Category: Projections

Browns trying to thread the needle between competing and development

While each move this offseason might make sense, the win now versus building for the future dynamic is complex:

The Cleveland Browns have had a unique offseason primarily due to their own decisions. The organization’s history says they can’t do anything normally and it was on display in 2022:

  • Trade for WR Amari Cooper
  • Cut WR Jarvis Landry, TE Austin Hooper and OL J.C. Tretter
  • Trade for QB Deshaun Watson despite lingering legal issues that, eventually, led to an 11-game suspension.
  • Trade QB Baker Mayfield before knowing the outcome of Watson’s discipline
  • Signed DT Taven Bryan for one season
  • Despite already trading their first-rounder, they traded down out of the second round leaving their first pick to come in the third round
  • Brought back DE Jadeveon Clowney on a one-year deal
  • The team kept RB Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson despite amazing depth at the position and each set for free agency next year
  • Stuck with WR Anthony Schwartz despite significant struggles catching the football
  • Claimed QB Kellen Mond despite his significant struggles during the preseason in a similar system in Minnesota

It was the final move that really helped crystalize the interesting dynamic in Cleveland.

The Browns have spent all offseason making win-now moves followed by moves that are about patience and the future. Cooper, Clowney, Hunt, Johnson and Bryan were all moves focused solely for the 2022 season.

With Schwartz, trading Mayfield, releasing all the veterans, trading down and, finally, claiming Mond were all about development. HC Kevin Stefanski made it clear this week that Mond was about the future:

There is nothing wrong with trying to thread the needle especially given Watson’s suspension but what could the 2022 roster look like if the focus was all about winning right now? What could the future look like if the team did or didn’t make the moves that were focused on the upcoming season?

Threading the needle of the now and the future can work out but the moves seem to contradict themselves at some level.

3 players released Wednesday Browns could look to add

Another set of releases after the first waiver claim period has a few new players the Browns could go after:

While all the hype around the initial 53-man roster is deserved, it is far from the end of roster movement in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns claimed QB Kellen Mond which led to the release of DE Isaac Rochell. The team tried to claim a tight end as well but lost out due to waiver priority.

Waiver priority kept Mond from becoming a Philadelphia Eagle.

The Browns also brought back 12 players that they had just cut by adding them to their practice squad.

Like Rochell, all of the waiver claims made on Wednesday led to other players being waived or cut. As a veteran, Rochell is free to sign with any team while players with less than four years accrued time in the league must go through waivers.

Here are three players set from on Wednesday that could interest Cleveland:

5 players the Browns should claim off waivers

Of the hundreds of players that hit the waiver wire, here are 5 that the Browns should look to make a claim on:

The Cleveland Browns have set their initial 53-man roster but it is likely that roster will change 24 hours later. With hundreds of players flooding the free agent market and waiver wire, the Browns have a chance to shuffle their roster and add talent at important positions.

While the team could look to add a wide receiver or defensive tackle, that doesn’t mean they would subtract a player from those same positions.

There were a couple of veterans that could interest the team that we covered yesterday: TE O.J. Howard and S Anthony Harris.

Today we take a look at the waiver wire. Twelve teams get priority over Cleveland for players that they may want but that doesn’t mean we can’t identify a few that the team should claim.

Teams must submit their waiver claims by no later than noon today with the official awarding happening at 4 PM this afternoon. We should start to hear some information close to the noon deadline.

Here are five players the Browns should put a claim in on:

Final Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection

Projecting the initial 53-man roster for the Detroit Lions at the NFL roster cutdown deadline

Training camp and the preseason have come and gone. The Detroit Lions, like all other NFL teams, have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 30th to reduce the roster from the current 80 down to 53.

Sunday’s preseason loss in Pittsburgh impacted a couple of projections here, changes from the last set of predictions.

Note that this is a “what I think will happen” projection and not a “what I would do” scenario…

Final 53-man roster projection for Browns

Final 53-man roster projection before more news breaks of players not making the team:

The preseason is over but the regular season is still almost two weeks away which leaves a gap for football fans to enjoy the start of college football. For NFL fans, the initial 53-man roster and subsequent adjustments after is the biggest storyline for a few days until prep for Week 1 begins.

