Browns 53-man roster prediction: Tom explains his decision making

There are a few times out of the year when changes to the rosters of NFL teams really come into focus: NFL free agency, NFL draft and the initial 53-man roster. For the Cleveland Browns, it seems the initial 53-man roster might look significantly different just 24 hours later.

Fans who have been around Dawgs By Nature know for sure that Chris Pokorny is the king of the trackers. Long before everyone was tracking UDFAs, Chris was there. Well before most people were updating cuts as they happened, Chris was there.

Chris also always gives the official DBN initial 53-man roster prediction, but this year, we wanted to give you more, so you can find all of our 53-man roster predictions in this “Stream” on the site.

The Browns got an early jump on releases with 21 on Sunday, but this roster projection was made prior to that:

Quarterback (3)

Joe Flacco
Dillon Gabriel
Shedeur Sanders

I’m not sold on the narrative of the Browns keeping four quarterbacks. While it is possible the initial 53 will have Kenny Pickett on it, the Browns are going to move him at the first opportunity, which if it doesn’t happen before Tuesday, should happen soon after, as there are teams searching for a backup.

Running back (3)

Jerome Ford
Pierre Strong
Dylan Sampson

This is complicated by two things. The first is that Strong suffered a concussion on Saturday, so he is going to be out until he clears concussion protocol. Fortunately, he has two weeks until the season opener, but with the Browns rumored to be looking for another running back, Strong is definitely on the bubble.

Tight End (3)

David Njoku
Harold Fannin
Blake Whiteheart

This is based on the knee injury that Whiteheart suffered on Saturday is not serious.

Wide receiver (6)

Jerry Jeudy
Cedric Tillman
Gage Larvadain
Isaiah Bond
DeAndre Carter
Jamari Thrash

No need to keep the Diontae Johnson comeback alive in Cleveland. Thrash, Larvadain, and Bond are all players with upside, while Carter earns a spot as the primary return man.

Offensive line (10)