9 Browns Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday's Roster Deadline

The Browns will have some very difficult decisions to make with our final preseason game now in the rearview.

The new format of the 2023 NFL offseason means that rather than slowly whittling the roster down through the preseason, teams have to go from 90 straight down to 53 in one fell swoop. That deadline is coming up at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 29.

With so little time remaining to make a ton of crucial personnel decisions, here's a look at 10 roster bubble players that will be among the Browns' cuts ahead of Tuesday's deadline.

9 Browns Who Will Be Cut Following Preseason

1. Anthony Schwartz

Let's start with an easy one, shall we?

I think if Anthony Schwartz isn't cut, Browns fans might riot. In fact, that was already true before the emergence of Austin Watkins Jr., but now? If Schwartz made the roster and Watkins didn't fans might ask the Browns to relocate again. Okay, maybe it's not quite that bad.

But it's clear that Schwartz has to go. He's shown nothing over his first two NFL seasons, and this preseason has been no different.

He fumbled in his first game. He was held without a reception in the second. He had just 4 receptions on 10 targets in his third. UPDATE in the fourth.

You don't need me to tell you it at this point, but Schwartz will be cut, and fans will rejoice.

2. Zaire Mitchell-Paden

Unless the Browns carry more than three tight ends (unlikely), then it's pretty clear what the trio will look like. David Njoku's status as TE1 was never in question. Jordan Akins and Harrison Bryant are duking it out for the TE2 spot, and while I think Akins is the clear answer there, that doesn't meant Bryant shouldn't stick around as the TE3. And with that depth, there's simply not much reason to carry any more than three.

So in a sense, we can use Zaire Mitchell-Paden to also mean "any tight end who's not those three," but ZMP did seem to have the best chance at making it, so let's focus on him.

Mitchell-Paden showed some receiving chops in the preseason with STATS and he had his moments in training camp.

But how are you going to justify carrying four tight ends on this roster? With a deeper wide receiver room than we've had in years, even if the Browns keep just three RBs that's a very hard roster spot to justify.

Admittedly I don't think Harrison Bryant is a long-term answer at the position. In a perfect world, ZMP keeps developing and replaces Bryant once his contact is up at the end of the season. But you can't keep a guy on the roster for only that purpose.

Maybe the Browns shock everyone and cut Bryant (we have the cap space to make the dead money that would bring on less of a concern), but I think the most likely path here is that Mitchell-Paden gets waived and then stashed on the practice squad.

If that happens, look for Mitchell-Paden to get a crack at the active roster if any tight ends get hurt this year, and to make the 53-man unit for real in 2024.

3. Drew Forbes

You could tell me that I have to replace Drew Forbes on this list with Michael Dunn and I wouldn't argue with you too hard, because they're pretty close in my books and the reasoning that we're keeping just one of them remains for either.

Let's start with the givens on the interior o-line: Ethan Pocic, Wyatt Teller and Joel Bitonio have roster spots. I think we carry six interior o-linemen, so that leaves three reserve spots.

I'm giving one to Nick Harris: after struggling when he saw the field as a rookine in 2020, he looked very solid in 2021. He missed the 2022 season due to injury, but a strong preseason has made it clear that he's all the way back. Plus he has the versatility to play guard or center.

Next, I think sixth-round pick Luke Wypler makes the 53-man roster. By "official" positions that might look like it's giving us three centers with Pocic and Harris, but Harris has C/G versatility, and Wypler did play about 15% of his preseason snaps at guard as well. So I'm not going to get too hung up on positional labels there.

That leaves one spot between Forbes and Dunn. The two have played similarly well in the preseason, but I give the edge to Dunn for his versatility (started his Browns career at tackle) and for having a bigger sample of playing time over his NFL career. Again, I wouldn't be all that shocked if Dunn does end up being the one released, but right now my money is on Forbes getting the boot.

4. Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

Let's stick with the offensive line, shall we?

Dawand Jones isn't ready yet, but that guy is going to be at the very least a solid depth piece at both tackle spots. And he's already flashes of potential to be able to start at either the left or right tackle spot down the line.

Then we've got James Hudson, who's not shown the same upside Jones has, but who has already been a serviceable backup for two seasons.

And beyond those two, as I mentioned above I think Michael Dunn makes the roster and he can play tackle in a pinch.

So with two starters and three depth options, there's not much room left for Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

Wheatley had some great preseason performances, but sometimes that's just not enough when you're fighting an uphill battle at a crowded position as a former undrafted free agent with no NFL appearances in three years.

5. Maurice Hurst

Now how about the other side of the trenches?