For the Cleveland Browns, Tuesday’s cutdown day could get very interesting but it is the possibility of trades or additions after the initial cuts that might be the most important. Already, we’ve had reports of players who will not make the initial 53-man roster.

Who will? Before the final preseason game with the Chicago Bears, we shared a look at what the 53-man could look like. After that game, there are just a few changes:

The Lions should cut both David Blough and Tim Boyle

The Lions should cut both David Blough and Tim Boyle after unacceptable performances by both backup QBs all summer

The summer-long battle between Tim Boyle and David Blough to be the backup quarterback in Detroit did not end well. That’s an understatement almost as egregious as some of the passes offered up by the duo in the Lions’ 19-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason finale on Sunday evening.

Blough was spirited but underwhelming, showing the ability to make some fun improvisational plays but a stark inability to make several routine throws from the pocket or in the red zone. Yet he was miles better in Pittsburgh than Boyle, who started the game after outperforming Blough in the exhibition win in Indianapolis a week earlier.

After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell dodged saying anything directly about either of the reserve QBs–both of whom the Lions re-signed this offseason as free agents.

“Here’s what I would say,” Campbell said when questioned about the battle for QB2 in Detroit. “It became very clear. I think we got things answered. And I would leave it at that.”

He reiterated that same basic point a few more times.

“I feel like we got a lot of clarity.”

Watching the game, I also experienced clarity on the backup QB position. Neither Boyle nor Blough deserves to be Jared Goff’s backup. Neither showed enough all summer to merit the right to carry the clipboard and be one Jared Goff injury away from being in control of the Lions offense. That has become abundantly clear in the last month-plus of training camp and three preseason games.

One unorthodox solution, one that I would strongly suggest GM Brad Holmes and the Lions consider:

Cut them both.

Now, that cannot be done without a clear plan of succession. And right now the alternatives are not very appealing in their own right. But players better than both Blough and Boyle will become available no later than Tuesday.

It could be a trade of an extra wide receiver (Tom Kennedy?) or offensive lineman (Logan Stenberg?) who will have more value to other teams than they do in Detroit. Guys like Sam Ehlinger in Indianapolis, Josh Rosen in Cleveland, Kellen Mond in Minnesota, Mike White with the Jets are all facing uphill roster battles to make their respective teams. All are young enough to offer some potential to stick in Detroit beyond 2022. More than Blough or Boyle in that regard, anyway.

Going through the roster cutdown to 53 players on Tuesday and only having one QB on the roster is unconventional. It’s a dangerous acknowledgment by the Lions organization that their backup plan at QB has failed, quite literally.

But it sure doesn’t seem any more dangerous than trusting the team to Blough or Boyle. Not after the summer we’ve seen from them both. They were given their best shots to prove otherwise, but instead only affirmed that it’s just not going to work. Keeping Blough–who is indeed the better option of the duo–means that a better player at a different position (RB Justin Jackson? Stenberg? Rookie CB Chase Lucas?) will not make the 53-man roster because of it.

It’s a radical approach, different than the weird but ultimately correct choice last year to cut both kickers at the end of the preseason. While any Lions fan can tell you a kicker is important, finding a passable one off the street is a lot easier than finding a competent backup QB. But the fundamental principle behind that decision is the same, and it’s a well where Holmes, Campbell and the Lions should dip into once again.

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Projecting the Browns initial 53-man roster before the preseason finale

With the 53-man roster due early next week, a projection of how it could look before Saturday’s preseason finale:

The Cleveland Browns finish off their preseason slate of games with the Chicago Bears on Saturday night. After that, the front office and coaching staff will have a couple of days to get together and decide who makes the initial 53-man roster and who does not.

As always, like with LB Jacob Phillips last year, decisions are made with multiple layers of reasons included. Phillips made the initial roster so that he could go on injured reserve but return for the season.

Cleveland could also be active in trade talks over those couple of days but guessing what GM Andrew Berry will do is an overwhelming task. Instead, it is easy to hope that the Browns add more talent at wide receiver, tight end and defensive tackle but nothing is certain.

For today’s 53-man roster projection, we will only look at players currently on the team. Any injuries Saturday night would have an impact on who makes the roster as well.

