Dawgs By Nature

The following players were cut by the Cleveland Browns, trimming their roster from 75 to the league required 53 players:

(Key: Expected Cut, Highlighted/Notable Cut, Shocker Cut)

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS CUT

• QB Richard Bartel
• FB Charles Ali: I'm sorry to see him go. I really like having at least two players at every non-special teams position, and Ali was a pretty good backup fullback. We didn't keep Herron either, so who will serve as the backup fullback remains a question.
• RB Noah Herron
• RB Chris Jennings
• WR David Patten: I'm sure he'll catch on elsewhere. We really would have had too many receivers on the team if we kept him.
• WR Jordan Norwood
• WR Paul Hubbard
• WR Lance Leggett
• TE Aaron Walker
• OL Dustin Fry
• OL Kurt Quarterman
• OL Pat Murray
• OL Branndon Braxton
  
• OL Isaac Sowells: It's party time!

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS CUT

• DL Brian Schaefering
• DL Adam Hoppel
• DL Santonio Thomas
• LB Titus Brown: An early injury in camp foiled his roster chances. I thought there was an outside chance he might end up on the practice squad.
  
• LB Beau Bell: Phil Savage's fourth-round pick goes down the drain. He might not even be practice squad eligible.
• DB Brandon Anderson
• DB Corey Ivy: I guess this means Coye Francies is going to receive a lot of playing time this season.
• DB Tra Battle
• DB Hamza Abdullah

The team also reached an injury settlement with DL Melila Purcell, so he is no longer with the team. To be more specific about some of the players, we didn't "waive", but rather "terminated the contract of" Abdullah, Patten, Herron, Ivy, and Walker. The Browns actually waived one more player than required, so we should be signing someone soon to the 53-man roster.

Now, it's interesting to take a look at which bubble players did make the team. Here is a brief list of the players we can congratulate:

POTENTIAL "SURPRISES" TO THE TEAM

• TE Martin Rucker: He might have made the team by default, because Aaron Walker really wasn't an upgrade over him. On the same note, the fact that he did not drop any passes against the Bears might have been the difference too.
• OL Corey Hilliard: Who? He was a sixth-round pick by the Patriots in 2007 and spent the past two years on the Colts as a backup/practice squad type player. We didn't get a chance to evaluate his talent much, but I'm happy to see Isaac Sowells finally go. For the record, Hilliard will serve as the team's backup offensive tackle.
• LB Marcus Benard: The undrafted free agent out of Jackson State did it. The first preseason game against the Packers was his best game by far, although I wonder if Titus Brown would've made the team instead had he stayed healthy.
• LB Leon Williams: The veteran hasn't really been seeing reps with the first-team defense, but he's still on the team. Perhaps his versatiliy of playing the inside or the outside helped his cause. Either way, I really don't see him getting much playing time this season.
• LB Blake Costanzo: Not a surprise to me. I welcome his special teams abilities this season.
• DB Gerard Lawson: His kick return abilities against the Chicago Bears this past Thursday might have saved his job. He doesn't have a huge role on the Browns, but maybe that'll change with us waiving both Hood and Ivy.
• DB Bret Lockett: It's funny how us as fans can pick out players like Benard and Lockett and say, "if someone is going to make the team, I can see it being these players". Lockett adds some depth to the safety position.
• DB Nick Sorensen: Again, not necessarily a surprise, but he is mainly a special teams contributor.

Many of the players we cut could still end up on our practice squad.

For those curious, here is a list of former Browns players that have been cut/waived recently:

FORMER BROWNS PLAYERS WAIVED

• QB Jeff Garcia
• RB Marcus Thomas
• RB Allen Patrick
  
• WR Steve Sanders
• WR Brandon Rideau
  
• WR Travis Wilson
• WR C.J. Jones
• OT James Lee: This is a guy I'm sure we'd take a look at if Crennel was still here. He was the young prospect who we tried to sneak on the practice squad last year, but the Buccaneers signed him to their 53-man roster.
  
• C Melvin Fowler

• DL Shaun Smith: Gotta love this one.
• LB David Holloway
• CB Travis Daniels
• CB Rod Hood
• S Nate Ness
• S Brian Russell: This would be too good to be true if the Browns were able to bring him back. He's been gone the past few years, playing for the Seattle Seahawks.