Bills 53-man roster projection following 2nd week of training camp

Buffalo Bills 53-man roster projection for second time in 2020 training camp.

As far as onlookers are considered, Buffalo Bills training camp has come to a close. On Sunday, the team had their final offseason practice which allowed reporters to be in attendance. Now we’re back to regular season standards where there’s… pretty much next to nothing seen.

But behind closed doors for the next few days, the team will still hit the practice field. Many players who are on the roster bubble are still battling for those spots prior to Saturday’s 4 p.m. cut down deadline.

But as our eyes have now exited the Bills’ practice field before we see them slash players off their roster, let’s take another swing at the team’s final roster. Here’s a 53-man roster projection for the Bills after that first week of practice:

Bills quarterback Josh Allen. (James P. McCoy/Buffalo News via AP, Pool)

QUARTERBACK (3)

Josh Allen, Matt Barkley, Jake Fromm

Cuts: Davis Webb

Over the past few roster projections we’ve released… we haven’t seen much movement in the slightest at the quarterback position. Those circumstances will remain the same once again (sorry).

Under a normal offseason, this move could have gone very differently. Earlier this offseason the Bills were in a position to potentially keep two quarterbacks… and in two different scenarios. Davis Webb was probably always going to be cut. Then there’s two other situations where one can envision Matt Barkley being cut and the other where Jake Fromm is released.

In terms of Barkley, he’s no longer really a “veteran” mentor to Allen, games played wise. Allen has 27 starts to Barkley’s seven. Cutting Barkley could also save the Bills $1.5M against the salary cap. But with COVID-19’s entrance into the offseason, this idea exited. There’s no way the Bills could run with Fromm as their backup when there’s no preseason games under his belt… aka having a No. 2 without any experience, period. But coronavirus also should make the Bills think twice about a strategy they’ve done the past few seasons: Keeping only two quarterbacks.

The 2018 season was one which saw the Bills start four quarterbacks. That year also didn’t involve a pandemic. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott should refrain from getting cute here and trying to sneak Fromm on their practice squad. Just keep three, Bills, especially since you stuck by Fromm after his racially-charged texts from his past surfaced.

Jake Fromm dropped this one right in the bucket 🎯 pic.twitter.com/TnpUhn0Rbn

— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2020

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Browns vs. Dolphins: Week 12 game news and notes

The Cleveland Browns went into their matchup with the Miami Dolphins expecting to win and they won. There is something to be said for a team being able to take care of business when they are supposed to win, the Denver Broncos notwithstanding. The Browns were able to dominate early. In the first half of the game, the Browns were able to gain long chunk plays and score easily.

Offense

QB, Baker Mayfield, 24-34-327-3-1

RB, Nick Chubb, rushing 21-106-1, receiving 3-58-0 (4 targets)

RB, Kareem Hunt, rushing 8-37-1, receiving 2-9-0 (3 targets)

WR, Jarvis Landry, 10-148-2 (13 targets)

WR, Odell Beckham, 6-84-1 (8 targets)

TE, Demetrius Harris, 2-20-0 (2 targets)

It was nice to see Kareem Hunt score a touchdown and for the Browns to give plenty of opportunities to both running backs. The story of the game should be the continued progression of Baker Mayfield. Since the bye week, Mayfield has looked sharper with his decisions and his ability to get the ball out on time. His lone interception of the day came on a target to Odell Beckham.

Beckham was running a slant over the middle and Mayfield threw the ball behind Beckham. Beckham’s forward momentum was carrying him away from the ball and created an almost impossible catch. Mayfield almost had a second interception on the afternoon on a target to Demetrius Harris. Mayfield put a little too much juice on the pass and it went through the hands of Harris hitting him in the helmet. Fortunately, there was a Miami penalty on the play and the interception was erased.

There will undoubtedly be talk about how good Jarvis Landry is looking and how he is the best wide receiver on the team. While I agree he has the best production, the more appropriate line of thinking is that both Beckham and Landry are playing well off each other. Both wide receivers are exceptional at what they do, and Beckham is drawing attention from Landry the same way Landry draws attention from Beckham.

Defensive Notes

There are two main storylines to pay attention to on the defense. One is how well Joe Schobert has been playing recently. In Week 12, Schobert was able to add another 10 tackles and 2 interceptions to his amazing run in 2019. The second storyline to watch is the progression of Greedy Williams. Again, in Week 12, opposing offenses were singling him out in coverage. DeVante Parker, as a bigger-bodied receiver, was able to be more physical than Williams and push him around at the line of scrimmage.

Remembering to Week 11 against the Steelers, Mason Rudolph and Co. were also targeting Williams frequently and caused crucial pass interference penalties. Fortunately for the Browns, there were a couple flags not thrown on obvious pass interference.

