BEREA — Decision day has arrived for the Cleveland Browns .
By 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Browns will have trimmed their active roster from the training camp max of 91 — counting one international player — to the initial 53-man regular-season limit . It's not likely to stay with this exact 53 for too long, as waiver claims — which the Browns will no doubt try to make — can be made until noon Wednesday.
There's also the question of the multiple big names who spent the entire preseason on either the active/physically unable to perform or the active/non-football injury list. A decision of some sort has to be made on them, but they're on those lists until a final decision is actually made.
As the day unfolds, the position groups below will be continuously updated, with analysis on those groups updated as moves are made. Players will be shifted one way or the other as the Browns front office makes the final call.
Follow along throughout the day as the Cleveland Browns' initial 53-man roster takes shape.
Browns quarterbacks (4)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Tyler Huntley
- NO LONGER ON TEAM: N/A
It's always seemed like the most likely path in the quarterback room involved Thompson-Robinson staying as the No. 3, barring the Browns being blown away by a trade offer. Now, what do they do with Huntley, who certainly has a role he can capably play for a team as their backup. The Tennessee Titans traded Malik Wills to the Green Bay Packers on Monday, taking away a potential trade partner for Huntley. Can the Browns find one between now and 4 p.m. as they did with Joshua Dobbs a year ago? We'll see.
Browns running backs (3, plus 2 on injury list)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong Jr., D'Onta Foreman
- ON ACTIVE/PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO PERFORM LIST: Nick Chubb
- ON ACTIVE/NON-FOOTBALL INJURY LIST: Nyheim Hines
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Aidan Robbins, Jacob Saylors
Hines is going to stay on the non-football injury list to open the season, a league source confirmed for the Beacon Journal. He won't be eligible to play until at least Week 5 at the Washington Commanders, as is the case with Chubb. The questions are two-fold, now, for the Browns. With Jaelon Darden and James Proche II also being waived, what do the Browns do in the return game, which is where Hines was expected to thrive. Also, do the Browns' add another running back to the active roster, either through trade or the waiver wire?
Browns wide receivers (7)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman, Jamari Thrash, David Bell, Ahmarean Brown
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Jaelon Darden, Michael Woods II, James Proche II
Proche was the latest cut for the Browns, meaning the two wide receivers who had the most return-game experience among the position are now gone. However, there's a strong likelihood that Proche, assuming he passes through waives, which he likely will, comes back on the practice squad. That would make him eligible to be a gameday elevation early in the season and handle some of those chores if necessary.
Browns tight ends (3)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: David Njoku, Jordan Akins, Zaire Mitchell-Paden
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Treyton Welch
Welch was seen as an obvious candidate to be cut, maybe even with a chance to return on the practice squad. The focus at this spot turns to whether the Browns are comfortable rolling with just two tight ends on the initial roster. They always could add a third between now and the opener if the right one pops up on their radar.
Browns offensive linemen (14)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Jedrick Wills Jr., Jack Conklin, Ethan Pocic, Nick Harris, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, Michael Dunn, Zak Zinter, Dawand Jones, James Hudson III, Germain Ifedi, Javion Cohen, Lorenzo Thompson, Luke Wypler
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Chim Okorafor, Wyatt Davis, Zack Johnson, Roy Mbaeteka
Conklin and Wills both came off the PUP list on Monday, and Conklin's expected to practice Tuesday while Wills may not return until next week. That could create an issues of who remains on the roster in terms of backup options, particularly out of the group of Dunn, Hudson and Ifedi. Wypler was never taken off the active roster when he broke his ankle in the preseason opener, so he could end up an injured reserve candidate.
Browns defensive linemen (11)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Myles Garrett, Za'Darius Smith, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Alex Wright, Dalvin Tomlinson, Maurice Hurst II, Quinton Jefferson, Mike Hall Jr., Shelby Harris, Isaiah McGuire, Jowon Briggs
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Isaiah Thomas, Jeremiah Martin, Siaki Ika, Sam Kamara
Ika was drafted with the Browns' second third-round pick in 2023 with the hopes he could provide young talent in the defensive tackle rotation. That never happened, and he never seemed to find a way to noticeably improve enough that he was even seen as a bubble candidate for the roster. Meanwhile, Kamara was a player who flashed through the preseason, earning plaudits for his ability to play inside or outside. He's a strong candidate to return as a practice-squad player.
Browns linebackers (7)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Jordan Hicks, Tony Fields II, Devin Bush, Mohamoud Diabate, Nathaniel Watson, Winston Reid
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Landon Honeycutt, Caleb Johnson, Marvin Moody
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday that Fields was expected to practice Tuesday after missing much of camp with an injury? Was that a tip-off he was staying on the roster? If he does, what about Watson, the rookie who's been out since the preseason opener with an injury but who was drawing rave reviews from the organization up until that point. And what about Bush, the former first-round draft pick who saw as many preseason snaps as anyone at the position in an attempt to restart his career?
Browns defensive backs (13)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson Jr., Greg Newsome II, Cameron Mitchell, Kahlef Hailassie, Myles Harden, Grant Delpit, Juan Thornhill, Rodney McLeod, D'Anthony Bell, Ronnie Hickman, Justin Hardee Sr., Tony Brown II
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Tyler Coyle, Chase Williams, Faion Hicks, Chris Edmonds
Edmonds was always seen as a player who was a training camp depth piece. So when he was the first defensive back waived, it did nothing to clarify the numbers crunch at the position. There remains the cornerback question among the trio of Harden, Hardee and Brown. Also, there's a question about Hickman, who the Browns like, but who's also been hurt much of camp.
Browns specialists (3)
- ON ACTIVE ROSTER: Dustin Hopkins, Corey Bojorquez, Charley Hughlett,
- NO LONGER ON TEAM : Lucas Havrisik, Rex Sunahara
The only mystery about this group was if Hopkins or Hughlett were going to be impacted longer term by nagging preseason injuries. Havrisik and Sunahara being waived Monday tells you that they aren't, which was always the expectation.
Cleveland Browns 2024 regular-season schedule
- Sunday, Sept. 8: Home vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m., FOX
- Sunday, Sept. 15: At Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m., CBS
- Sunday, Sept. 22: Home vs. New York Giants, 1 p.m., FOX
- Sunday, Sept. 29: At Las Vegas Raiders, 4:25 p.m., CBS
- Sunday, Oct. 6: At Washington Commanders, 1 p.m., FOX
- Sunday, Oct. 13: At Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m., FOX
- Sunday, Oct. 20: Home vs. Cincinnati Bengals, 1 p.m., CBS
- Sunday, Oct. 27: Home vs. Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m., CBS
- Sunday, Nov. 3: Home vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1 p.m., CBS
- Sunday, Nov. 10: BYE WEEK
- Sunday, Nov. 17: At New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m., FOX
- Thursday, Nov. 21: Home vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:20 p.m., Amazon Prime
- Monday, Dec. 2: At Denver Broncos, 8:20 p.m., ESPN
- Sunday, Dec. 8: At Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m., CBS
- Sunday, Dec. 15: Home vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m., CBS
- Thursday, Dec. 19: At Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime
- Sunday, Dec. 29: Home vs. Miami Dolphins, 8:20 p.m., NBC
- Saturday, Jan. 4 OR Sunday, Jan. 5: At Baltimore Ravens, TBA, TV TBA
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns roster cuts live tracker as NFL teams trim to 53 players
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