6 Browns on the Roster Bubble Heading Into Preseason Finale

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to get the most NFL transactions you'll see at one time for the entire year. Between all 32 NFL teams, nearly 1,200 roster moves will need to be made just to cut down to 53 players, and a ton of other moves will be made as teams make trades, waiver claims, and bring guys back to the practice squad. Among the 32 teams in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns may have some of the most brutal decisions upcoming.

The Browns have a pretty loaded roster on both sides of the ball and you have to figure that most roster spots are going to be locked in heading into their final preseason game of 2024, but it's also going to be interesting to see which players might be able to get some momentum going and make one last case for a spot.

Which players for the Browns are on the roster bubble heading into the final week of the preseason?

1. Tyler Huntley, QB

It might be fair to say that Tyler Huntley is on the roster bubble not only for the Cleveland Browns but perhaps for a number of other NFL teams in need of an upgraded QB2 situation as well. When you look around the NFL, there have to be a few teams that would take a shot on Huntley if the Browns let him go, including teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants, and Green Bay Packers.

The Browns might not be in a hurry to let Huntley go, however, after the disastrous season they just had in 2023 where they cycled through about 18 different starting quarterbacks due to injury. The Browns are all but certainly keeping three quarterbacks on their roster. The question is whether they’ll be keeping Huntley or second-year player Dorian Thompson-Robinson. 

Huntley has the edge when it comes to experience, but Thompson-Robinson has a little more long-term upside. Both guys combined for three interceptions and no passing TDs against the Vikings, Huntley throwing two of them. 

2. Pierre Strong/D'Onta Foreman, Running Back

Well well well…We may have a bit of a running back competition going between 2023 trade acquisition Pierre Strong Jr. and the 2024 free agent pickup D’Onta Foreman for the Browns. So what can be the telltale signs of which guy is more clearly on the roster bubble?

Well, the Browns gave a lot of work to D’Onta Foreman in their most recent preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. Foreman, who has run well in recent years for the Bears and Panthers, carried the ball 10 times but managed just 18 yards rushing. He also added 46 yards on five receptions, showing the ability to make plays in the passing game.

The point is not exactly the efficiency per touch here, but simply the fact that Foreman touched the ball 15 times in a preseason game while Pierre Strong only touched the ball four times. Heck, we even saw Foreman getting a look as a kickoff returner.

It could be that both of these guys are in line to make Cleveland’s roster but the presence of Nyheim Hines still looms over the depth chart as a whole. And for what it's worth, Pro Football Focus thinks both Strong and Foreman are making the team:

"It was noteworthy that Foreman’s only two snaps in the first quarter happened at the one-yard line. Foreman is listed at 235 pounds, making him one of the bigger running backs in the league. Last season, Hunt was the primary goal-line back, and this year, it could very well be Foreman, even if he remains lower on the depth chart. This is a big reason why Ford wasn’t always a fantasy starter last year despite being the lead running back on the team, and why that will probably remain true this season while Chubb is out. It’s also not out of the question that Foreman takes goal-line carries over Chubb once he’s playing again."

- Pro Football Focus

The presence of Jerome Ford will also dictate the Browns likely make a tough move to cut or trade one of these guys before the start of the regular season. Foreman has missed some time due to injury so perhaps the Browns just wanted to see him get time on task, but it does look like both he and Pierre Strong Jr. could be entering the final preseason game firmly on the roster bubble.

3. Jaelon Darden, Wide Receiver

If you loved Jaelon Darden when he was coming out of North Texas in that 2021 NFL Draft class, you can’t help but cling to hope that he can still realize his potential at the NFL level. With the NFL modifying its kickoff return format for the 2024 season, you have to figure that – at the very least – Darden is going to make an impression in that aspect of the game.

And he did have a 29-yard kickoff return for the Cleveland Browns against the Minnesota Vikings in their latest preseason game, but he probably still remains firmly on the roster bubble heading into the final week of the preseason.

And he can get himself off the roster bubble and onto the 53-man roster with one big return. Darden is getting a good amount of opportunities to prove himself in the return game with the aforementioned kickoff return as well as two punt returns for a total of 16 yards. 