Penalties (9 penalties, 7 accepted penalties)

Wyatt Teller – 5-yards (ineligible downfield pass)

Wyatt Teller – 10-yards (holding)

Jarvis Landry – Penalty Declined (illegal shirt)

J.C. Tretter – 10-yards (holding)

Mack Wilson – 15-yards (unnecessary roughness)

Greg Robinson – Penalty Declined (ineligible downfield pass)

Greedy Williams – 15-yards (defensive pass interference)

Bryan Cox – 10-yards (illegal block above the waste)

Greedy Williams – 5-yards (illegal use of hands)

Final Thoughts

Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins came at a perfect time for the Browns. They had an opportunity to play a team with significantly less talent, learn to create pressure without Myles Garrett, and develop chemistry on the offensive side of the ball. The pass rush still leaves a lot of questions on the table, but I don’t believe the Browns were putting their defensive game plan for creating pressure on film against the Dolphins.

Overall, there are plenty of positives to take away from Week 12 against the Dolphins. It will be important for the Browns to keep their composure and remember the lessons of this game as they move on to the Steelers.

Final Score: 24-41 (Cleveland Browns Victory)

Time of Possession: 36:06 (+12:12)

Record: 5-6 (third in the AFC North)

Current Draft Position: 15 (information via Tankathon)

Next Opponent: at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)

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Bryan Cox Jr.: What the Browns are getting in their new DE

A scouting report on new Browns EDGE Bryan Cox Jr., who will play a bigger role with Myles Garrett suspended

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By now you have probably heard that Myles Garrett is suspended and it appears it is going to be a long time before he dresses on Sundays again. Last week the Cleveland Browns signed Bryan Cox Jr. and despite being a pure reserve acquisition, it appears the young man may be thrust into duty and forced to see meaningful minutes. Garrett is an elite end, but below is a bit of what Cox can provide.

Height: 6-3

Weight: 265 pounds

Previous Team: Carolina Panthers

Cox went undrafted after the 2017 NFL Draft, which was a bit surprising after he completed a fairly solid collegiate career at Florida. Carolina snagged the DE/OLB right up and after failing to make the final roster in 2017 was placed on their practice squad until being called up early in the same season. Cox was on the Carolina active roster for the entire 2018 season, but failed to make the final cut for 2019 and has bounced back and forth from active to practice until he was snagged by Cleveland on November 13.

It is surprising that Cox was available mid-season as he does provide unique versatility with the ability to slide down to the inside as well as provide pressure from the edge. Many of the asthma issues that hampered Cox early in his career appear to have gone away, which also makes it more surprising that he was available for the Browns to snag. At only 25 years old, Cox has a few intriguing athletic traits that show potential for a potentially high ceiling.

Cox is not an NFL starter and although he has a few intriguing traits, it is more realistic for him to develop into a situational pass-rusher only. His injury history is not clean as he has numerous issues especially with asthma specifically and although it appears that is behind him, it is not a guarantee that it won’t be an issue in the future. Cox is an inconsistent player and inconsistency is why he went undrafted and why he has spent the majority of his professional career on practice squads.

You do not want Cox to start, because he can be a liability. Despite there being a few interesting traits and more than enough boxes are checked, Cox is not a finished product and is not ready for the big show. The reality is, Cox may be forced into action due to all of the suspensions and he can thrive in certain situations in limited snaps and that will be key moving forward.

How the Browns will replace Myles Garrett during his suspension

Olivier Vernon, Chad Thomas and others will need to step up

Now that Myles Garrett has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL, the Cleveland Browns will be without their top defensive lineman for the rest of the 2019 season. Replacing the NFL’s current sack leader will not be easy.

Getting Olivier Vernon back into the lineup at full strength will be the biggest help. Vernon has missed the last two games with a knee injury. Prior to that, he was consistently providing pressure off the edge opposite Garrett. In fact, he had more QB pressures on the season than Garrett did through Week 9.

Vernon has not shown the ability to finish his pressures this year, racking up three sacks. That will need to change. He is the best-suited Browns player to become the alpha pass rusher.

Chad Thomas has stepped up nicely in Vernon’s absence, but the pressure is now on the second-year EDGE to be a full-time starter. Thomas has a sack in each of the last two games and also broke up a 4th-down pass attempt (that Mason Rudolph essentially threw into him), so he is making some impact. It will be interesting to see if he can do it more consistently and eliminate the stretches where he’s too easily blocked.

Chris Smith will also need to step up. The veteran reserve has been very quiet in limited duty. Newcomer Bryan Cox Jr. is a bigger, stouter version of Genard Avery, who was traded away earlier this season.

There is still a chance the Browns could look outside the current team. Garrett’s suspension does leave a vacant spot on the 53-man roster. With no defensive linemen on the practice squad, there will probably be a move to at least add someone there.

Browns sign edge rusher Bryan Cox Jr. to active roster

Here is your Genard Avery replacement on the roster

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The Cleveland Browns have signed free agent edge rusher Bryan Cox to the 53-man roster. Cox was added Wednesday morning after the team’s waiving of linebacker Malik Jefferson was made official.

Cox has been in the NFL since 2017 after being undrafted out of Florida. He is the son of former Dolphins linebacker Bryan Cox. The younger Cox is bigger (6-3, 270 pounds) than his father and has played both defensive end and outside linebacker for the Carolina Panthers since entering the league. He made his 2019 debut in Week 9, recording one tackle in the Panthers’ win over Tennessee.

He was a rookie for the Panthers when current Browns defensive coordinator held that role in Carolina.