Defensive tackle was one of the Browns' biggest needs to address this offseason, and just three days after agreeing to terms with Dalvin Tomlinson they also signed veteran Maurice Hurst.

With Jordan Elliott still in town, that made for an almost respectable trio.

Then Andrew Berry continued to shore up the position, drafting Siaki Ika and also signing Shelby Harris. And now suddenly the defensive tackle room is far too crowded.

The locks are Tomlinson and Harris, and unless we can get something in a trade, I think Elliott stays too. That narrows the battle for the likely final roster spot at the position to Ika and Hurst.

The 28-year-old Hurst certainly has a higher floor than Ika. He hasn't lived up to the promise he showed with a 4.0 sack season as a rookie, but he spent three seasons showing he can at least be a decent contributor for the Raiders.

But this is a deep group. With Tomlinson, Harris and Elliott at the top of the depth chart, we don't need a high-floor guy without much upside.

That means it's a much better move to gamble on Ika and his long-term potential, even if Hurst would be the better option to actually see playing time in 2023. Hurst may stick on another roster, especially if injuries mount throughout the season, but he's not going to do it in Cleveland.

6. John Kelly

Jerome Ford's preseason injury meant the Browns got a nice long look at their RB3 competition between John Kelly and Demetric Felton.

Ford's injury isn't all that serious, but it does open up a slight possibility that the Browns head into week one with four running backs on the roster. Even if that's the case, however, John Kelly will not be one of them.

There's going to be an influx of running backs hitting free agency after the cutdown day, and the Browns will grab one at that point if they really feel the need. Kelly has simply done nothing to show he's anything more than incredibly replaceable.

Kelly has 32 carries across his four NFL seasons, including just 2 carries in his two seasons with the Browns. He's also shown just about nothing in the preseason, with the following stat-lines:

• 10 carries for 42 yards
• 6 carries for 6 yards
• 8 carries for 20 yards
• 6 carries for 20 yards

It's not like we can fault the offensive line either. Demetric Felton has had no trouble putting up efficient numbers in his first three games before finally posting a dud of his own in the finale.

Even if we weren't keeping Felton, the answer would not be keeping Kelly as the RB3. The answer would be to cut down to two running backs and bring in other options through free agency.

7. D'Anthony Bell

The battle between 2022 undrafted free agent D'Anthony Bell and 2023 UDFA Ronnie Hickman for the fourth and final safety spot on the roster has been one of the most fun stories of the Browns' preseason.

Bell was the first Browns UDFA to make the roster in years, and he played a significant role on special teams.

Hickman signed as a UDFA this year and absolutely showed out in the preseason games.

It hurts to see either of them go, but I just don't thnk "experience playing special teams' is enough of a sell to put Bell over the top. Special teams is important, but it's also not like it's an irreplaceable skillset. Hickman isn't as physical as Bell, but he should still be able to contribute on specials, and his upside at safety is too much to resist.

Fingers crossed Bell clears waivers and we can keep him on the practice squad.

8. A.J. Green

Three years into his NFL career, A.J. Green III has not shown much upside in the Browns' defensive backfield. He seemed to have made a jump as a sophomore in 2021, but last year was his worst as a pro, and it was always going to take a great preseason to earn him a roster spot in 2023.

That has not been the case.

He looked okay in the preseason opener, but when he saw his playing time expand in the following game he struggled. PFF gave him a coverage grade of just 52.8 against Washington, then he didn't suit up against the Eagles.

Any necessary final game notes

Green doesn't have the versatility to bump into the slot, and the Browns have enough depth on the outside to make him dispensable.

9. Isaiah Thomas

There's something to be said for bringing Isaiah Thomas onto the final 53 then putting him on I.R. He'd be eligible to return this season, and we wouldn't risk losing him if another team placed a waiver claim.

But neither of those are good enough reasons to blow a roster spot for Thomas.

The 2022 seventh-round pick really didn't show much as a rookie, playing 162 snaps and earning an overall grade of just 51.0 from PFF. He had 5 tackles and 1 sack and didn't impress in either run defense or pass rushing. He's got potential and was showing some improvement in training camp, sure, but he still graded out poorly in the preseason snaps he did manage to play this year too.

The Browns are deeper than ever on the edge, and the ability to activate Thomas from I.R. is really not an important consideration, so that simply leaves the risk of another team making a waiver claim.

That also isn't especially likely, and if they do then it's not like we'd be suffering a huge loss either.

It would be nice to stash Thomas on I.R., but even losing him is worth it to free up an extra roster spot.

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