As the deadline for NFL players to opt out for the 2020 season passed on Thursday, the Browns took a major hit to their offensive line depth. In total five players opted out for the season, guards Malcolm Pridgeon, Drew Forbes, Colby Gossett, tackle Drake Dorbeck and defensive tackle Andrew Billings. Right now the Browns have eleven offensive linemen on the roster. Ideally a team would like to keep thirteen to fifteen linemen on the roster and the practice squad. Right now the Browns have three true guards on their roster, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and Willie Wright. So depth is a major issue and GM Andrew Berry will have to address this issue.
The biggest shock was DT Andrew Billings opting out. He was a surprise signing by the Browns, only because it was a shock that the Bengals released Billings. That leaves the Browns with DT’s Sheldon Richardson, Larry Ogunjobi and third round draft pick Jordan Elliot as starters. The backups are Daniel Ekuale, Jeffery Whatley and Eli Ankou. Pretty scary, right? My article this week for http://www.CLEsportstalk.com will address the state of the Browns post opt out and I’ll look at some possible roster additions.
As for the revolving door that is the Reserve/Covid-19 list, all players who ended up on the list have been activated, P Jamie Gilliam, QB Garrett Gilbert, WR Ja’Marcus Bradley, RB Dontrell Hilliard and S Jovante Moffatt. The current roster stands at 79. Like I said, Andrew Berry will have to add a couple of guards and a backup defensive tackle. The first guard that comes to mind is former Viking Josh Kline who is still unsigned. As for backup DT, don’t expect a big name, the Browns just need depth. The Browns currently have $40.4 million in cap space.
Now for the good news. TE David Njoku dropped his trade request. All it took was a conversation with GM Andrew Berry. So the tight end room is back to very talented. Speaking of tight ends, Austin Hooper revealed in a zoom meeting with the media, he spent two to three weeks at Baker Mayfield’s home working on timing and reps. Hooper said he and Mayfield got to know each other and he caught about a hundred passes from the Browns quarterback. Finally, head coach Kevin Stefanski in a meeting with the press on Thursday, said he visited Mayfield in Texas back in February. Stefanski said he sees a very committed football player and Mayfield is demonstrating all that’s necessary to be a good teammate. I’m still felling really good about the Browns coaching staff and the front office, how about you?
Finally, starting Friday August 14th, the Browns will be streaming practices on their official website http://www.clevelandbrowns.com. Time to watch some practice. And as a bonus, on Sunday August 16, a new episode of “Building The Browns” will be airing on YouTube at 11:30 am eastern and 10:30 am central. Looks like it’s going to be a 2020 Browns viewing weekend. I’m so tired of watching old games. So everyone enjoy and stay safe. Go Browns.