The Browns also got him four targets in the passing game.

When you have someone with the type of speed and playmaking ability of Jaelon Darden, your front office and coaching staff are going to want to do whatever they possibly can to make it work. The issue is, that the Browns just might not have the room on the roster right now after the additions they’ve made over the last few years. 

Darden needs another big week in the preseason finale to get off the roster bubble and into the Browns’ weekly game plan.

4. Siaki Ika, Defensive Tackle

After what we’ve seen so far in the preseason, former Cleveland Browns third-round pick Siaki Ika is almost undoubtedly going to have to find his way in the NFL on another team’s practice squad. It looks like we’re about to reach the end of the line for him in Cleveland.

Normally, a third-round pick hitting waivers just over a year after being drafted would get automatically claimed by some other team, but Siaki Ika has really struggled badly so far in the NFL and just doesn’t look like he has what it takes to play at this level.

He might need to develop elsewhere at this point.

There was a lot to like about this selection for the Browns last year, especially because this team struggled in 2022 to stop the run. Ika was presumably going to come in and make an instant impact against the run and bring that big size into the mix for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. To say he’s been underwhelming would probably be an understatement.

At this stage, the selection of Siaki Ika is just looking like a pure whiff for Browns general manager Andrew Berry. He was getting buried into the ground by Vikings offensive linemen in the preseason game last weekend, and I’m not sure what he could realistically do in the final preseason game to actually make the roster.

Ika’s best shot of making the Cleveland Browns at this point is probably his NFL Draft status, which is likely what kept him around all of last year. Instead of using a 53-man roster spot on him this year, the Browns might actually be able to sneak him onto the practice squad. And frankly, there may not be any sneaking needed. 

5. Isaiah Thomas, EDGE

The defensive front is one of the most loaded position groups on the Cleveland Browns roster, and we’ve been preparing the entire offseason for the team to have to make some very difficult decisions when it comes to defensive tackles and edge players.

One of those players the Browns are about to have to make a difficult decision with is Isaiah Thomas. The tough part about this one is that Thomas is making a push to make a roster, and it might not be in Cleveland…

Thomas had the sack against the Vikings as well as two tackles and a tackle for loss. He’s been productive, but where else do you make cuts? Isaiah McGuire has also had a really impressive preseason so far for the Browns, and you’ve got Myles Garrett, Za’Darius Smith, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and Alex Wright on the depth chart.

How can you keep all of these players?

The Browns may simply have to hope that they start getting blown away with trade offers, or a lot of these guys could be future members of the Carolina Panthers.

Someone like Isaiah Thomas really looks like he could help a roster right now. He’s got a wingspan of nearly 6-foot-8 inches and power to go along with his impressive length. It wouldn’t shock me if teams were already on the phones calling Andrew Berry and the Browns about his availability because they’re going to have quality players on the roster bubble when it comes to the defensive front.

6. David Bell, Wide Receiver

The Cleveland Browns have done a lot to upgrade their wide receiver room in the last couple of years, and everything they've done could spell the end of David Bell's time as a member of the team.

Bell was a third-round pick by the Browns out of Purdue back in 2022 and he just hasn’t been able to catch on with a significant role on the team. The Browns have also not exactly thrust him into a lot of work at the position, to be fair.

Amari Cooper and David Njoku have dominated the target share at receiver while the Browns have made consecutive trades in the last two offseasons to acquire former Jets second-round pick Elijah Moore and former Broncos first-round pick Jerry Jeudy. They also spent a third-round pick in last year’s draft on Cedric Tillman.

Bell just feels like an afterthought, especially because Cleveland continues to take other dart throws in the NFL draft at receiver. Bell might have his roster spot taken by the likes of 2022 classmate and former sixth-round pick Michael Woods II, who has been making some plays this offseason. The Browns also might prefer to keep someone like Jamari Thrash on the 53-man roster.

Browns GM Andrew Berry has to be hoping that some team’s scouting report on Bell still has the ink drying, and he can potentially get something in a trade.

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