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Four's a crowd? Not for Cleveland Browns QBs | Initial 53-man roster takeaways
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- Four's a crowd? Not for Cleveland Browns QBs | Initial 53-man roster takeaways
BEREA — The 53-man roster the Browns finalized on Tuesday won't be the roster they open the season with on Sept. 8 against the Dallas Cowboys . It won't even be the one they carry into Thursday's practice.
The initial 53-man roster means just that — it's the first one. Like most firsts, it's something that can be overanalyzed relative to the overall, because there's no such thing as the "final" 53, save for the last day of the season.
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While that's all true, that's not going to prevent a little analysis work on what general manager Andrew Berry's initially done with the Browns roster. It's also about what hasn't been done yet with the roster.
Let's take a look at some of the takeaways about the initial 53-man roster.
Four Cleveland Browns quarterbacks? Yes, for now
Cleveland Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17) leads the quarterbacks and centers onto the field for warmups before a preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Aug. 17 in Cleveland.
If there was a surprise to be had among the composition of one position group, the quarterbacks would be where to start. Four of them — Deshaun Watson , Jameis Winston , Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Tyler Huntley — made the roster.
Now, the question becomes which one of those last three players ends up not making it to the opening-day roster. Huntley has always seemed like the safe bet to be the odd man out, assuming the Browns could find a trade partner looking for some aid to its quarterback room.
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That still seems like the direction this ends up going. However, the adventure — your mileage may vary on that term — that was the Browns quarterback position last season through all of the injuries could just be making Berry think extra long about letting go of a surplus at the position.
Two running backs and two tight ends seems too little
Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (58) tackles Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford (34) during a preseason game on Aug. 10, 2024, in Cleveland.
The Browns have as many quarterbacks on the initial roster as they have combined running backs and tight ends. Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. are the only two backs, and David Njoku and Jordan Akins are the lone tight ends.
So what's going on here? The most likely answer may be to just sit back and wait.
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There's no one who thinks Ford and Strong will be the only two backs the Browns open the season with on the active roster. That's where they could find value in a waiver claim, or maybe a throw-in piece with a trade.
The tight end position may be a little more uncertain. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski does love utilizing the tight end, but that may be different in the new scheme.
So could the Browns be waiting things out and get to the weekend before changing that spot? Or maybe it's just a new leaf being turned over by a tight-end loving organization.
Rookies make themselves heard with initial Cleveland Browns roster
Browns linebacker Devin Bush (30) and cornerback Myles Harden (26) tackle Packers tight end Joel Wilson on Aug. 10 in Cleveland.
The Browns had five rookies on their initial roster. The number could've even been six, except that second-round pick Mike Hall Jr. ended up on the Commissioner's Exempt list because of his domestic violence arrest.
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What's to be made of that? Well, there were a few who reached out and grabbed positions by the way they performed.
Fifth-round pick Jamari Thrash did that to claim one of the six wide receiver spots. The same was true for seventh-round cornerback Myles Harden , who splashed at the right time with his performance in the joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings a couple of weeks ago.
Even the one undrafted free agent, offensive lineman Javion Cohen , managed to make himself difficult to cut. Cohen often filled in at left guard behind Joel Bitonio during the preseason games, except for the finale.
Berry's had 37 draft picks over his five seasons as general manager. Of those, only 10 have been cut at any point by the Browns, but only this year's final draft pick — seventh-round defensive tackle Jowon Briggs — has been cut before making the initial 53-man roster.
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Dawson Deaton , a seventh-round pick in 2022, never made it to the 53-man roster. However, he ended up on injured reserve midway through his rookie training camp due to a knee injury.
Cleveland Browns' initial 53-man roster, by position
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(Players listed alphabetically)
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Quarterbacks (4):Tyler Huntley, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston
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Running backs (2):Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong Jr.
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Wide receivers (6):David Bell, Amari Cooper , Jerry Jeudy , Elijah Moore , Jamari Thrash, Cedric Tillman
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Tight ends (2):Jordan Akins, David Njoku
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Offensive linemen (10):Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin , Javion Cohen, Nick Harris , James Hudson III, Dawand Jones , Ethan Pocic , Wyatt Teller , Jedrick Wills Jr. , Zak Zinter
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Defensive linemen (9): Myles Garrett , Shelby Harris , Maurice Hurst II, Quenton Jefferson, Isaiah McGuire , Ogbo Okoronkwo, Za'Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson , Alex Wright
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Linebackers (6): Devin Bush , Mohamoud Diabate , Tony Fields II , Jordan Hicks , Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah , Nathaniel Watson
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Defensive backs (11):D'Anthony Bell, Grant Delpit , Martin Emerson Jr., Kahlef Hailassie , Myles Harden, Ronnie Hickman , Rodney McLeod , Cameron Mitchell, Greg Newsome II , Juan Thornhill , Denzel Ward
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Specialists (3): Corey Bojorquez (P), Dustin Hopkins (K), Charley Hughlett (LS)
Cleveland Browns players on injury/Commissioner's Exempt lists
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Reserve/non-football injury (2):G Michael Dunn (designated for return), RB Nyheim Hines
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Reserve/physically unable to perform list (1): RB Nick Chubb
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Reserve/injured (1):C Luke Wypler
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Exempt/Commissioner permission (1):DT Michael Hall Jr .
Cleveland Browns practice squad (13)
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DT Jowon Briggs, CB Tony Brown II, WR Jaelon Darden , S Christopher Edmonds, CB Justin Hardee Jr., T Germain Ifedi , T Sam Kamara , T Roy Mbaeteka (International Player Pathway Program), WR James Proche II, LB Winston Reid , LS Rex Sunahara , T Lorenzo Thompson, WR Michael Woods II
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns don't find 4 to be a crowd at quarterback with 53-man roster
