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The Cleveland Browns roster turnover under new GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski continued in earnest on Saturday. The cutdowns to the initial 53-man roster washed away even more of the legacy of ex-GM John Dorsey on the team.
Dorsey’s first Browns draft class, the 2018 edition, is down to just three of the nine selections: Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb. That’s still a heck of a draft, but the failure of guys like Austin Corbett (2nd round), Chad Thomas (3rd) and Genard Avery (5th) led to redundant picks and free agent moves almost immediately.
Cutting Thomas and Damion Ratley on Saturday wiped away all the depth from the 2018 draft class. Dumping WR Taywan Taylor and RB Dontrell Hilliard stripped away two other Dorsey guys from that year, too. Dorsey’s final two picks in 2019, OL Drew Forbes (opt-out) and CB Donnie Lewis (cut) are also off the team, though Forbes will return in 2021.
Earlier moves this offseason removed Dorsey acquisitions like OT Greg Robinson, TE Demetrius Harris, OL Eric Kush, S Damarious Randall, CB T.J. Carrie and more.
Dorsey’s best moves remain vital to the core of the team. Berry and Stefanski didn’t just try to whitewash all traces of Dorsey’s influence from the team. The trio left from that ’18 draft, trade acquisitions Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon are all critical starters and top-10 presences on the Browns roster.
Acknowledging that Dorsey and his regime did do some great things is an important step from the new Browns management. Too many times a new regime will just try to erase every vestige of its predecessor. Browns fans know all too well the rush to turn everything over in the name of progress, if only to wash away the bad taste left behind from the old regime. Instead of doing that, Berry and Stefanski merely trimmed a lot of Dorsey-era fat from the roster.
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