Not the same old Browns: 53-man roster has 28 new faces
The Browns aren’t kidding when they say they aren’t the same team that went winless last season.
When general manager John Dorsey trimmed the roster to 53 players by the NFL’s deadline at 4 p.m. Saturday, he kept 25 guys who were on the team last season. The other 28 have been added this year by Dorsey, who replaced former head of football operations Sashi Brown on Dec. 7.
“This is not the same team,” coach Hue Jackson said after Thursday’s 35-17 win over the Detroit Lions in the preseason finale. “This isn’t the team that was 0-16. I know everybody wants to refer to it all the time and bring it up about this, that and the other. This is a different football team.”
In a fitting example of how aggressive Dorsey has been in reshaping the roster, the Browns announced a trade Saturday along with their cuts. They sent a 2019 seventh-round draft pick to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence, who has never appeared in an NFL regular-season game.
Dorsey didn’t make any major surprises with the cuts he made Saturday. The most notable Browns waived were defensive end Nate Orchard (2015 secondround draft pick), offensive lineman Spencer Drango (2016 fifthround pick), fullback Danny Vitale (waived/injured, calf ), defensive tackle Caleb Brantley (2017 sixthround pick), cornerback Mike Jordan, running back Matthew Dayes (2017 seventh-round pick) and rookie cornerback Simeon Thomas (2018 sixth-round pick).
The release of Justin Vogel is noteworthy, too, because it means the Browns have declared Britton Colquitt the winner of their punting competition. Colquitt punted the past two seasons for the Browns, but Vogel was claimed off waivers from the Green Bay Packers to challenge the incumbent.
Despite Orchard’s 64-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth and final exhibition game, the Browns kept 2016 thirdround pick Carl Nassib instead. Their other four ends are starters Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah, free-agent pickup Chris Smith and rookie third-round choice Chad Thomas.
Lawrence, who missed last season on the injury list and then compiled 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a pass defensed in the preseason, got the nod over Brantley and joins three holdovers at tackle — Trevon Coley, Larry Ogunjobi
continued from C1 and Jamie Meder. James Burgess, who suffered a concussion against the Lions, and Jermaine Grace round out a linebacking corps headlined by three incumbent starters — Jamie Collins, Christian Kirksey and Joe Schobert — and rookie Genard Avery.
Of the 10 defensive backs on the roster, cornerbacks Denzel Rice and Jeremiah McKinnon were the only ones who weren’t seen as locks to earn spots. The duo bumping both Jordan and Thomas off the roster was a bit unexpected. Thomas is a likely practice squad addition.
Like Orchard, tight end Devon Cajuste found fame this summer through HBO’s “Hard Knocks,“only to be cut. Four tight ends made the initial roster: David Njoku, Darren Fells, Orson Charles and Seth DeValve.
The offensive line is an area begging for help via waivers. Backup center Austin Reiter and tackle Greg Robinson are on the team but hanging on by a thread.
Rookie sixth-rounder Damion Ratley and undrafted rookie Derrick Willies survived cuts — for now — and join Jarvis Landry, Josh Gordon, rookie fourth-round choice Antonio Callaway and Rashard Higgins as the six receivers on the roster. Willies and left tackle Desmond Harrison are the only undrafted rookies to make it this far.
The Browns sent Dayes packing despite a strong closing argument against the Lions: eight carries for 77 yards and a touchdown plus two receptions for 34 yards before hurting his ankle. His biggest problem: The three no-brainers at running back, Duke Johnson, Carlos Hyde and rookie second-round pick Nick Chubb.
The all-new quarterback room looks the way everyone expected: starter Tyrod Taylor, rookie No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield and Drew Stanton.