Brownie Bites: Browns trim roster to 53; keep 4 quarterbacks on initial roster

CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns got down to the league mandated 53-man roster limit prior to practice Tuesday afternoon.

Here’s the top Brownie Bites from cut down day.

The first 53 – The Browns kept 24 offensive players, 26 on defense and three special teamers on their initial 53-man roster announced Tuesday afternoon.

Quarterbacks (4): Tyler Huntley, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston

Running backs (2): Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong Jr.

Wide receivers (6): David Bell, Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, Jamari Thrash, Cedric Tillman

Tight ends (2): Jordan Akins, David Njoku

Offensive linemen (10): Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin, Javion Cohen, Nick Harris, James Hudson III, Dawand Jones, Ethan Pocic, Wyatt Teller, Jedrick Wills Jr., Zak Zinter

Defensive linemen (9): Myles Garrett, Shelby Harris, Maurice Hurst II, Quenton Jefferson, Isaiah McGuire, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Za’Darius Smith, Dalvin Tomlinson, Alex Wright

Linebackers (6): Devin Bush, Mohamoud Diabate, Tony Fields II, Jordan Hicks, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Nathaniel Watson

Defensive backs (11): D’Anthony Bell, Grant Delpit, M.J. Emerson Jr., Kahlef Hailassie, Myles Harden, Ronnie Hickman, Rodney McLeod, Cameron Mitchell, Greg Newsome II, Juan Thornhill, Denzel Ward

Specialists (3): Corey Bojorquez, Dustin Hopkins, Charley Hughlett

Surprise, surprise – There weren’t many surprises with the initial 53 but there were a couple of eye openers, starting with the decision to keep four quarterbacks. “We have four good quarterbacks, Stefanski said. “That’s it.” Stefanski, a self-professed lover of tight ends, only got to keep two to start. Odds are one or two will be added to the practice squad. “I feel really confident in Andrew [Berry] and our personnel department and putting this team together,” Stefanski said. “The roster is in flux daily in the NFL, and that’s just the truth. So we work hard just like all the other teams. Find out who your best guys are and then put a plan together.” Two running backs survived Tuesday, again that is likely to change, but D’Onta Foreman could be back soon. “Again, [the] first 53 is not the final 53,” Stefanski said. “D’Onta is a guy we think highly of. It’s just sometimes it does come down to a numbers game.”

LT Conklin – Jack Conklin practiced for the first time since undergoing extensive knee surgery last fall on Tuesday. Conklin revealed the procedure went beyond just repairing his ACL and MCL. “It was ACL, MCL, PCL, meniscus, so it was the whole shebang,” Conklin said. “So any knee injury is not easy, but it was a lot. But again, I knew what it took unfortunately, but fortunately it also, I have a great mindset towards it. I knew that I could come back from it and play at a high level again.” Conklin appears to be preparing to fill in at left tackle while Jedrick Wills Jr., who passed his physical but did not practice Tuesday, gets back to full strength. “Played three years of it in college. It's a little odd, but it's not foreign,” Conklin said. “It's something that I did for a long time at a high level, so that's where they ask me to do it. I'm excited to do it.”

Wolverine – Greg Newsome II was expected to miss six to eight weeks following hamstring surgery, but he is back with less than two weeks until the regular season opener. “I said I'm Wolverine, I'll be back before that,” Newsome said. “I feel like I could have been back two weeks ago. I was just working hard to get out there and yeah, I knew I would be back.” Newsome suffered the injury while working out at Northwestern when he felt a “pop.” Initially Newsome thought he was fine but two days later got an MRI and the bad news. “I was jogging and doing high knees and stuff before the surgery, so I thought it wasn't that serious,” Newsome said. “When I got the MRI back and they told me I needed surgery, I was just confused. But no, obviously I didn't actually need surgery. It was one of those things I could choose, and they said if I get surgery I'll be able to have a chance to making it back. So I opted to do that.” Newsome expects to play Week 1 against the Cowboys. “A thousand percent,” Newsome said.

Players waived – DT Jowon Briggs, WR Ahmarean Brown, WR Jaelon Darden, S Christopher Edmonds, DT Siaki Ika, DT Sam Kamara, TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden, LB Winston Reid, T Lorenzo Thompson, TE Treyton Welch, WR Michael Woods II

Contracts terminated – CB Tony Brown II, RB D’Onta Foreman, CB Justin Hardee Jr., T Germain Ifedi, WR James Proche II

Injury lists – PUP: RB Nick Chubb (knee); NFI: RB Nyheim Hines (knee), OG Michael Dunn (designated for return); Reserve/injured: C Luke Wypler (broken ankle)

Hall to exempt list – Rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr., charged with domestic violence, was placed on the commissioners exempt list. Hall Jr. does not count against the 53-man roster limit and he will not be eligible to practice, play in or attend games. However, Hall is permitted to be present at the facility.

Waiver matters – The waiver wire order will follow the 2024 first round draft order for the first two weeks of the season meaning the Browns are 23rd in claiming priority.

Outstanding rookie – Receiver Jamari Thrash was voted the Browns Maurice Bassett award winner. The award was named in 1985 in honor of RB Maurice Bassett, who played for the Browns from 1954-56, and is given to the Browns’ most outstanding rookie in training camp as voted by the media.

Roll Call – CB Denzel Ward (concussion), LT Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee), Maurice Hurst II (hamstring), WR David Bell (quadriceps), LB Nathaniel Watson (quadriceps) did not practice.