5 potential players who could be surprisingly cut by the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns Jedrick Wills (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Cleveland Browns Jedrick Wills (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Browns center Nick Harris, right, fends off defensive tackle Andrew Billings on Monday, August 2, 2021 in Berea, Ohio, at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. [Phil Masturzo/ Beacon Journal]Browns 8 3 6
Browns center Nick Harris, right, fends off defensive tackle Andrew Billings on Monday, August 2, 2021 in Berea, Ohio, at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. [Phil Masturzo/ Beacon Journal]Browns 8 3 6 /

Nick Harris

The Browns have been hoping to see Nick Harris develop into their starting center but that seems less likely to happen than ever before. Harris showed some potential as a guard but he’s struggled as a center. Many thought the Browns were fully behind him after they cut JC Tretter. Then the Browns went out and signed Ethan Pocic, a former Seahawks starter. Then they drafted Dawson Deaton. They’re really stacking the center position with options. There’s an old adage that fits for any position but is usually said for quarterbacks; If you have two starting quarterbacks, you don’t have any. That’s true for any position. If there isn’t an obvious starter, then you don’t have one. The Browns don’t have an obvious starter at center.

So the Browns have a potentially better option, and they have a younger option. While Harris isn’t old by any means, Deaton is younger, at least in terms of football time. They’re the same age, but Deaton has had less wear and tear on his joins than Harris.

So we’re on two marks against him, but here’s a third; Harris may not be a scheme fit. He’s struggled to adapt to the Browns blocking scheme, which is a difficult scheme to learn but an easy one to excel in once you understand it.

The last mark against him is that the Browns can save nearly $900k by cutting him. Since the Browns are about to be in salary cap hell sooner rather than later, every dollar helps keep them from being over the cap.

The only mark that Harris doesn’t have going against him is that he isn’t a distraction. For all we have heard, or haven’t heard, he’s been a consummate professional.