Browns: 5 practice squad players who will play big minutes this year

The Browns will likely call upon the practice squad at some point this season

The Browns are a pretty loaded team. Admittedly, they have some questions and concerns littered throughout their roster, but that doesn’t take away from the fact they’re one of the better and well-constructed teams in the league. That doesn’t mean the dreaded injury bug won’t come a-knocking at some point.

Injuries aren’t the only concern but the team is relying on a lot of rookie and second-year players. It’s unlikely many players will fail to produce, but some will. Those players and the injuries that are sure to affect the Browns (because it affects all 32 teams) will eventually force the Browns to call up someone(s) from the practice squad.

That’s why these five players are the most likely to be called up.

DT Sheldon Day

It was a shock to see the Browns not take on Sheldon Day for the 53 man roster. He was seen as a first-team guy early in camp and was specifically paired up with the other two starters, Malick Jackson and Andrew Billings. He was eventually beaten out by Jordan Elliot and Malick McDowell, and for better or worse, Day was a last-round cut from the team. Most teams tend to stick pretty close to their own after cuts in order to fill out the practice squad and that’s what happened with Day. He got signed up and placed on the roster, always one call from seeing the main roster.

The Browns are not confident with their defensive tackles, or at least they shouldn’t be. Jackson hasn’t played well in his last few years and McDowell has had all sorts of issues that kept him out of football for four years. Billings was the third tackle in a bad rotation in Cinncinnati and Elliot struggled mightily as a rookie.

All four men could be gone by Week 10, all four men could be studs fighting for a Pro Bowl spot, we have no idea. It’s likely that someone, anyone, will get hurt eventually or fail to impress with his play, making Day a likely call-up.