Letting Andy Janovich go may have been a mistake, even if Johnny Stanton is a real option to replace him

Cleveland Browns have let Andy Janovich go, likely giving Johnny Stanton a shot.

The Cleveland Browns have made one of the more unexpected moves of the offseason by letting incumbent fullback and Pro Bowl-reservist Andy Janovich go by declining his option for the 2022 season. The move leaves the Browns with no fullback for the upcoming season, save for practice squad player Johnny Stanton, who the Browns signed to a reserve/futures contract in January.

The move will save the Browns $1.6 million and will see a good lead blocker leave to go elsewhere. Janovich wasn’t much of a play-maker with the ball, but he had near 300 snaps between the offense and special teams and was someone the Browns could rely on for blocking purposes.

With the Browns clearly having some faith in Stanton and the return of blocking-specialist Stephen Carlson to the roster for 2022, it seems as though the Browns aren’t as interested in his skillset, even though he was an alternate Pro Bowl selection for the 2021 season.

Stanton showed a lot of potential as a playmaker last year in the pre-season, even playing some running back for the team, and showing a brutalizing style of running.

Johnny Stanton once again has a shot to prove his worth to the Cleveland Browns

I liked both Stanton and Janovich and thought the pair lined up together would’ve been interesting. Janovich was a bruising blocker, and that’s not really Stanton’s game, but Stanton is a better athlete than Janovich and can move better in pads than the former starter.

So the idea that Stanton could give the Browns a different option in the backfield does exist. After all, Stanton played quarterback in college and moved to tight end during the draft process to try and get drafted.

So he has a versatile skill set that any team would be wise to look into. The problem comes down to the fact that Stefanski doesn’t always know the best way to use these types of players and that isn’t going to change all of a sudden heading into 2022. At the very least, fans shouldn’t expect it to change, but be hopeful that it could.

Stanton won’t fix all of the Browns’ woes on his own but he’s a threat with the ball in his hands and hopefully, the Browns realize this and give him a chance to prove his worth.