The Cleveland Browns caught many by surprise, waiving former third round pick and wide receiver David Bell on Thursday.
Given how deep into the week it was on a Thursday afternoon, the timing had many questioning if a bigger move was on the horizon. As it turns out, however, this is just common practice around the NFL.
According to a source inside the NFL, this is a common practice for teams with players they want to bring back on the practice squad. By cutting players later in the week, teams hope to catch their 31 other opponents deep in their game plan and with an already set roster for the week, making a waiver claim less likely.
So there is a reality where the Browns have planned to cut Bell from the jump when they constructed their 53-man roster, but knew he was least likely to clear waivers of all of the players on their roster. So they waited until game week to pull the trigger.
Now the question remains: who fills Bell’s vacant roster spot?