Browns make the right call by parting ways with recent NFL draft pick that was a worry from the jump

Each year when it is time for NFL teams to trim their rosters down to 53 players, one of the toughest things that teams are faced with is parting ways with their former draft picks. General managers don’t exactly like to part ways with players they selected, at least not early in the process.

The Cleveland Browns have done exactly that with a third-round pick they selected just last year. Andrew Berry decided to part ways with second-year defensive tackle Siaki Ika, first reported by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.

It comes off as a pretty easy decision on paper and one that was projected here at A to Z Sports . Ika has not looked like an NFL player to this point and the Browns made the smart move of getting out from under him early. Wasting time and continuing to try to develop the player when it clearly isn’t working would have been a mistake.

Ika was a tough pick from the Browns from the get-go when they took him in the third round. The Baylor product is a poor athlete and weighs north of 330 pounds. Ika was blown off the ball often in his limited playing time last season and it continued this preseason. As a rookie, Ika played in just four games and 100 total snaps on defense.

The nail in the coffin was Ika’s inability to be a factor this preseason, often against guys who are not going to be on NFL rosters.

https://x.com/jake_burns18/status/1827582598211596497?s=46&t=DuU0jhLT9xi6I0kPDPAVtA

Hitting on draft picks after the first round is often a crap shoot and doing so after the second round is even tougher. Cleveland took a swing and a miss on a player that had some potential, but it was evident from the very beginning there was a big risk.

Cleveland will continue to make roster cuts today ahead of the 4 p.m. deadline that they must get under 53 players . Ika was a part of that process and the right call by Cleveland and Berry.

Related: Browns Roster Cuts Tracker 2024: Keeping tabs on all of the moves to get to 53 players