Lions 53-man roster projection heading into the preseason finale

Projecting the initial Detroit Lions 53-man roster after the first two preseason games

Now that training camp is about done, two rounds of player cuts are in the books and the preseason finale looms, it’s time to update the Detroit Lions 53-man roster projection.

The Lions helped provide some real clarity in their moves to get to the 80-man roster limit on Tuesday. Moving four players to the reserve/PUP and reserve/NFI lists opened up those four roster posts and showed where the positional holes will be from those moves.

Here’s the latest set of 53-man projections, with a couple of asterisks that I’ll explain too. Note that this is just for the initial 53-man roster. Things change with waiver claims and the players on reserve lists coming back.

Predicting the next round of Detroit Lions roster cuts

Predicting the next round of Detroit Lions roster cuts from 85 down to 80 players

The Detroit Lions, like all NFL teams, have to trim the active roster from 85 to 80 players before 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 23. The deadline comes one week after the rosters were cut back to 85 from 90.

As noted last week, the Lions might not have to send five players packing this week. That’s because the rules for players on the physically unable to perform and non-football injury lists change this week.

Right now, players on the PUP and NFI lists count against the active roster. But the designations can now shift to “reserve” from “active” for the players. Switching the PUP/NFI players from active to reserve means they no longer count against the active roster limit. It also rules them out for at least the first four games, hence the reserve designation.

Two Lions players currently on PUP/NFI are obvious candidates to move to reserve status. Head coach Dan Campbell has already intimated the Lions will do this with first-round WR Jameson Williams. Defensive end Romeo Okwara doesn’t appear close to returning from his Achilles tear last year, either. Moving those two to the reserve list would mean the Lions have just three other players to jettison to get to 80.

Two other PUP players, FB Jason Cabinda and CB Jerry Jacobs, are also candidates to move to the reserve list. Campbell brought up the idea of doing such a move with Jacobs in a recent press conference. The fifth player eligible to move from PUP to reserve and miss the first four weeks is rookie DE Josh Paschal, who the team has been tight-lipped about in terms of a timetable to get back on the field.

If there are player cuts, the most likely candidates include CB Cedric Boswell, TE Derrick Deese Jr., OL Kevin Jarvis, CB Mark Gilbert and RB Jermar Jefferson. The Lions could also declare a winner in the kicking battle between Riley Patterson and Austin Seibert, though that seems less likely.

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Trading for RB Kareem Hunt would make sense for Eagles

The Browns don’t have to make a deal but the Eagles should have interest in adding Hunt after seeing him in practice for two days:

The Cleveland Browns dismissed RB Kareem Hunt’s trade request a few weeks ago but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t trade their backup running back. Instead, it meant the team would not allow Hunt to dictate that he would or would not be dealt.

Hunt returned to practice after a one-day attempt at either getting a contract extension or getting traded somewhere he could get that new contract.

The Browns have a significant luxury at the running back position. Nick Chubb is one of the best in the league while Hunt is a former rushing champion with versatility out of the backfield as a pass catcher as well.

It doesn’t stop at the top of Cleveland’s depth chart as D’Ernest Johnson played very well when given the chance in 2021. Johnson only had more than 10 carries in three games but put up 99, 123 and 146 yards in those three games while averaging over 5.5 yards per carry.

Demetric Felton didn’t get many rushing attempts (7) as a rookie but had 18 catches including two touchdowns.

Jerome Ford has looked the part of a player who could carry the load in the near future. In the team’s first preseason game, Ford was a star. We also saw him cause a turned ankle in practice against Philadelphia.

While the Browns have a lot of depth at running back, the Eagles are in a different place.

QB Jalen Hurts led the team in rushing last year with Myles Sanders the highest-producing running back with 754 yards but zero touchdowns. Kenneth Gainwell is second on the depth chart going into his second year but only had 291 yards last year.

After two days of practicing with each other in Berea, Philadelphia may have a better idea of just how big of an upgrade Hunt could be for their team. As noted here, Sanders’ injury struggles could push them to make a deal:

Cleveland does not have to make a deal but Hunt is in the last year of his contract. Perhaps adding a mid-round draft pick and a player looking for a fresh start like WR Jalen Reagor could be intriguing for the Browns. An interior defensive lineman could also be intriguing.

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