Browns: 4 fan favorite back up players who may not make the team
By Chad Porto
D’Ernest Johnson
The Browns aren’t going into the regular season with four running backs. Not with everyone else the team is going to look to carry. Since Nick Chubb is in the middle of a contract negotiation, it seems unlikely they’d cut him, oh and he’s also the best pure-runner in the NFL if that matters at all.
Kareem Hunt is a candidate but only in the most extreme of circumstances, so he’s more than likely safe. Then there’s Demetric Felton, a running back who can also play receiver. His versatility is too important to abandon, so he’ll more than likely make the team unless someting drastic happens.
The team will likely keep Andy Janovich as well, meaning D’Ernest Johnson is the odd man out of everything. Unfortunately for a guy like Johnson, while he played fine in relief in 2020, he didn’t do anything that one would point to and say “we can’t find that anywhere else”.
When you have a draft like the Browns had, you know you’re going to have to make room somewhere. Johnson seems like an unfortunate candidate to be axed, even though he did do an admirable job when Chubb got hurt.
Felton’s arrival though, and the Browns seeing the return of Odell Beckham Jr. on top of all the other targets they already have, plus the drafting of a receiver, it really seems likely that Johnson’s fate is sealed.
Johnson could find his way moved to the practice squad as insuranace.