3 Browns Already on Thin Ice In Training Camp

After much anticipation, the Cleveland Browns finally opened their training camp on Thursday. A busy offseason from general manager Andrew Berry looks to be paying off as the initial reports stemming from the first few days of practice have been extremely positive for the most part.

But while certain players have done their part by starting off camp strong, others have failed to do so. Several Browns either aren't giving it their all or their talents are on the decline, leaving their outlook with the franchise up in the air as we inch towards the 53-man roster deadline.

Keeping that in mind, here are three Browns who are already on thin ice in training camp.

1. David Bell, WR

If we're being honest, David Bell has likely been on thin ice for quite some time now. The Browns used a 2022 third-round pick on the former Purdue Boilermaker with hopes that he'd become an integral part of the offense.

Instead, he's done nothing but disappoint the fanbase more often than not. He followed up an uninspiring rookie season with an equally underwhelming second-year performance, hauling in just 14 catches for 167 receiving yards and three touchdowns across 15 games. He now owns an abysmal line of 38-381-3 through his first 31 career games (6 starts).

Although Bell enjoyed having a top-four WR role with the Browns last season, that likely won't be the case this fall. In addition to returning veterans Amari Cooper and Elijah Moore, Jerry Jeudy is now in the mix as well as rookie playmaker Jamari Thrash. That's without mentioning how fellow up-and-coming wideout Cedric Tillman has garnered plenty of training camp attention due to his budding chemistry with QB Deshaun Watson.

Meanwhile, Bell has been largely invisible throughout the first few days of camp. While he's caught a pass or two from Watson, he hasn't done enough to separate himself from the pack. Continuing to fail to do so will only diminish his 53-man roster odds.

If he doesn't turn things around soon, could the Browns choose to move on from Bell before the season even begins? Spotrac indicates that Cleveland can save just over $1.1 million by cutting or trading the struggling pass-catcher, giving general manager Andrew Berry something to think about as camp continues.

2. Cade York, K

What's old became new again earlier this offseason when the Browns brought Cade York back on a one-year deal. The former LSU kicker was drafted 124th overall by Cleveland in 2022 but was cut last August after the franchise acquired Dustin Hopkins from the Los Angeles Chargers.

Although he spent time with both the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants, York never made it beyond their practice squads.

Nevertheless, many viewed the 23-year-old's return to Cleveland as an opportunity to turn his career around. After all, he's still young enough to have plenty of juice in the tank and there was always the possibility of Hopkins' play regressing given that he's firmly in his 30s now.

Unfortunately, York hasn't done anything to earn himself praise throughout the start of training camp. Instead, the attention has been placed on Hopkins, who led by example by being one of the first players on the field for the first day of practice.

Barring a complete collapse, Hopkins is likely a shoo-in to be the starting kicker again last year. The ex-FSU Seminole hit 91.7% of his field goals and 92.3% of extra-point attempts in 2023, whereas York finished with a 75.0 FG% and 94.6 XP% in 2022.

As for York, he better find a way to up his performance or risk having to look elsewhere for a job opportunity.

3. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB

Dorian Thompson-Robinson saw a lot more action than he expected to see as a rookie.

With Deshaun Watson hurt and P.J. Walker struggling, the 2023 third-rounder was forced to start three games as a rookie. Considering that Thompson-Robinson was viewed as a project, his struggles were far from surprising as he finished his first NFL season with 440 passing yards, one touchdown, four interceptions, a 53.6% completion rate, a 51.2 passer rating, and two fumbles.

With Walker and late-season hero Joe Flacco out of town, the Browns brought in outside reinforcements to knock Thompson-Robinson further down the depth chart. They added 10-year veteran QB Jameis Winston to be Watson's backup while Tyler Huntley was brought in to compete for the QB3 roll.

Even though camp is only a few days old, Huntley appears to be outperforming DTR. The former Utah Ute has been taking a ton of reps and even had an opportunity to run the offense on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Thompson-Robinson is still struggling to find a way to stand out. Although he connected with Zaire Mitchell-Paden and D'Onta Foreman on a couple of passes, the 24-year-old signal-caller has been doing more mental work rather than physical activities at practice. In a game where results speak for themselves, Thompson-Robinson needs to show he's made on-field improvements too.

If Thompson-Robinson's rookie struggles bleed into the rest of training camp, his outlook with the Browns doesn't look great — especially if he's going to keep sharing the QB room with these guys.

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