The Cleveland Browns are one of the teams facing the most attention ahead of the 2025 NFL draft. After all, general manager Andrew Berry will have at least 10 draft picks when the Browns head to Green Bay, WI next week, featuring four top-100 selections — including the coveted second overall selection.
With a plethora of rookie contributors on their way to Cleveland, the Browns can't afford to retain all of their returning veterans. While certain names are likely safe, others could be kicked to the curb by training camp if it means replacing an underperforming vet with a young player boasting more upside.
Browns WR David Bell's Cleveland Tenure Could Be Over
Most Browns fans wouldn't be surprised if wide receiver David Bell isn't on the 53-man roster come Week 1 of the 2025 campaign. It's safe to say that the Indianapolis, IN native's NFL career hasn't panned out the way that the Browns hoped when they drafted him 99th overall in 2022.
The decision to draft Bell nearly three years ago made a ton of sense at the time. The Browns were desperate to upgrade their WR room following the Deshaun Watson trade, and adding the promising playmaker to their new quarterback's arsenal made a ton of sense after Bell racked up 1,286 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 93 catches in his final year with the Purdue Boilermakers.
Unfortunately, he hasn't even come close to matching half that success a professional player so far.
Bell barely left a mark in his first two seasons, recording 38 receptions for 381 yards and three TDs across 31 outings. His 52.5 Pro Football Focus offense grade as a rookie was the fifth-worst mark among 113 WRs while his mark of 63.6 in Year 2 wasn't much to write home about either.
Much to his dismay, Bell didn't have much of a chance to bounce back in 2024. The 24-year-old wideout dislocated his hip against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2, ending his campaign after just one game. Considering how he was thrown on the practice squad only a few weeks before that, it's hard to imagine the Browns thinking all that fondly of Bell now that a major injury was thrown into the equation.
Even though Cleveland's WR room is currently thin, that can quickly change when the draft is said and done. The Browns can also add more pass-catching help via undrafted free agents and training camp cuts, giving them even more of an incentive to move on from Bell rather than dealing with another headache-filled campaign.