Browns: 4 players to keep and 4 players to cut after preseason ends
By Chad Porto
Keep #4 – UTILITY Johnny Stanton
For the preseason, Johnny Stanton had 10 rushes 21 yards, five receptions for 51 yards, and a tackle with a forced fumble. He rushed much better in the Falcons game than in the other two, in which he only had seven attempts in the prior two games. Yet, when given the opportunity, Stanton always showed he had the speed, quickness, and power to be a nice complementary running back.
Not only that but Stanton’s 51 receiving yards shows that he’s quite adept at getting open. The fact that he can play fullback, running back, tight end and special teams show that he’s a guy that is too important to just cut.
Yes, D’Ernest Johnson and John Kelly had nice games too, but in three games, when given near the same amount of carries, he’s either shown to be on par or better than those around him. Especially against the Falcons, where he lead the team in yards-per-carry. Since Stanton only received three attempts, as opposed to John Kelly, who had 10, Stanton showed far more in far little.
Normally, anyone after Johnson on the depth chart wouldn’t have a shot, but it’s pretty obvious that while some guy had better stats than Stanton, Stanton had far fewer opportunities and delivered on those opportunities just as well as anyone.