Dawgs By Nature
Training camp is fast approaching and the Browns roster has some intriguing players
The Cleveland Browns will begin training camp this year away from the fancy confines of West Virginia, and instead, not have to box everything up and relocate away from Berea.
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There will be several battles that every Browns fan will be looking at on a weekly basis.
To start off with, the quarterback situation. In fact, the entire league is watching the Browns for this group to thin out and declare a winner. The reason, obviously, is rookie Shedeur Sanders, who fell from the Top-5 to another five, namely the fifth round.
Because Cleveland has declared they are going back to running the ball, who will be the starting running back? Jerome Ford is the favorite, or, on the veteran side, don’t count out the services of Pierre Strong, plus GM Andrew Berry drafted not one, but two backs in this year’s draft. No clear winner yet.
Defensive tackle and safety were both groups of concern after last year. Will kicker Dustin Hopkins regroup and continue a strong campaign, or will former Groza Award winner Andre Szmyt beat him out?
Then there is the receiver group. In meetings, this room has had to round up some extra chairs because currently, there are 13 pass catchers on the roster. No, not a misprint. Every so many weeks, another one arrives with his duffle bag and backpack, anxious to show that he should be one of the six players the Browns will keep.
Yeah, six receivers. That’s it, most likely.
Jerry Jeudy, Cedric Tillman, and probably Jamari Thrash are a certainty. That leaves three spots. Diontae Johnson is the most likely for another if he shows up and becomes focused on what the team needs. David Bell and Michael Woods have been hanging on by a thread for some time now, but neither is assured of anything other than a competitive camp.
The rest of this group? Gage Larvadain, Jaelen Gill, Kaden Davis, Kisean Johnson, Cade McDonald, DeAndre Carter, and Luke Floriea. Does that make a baker’s dozen?
Here is a guy to watch who isn’t getting any press quite yet. But he will: Luke Floriea.
Floriea is an undrafted rookie. That in itself usually means the road is a lot bumpier when trying to make the final roster of an NFL club. Being taken in the draft basically guarantees a certain amount of money right off, and teams aren’t anxious to cut their draft picks for at least a few seasons. How long did the Browns hold onto third-rounder WR Anthony Schwartz before releasing him? You get the point.
Back to Floriea, which is pronounced as “Flo-REE-uh.” He is an Ohio kid. He grew up in Mentor, Ohio, and attended Mentor High School, where he played basketball and football despite only being 5’-8” tall and weighing 179 pounds. Floriea was an exceptional basketball player, playing 101 contests, and averaged 11.5 points a...
