Browns: 4 players to keep and 4 players to cut after preseason ends

Cut #4 – RB D’Ernest Johnson

This was a hard cut to make. Simply put, the reasons for keeping him around aren’t exactly bountiful even if his play was good. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are going to spell one another most of the time. The reason Johnson made the team last year was in part due to his return capabilities.

A function and role he no longer has to or can do anymore. Not with Demetric Felton and Donovan Peoples-Jones capable of doing it and if what we saw from Felton on Sunday night, doing it better than Johnson.

The other issue is that while Johnson looked good catching the ball, so did Johnny Stanton. Both guys are up for the third running back job, and while it seems likely that Johnson and not Stanton will get the spot, Stanton can fill in at other players on the field as well, like fullback, tight end, linebacker, and even special teams gunner.

Johnson is limited on the places on the field he can occupy. Johnson didn’t play badly at all, and there is something there that he can bring to the table for a team, but as a third-down back, on a team with limited spots, it makes far more sense for someone more versatile to make the team over him.