Dawgs By Nature
The 2025 season holds promise but Browns roster has a big hole
Compared to last season, the Cleveland Browns’ roster has already experienced quite a few changes.
The quarterback room has been completely gutted. Although Deshaun Watson is a holdover, he is expected to be placed on IR at some point. The other signal-callers are all gone. In their place are three new guys plus one retread.
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All along the roster, this is the case. New faces to compete.
With all of this disorder, are all the problem areas solved? Did the draft conquer this? Was GM Andrew Berry able to fill all holes with his free agent signings? Plug the remaining holes with some existing players who have re-signed?
Most position groups appear to be headed in the right direction. Several groups may be considered full of good prospects with much improvement, and the voids are complete.
But not one position group. No sir. In fact, would this room be considered a liability?
The safety room.
More than any other group, the safety position has had quite a bit of upheaval. At one point last season, it was considered to be the most settled, with plenty of talent. But ever since the 2024 curtain closed, so has this room.
Seasoned veteran Rodney McLeod retired after 13 seasons. He brought stability and veteran leadership and was considered a coach on the field. His departure was expected as he had previously announced that 2024 would be his final year.
Juan Thornhill had been one of Berry’s “splash” players signed in the 2023 free agent class as he was whisked away from the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. He had inked a three–year, $21 million contract that included a $14 million guarantee, plus he was given an $8.5 million signing bonus. What did Cleveland get for their money? Zero interceptions and 103 total tackles in his two seasons. Nobody batted an eye when Berry released him with one year left on his deal.
And youngster D’Anthony Bell was signed by the Seattle Seahawks in free agency this year. Bell was one of the stars of special teams and had gotten increased defensive snaps and had seven starts in his three seasons with the Browns. In his second year, Bell played 227 snaps or 21% of defensive plays. That was reduced to just 93 defensive snaps (9%) last year.
The only players that have remained under contract are starting strong safety Grant Delpit, FS Ronnie Hickman and undrafted rookie last year Chris Edmonds.
Edmonds (6’-2”, 210 pounds). He signed with the Browns right after the draft had concluded, and after being released on the final cutdown day, was signed to the practice squad. The coaching staff elevated Edmonds to the main roster in Week 6 to which he played mainly on special teams. He received 21 snaps in this area (40%) but just three snaps with the defensive unit (2%).
Berry...
