept him out, he would’ve started camp on the PUP list. The NFI list implies that something unrelated has kept him out.
TE: The Browns have their top two tight ends for receiving in David Njoku and Harold Fannin, but who will be the backup blocker? I’m taking Blake Whiteheart to continue that role, but it wouldn’t be a shocker if someone else took his spot.
OL: On the offensive line, I’m assuming that backups Cornelius Lucas and Teven Jenkins did enough to show they’re still capable. We didn’t really have any new undrafted players who rose up the depth chart this offseason.
DL: The Browns’ defensive line looks stacked, and that’s without Mike Hall Jr. being listed. Because Hall hasn’t practiced in camp at all, I’m assuming he remains on the PUP list to begin the year. I had Adin Huntington making the roster even before the Browns did a rarity and confirmed it after the final preseason game. I was trying to decide on who would get my final roster spot, and I didn’t have a lot of conviction on who it would be. I liked what Okwara showed from his big plays in the preseason, but thought Cleveland already had enough numbers at the position. Nonetheless, I still threw him on the roster.
LB: This was probably the easiest position out of everyone. They really didn’t have much competition at the position in camp after the top five linebackers. It is a little concerning that Mohamoud Diabate and Winston Reid are banged up — but hopefully it’s not serious enough of injuries to alter the initial 53-man roster.
CB: This was another position of somewhat uncertainty, due to Martin Emerson’s injury. I think that helped Myles Harden and Cameron Mitchell secure depth spots. I am keeping Tony Brown for special teams and a reserve. And also, because Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome have sore shoulders, I’m also putting Dom Jones on the roster for now.
S: It feels weird having S Rayshawn Jenkins and S Damontae Kazee make the roster, because I still don’t really think of them as being on the team. I have to go with their experience on the backup jobs, though; and also the fact that there wasn’t a lot of competition there.
ST: The other big decision I made was, despite his contract, I cut ties with K Dustin Hopkins. I wasn’t going to do it, but with a second missed extra point this preseason coming against the Rams, I was reminded how much those misses can impact the season. In the final preseason game alone, it gave the Rams the lead with two minutes to go instead of the game just being tied. I know the Browns wanted to hope that Hopkins would snap out of his funk this year, but the signs just aren’t there that he is, and K Andre Szmyt has done what has been asked of him.
Note: I have the option to update my 53-man projection if injury-related or other news comes out by Tuesday, as far as counting my accuracy goes. I always try to aim for at least 49/53!