The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback battle may be over in the building, even if the conversation around it is still very much alive outside it. With the team heading toward the initial cutdown from 90 players after the third preseason game, the focus shifts from sorting out Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and the rest of the QB room to something even messier: how Cleveland fits the rest of the roster together.
That’s where ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi’s 53-man projection comes in, and it paints a roster with a few clear strengths, several shaky spots, and one very big question: how many players can the Browns realistically keep at quarterback?
Keeping four quarterbacks looks like the most likely route right now, with Watson joined by Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green. The problem is simple.
If Cleveland tries to get cute and stash one of the younger passers by cutting a veteran on a deal that expires after this year, there’s still a real risk another team scoops up the quarterback it exposes. A trade remains possible, too.
That QB decision ripples through the rest of the offense. Oyefusi’s projection leaves Cleveland with only five wide receivers - Jerry Jeudy, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, Isaiah Bond and Tylan Wallace - which immediately creates a squeeze. Malachi Corley, Luke Floreia, Cedric Tillman and Gage Larvadain all have a case for that sixth spot, but the numbers get tight fast if the Browns insist on carrying four quarterbacks.
The running back group is another interesting call. The projection keeps Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson, Raheim Sanders and fullback Michael Burton. Burton is the odd one here because he hasn’t practiced at all in camp, and the question is whether Cleveland would be better off using a tight end in that role and keeping another back for Todd Monken’s run-heavy offense.
Tight end may be the weakest spot on the roster. The projection has Harold Fannin Jr., Blake Whiteheart and Carsen Ryan, with no clear answer on Joe Royer’s status and Jack Stoll already on injured reserve. That leaves Andrew Berry staring at a thin group with very little margin for error.
Up front, the Browns look more stable. The projected 10-man offensive line stays the same as before the first preseason game: Spencer Fano, Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins, Teven Jenkins, Tytus Howard, Dawand Jones, Parker Brailsford, Austin Barber, KT Leveston and Luke Wypler.
There’s depth there, but carrying three centers - E. Jenkins, Brailsford and Wypler - may not be the cleanest solution.
Defensively, the front still feels like a work in progress. Oyefusi’s projection includes Jared Verse, Maliek Collins, Mason Graham, Isaiah McGuire, Derek Barnett, Mike Hall Jr., Adin Huntington and Kalia Davis.
Berry appears to still be looking for another defensive end, which could push that group to nine. Logan Fano and Sam Kamara are also names to watch, but the overall concern is depth.
At linebacker, the projection keeps six: Carson Schwesinger, Quincy Williams, Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, Winston Reid, Nathaniel Watson and Justin Jefferson. That group suggests a choice has been made in favor of the second level rather than carrying a fifth safety. It’s a crowded decision, though, with Watson, Reid and EMA all fighting for what might be one final spot.
The secondary is built a little differently. Cornerbacks in the projection are Denzel Ward, Tyson Campbell, Myles Harden, D’Angelo Ross, Tre Avery and Michael Coats Jr.
Avery hasn’t been sharp in coverage, but he does bring special teams value, as does Ross. Coats as the fourth corner would be a gamble, which helps explain why defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg leans on three-safety looks so often.
Those safeties are Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Christopher Edmonds. That group rounds out a roster that still feels unsettled in a few places, but increasingly defined in others as Cleveland moves closer to the first big roster trim.
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