Having a look ahead to how the Cleveland Browns 53 man roster is likely to breakdown after the NFL draft.
This article is about looking at how Andrew Berry has built his roster the last four seasons as this will give us insight into how he operates and allow us to predict what the 2024 week one roster might look like.
Below is the week one roster as there is always some movement between what we see in the initial cut to 53 and the roster as it stands come week one. That is because they might carry a player into the 53 to then put them on IR so they can be activated later in the season. It could be they see another player cut elsewhere and want to add them to the team as they are more talented. This will change in 2024 as they have can put players onto IR and have them return during the season.
Alongside the 53 man roster at the start of the season it is worth looking at how many players are active on game day for each position. This is because we hear every season from people about how they believe we will have seven wide receivers, while this isn’t impossible it is unlikely.
It is also worth noting usage for the team, here is a table of how many of each position is used per snap, where week 18 was similar to a preseason game I haven’t included it in these numbers:
Keeping a third quarterback in 2024 would be the biggest impact on the final 53 man roster and how this balances out.
QUARTERBACK
Previous Rosters
2020 – Mayfield, Keenum
2021 – Mayfield, Keenum
2022 – Brissett, Dobbs, Mond
2023 – Watson, Thompson-Robinson
Current Players
Deshaun Watson
Dorian Thompson-Robinson
Jameis Winston
Tyler Huntley
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with three quarterbacks on the final 53-man roster and while they tend to only have three under contract between the 53 and practice squad I think they might stretch to a fourth with one on the practice squad.
It is going to be interesting to see who the third quarterback will be, the favorite will be Thompson-Robinson considering he is already on the team. There is a chance Huntley battles for a spot because he wouldn’t have signed for the team if he felt there was no hope.
They have done plenty of due diligence on the quarterback draft class, this could just be preparation for if players become available in the future or they are ready to move off of DTR already.
Either way I expect to see three on the 53 man roster, even with the new 3rd quarterback rule, it is the most important position in spot so maximise the chances you find a good one.
RUNNING BACK
Previous Rosters
2020 – Chubb, Hunt, Johnson, Janovich
2021 – Chubb, Hunt, Johnson, Janovich
2022 – Chubb, Hunt, Johnson, Ford
2023 – Chubb, Ford, Strong
Current Players
Nick Chubb
Jerome Ford
Pierre Strong
John Kelly
Nyheim Hines
D’Onta Foreman
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with three running backs on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have two on the practice squad. They could certainly deviate from this for the first few weeks of the season as they give Chubb time to get back up to speed, most likely they have him on PUP or IR so that they then move off of one of the three when this happens. They don’t need to decide who is expendable until this time, it could be that someone suffers an injury and the replacement is an easy decision.
WIDE RECEIVER
Previous Rosters
2020 – OBJ, Landry,Peoples-Jones, Higgins, Hodge, Natson
2021 – OBJ, Landry, Peoples-Jones, Higgins, Schwartz, Felton
2022 – Cooper, Peoples-Jones, Schwartz, Bell, Woods, Felton
2023 – Cooper, Moore, Peoples-Jones, Goodwin, Bell, Tillman
Current Players
Amari Cooper
Elijah Moore
Cedric Tillman
David Bell
Michael Woods
Jaelon Darden
Jerry Jeudy
James Proche
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with six wide receivers on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have two on the practice squad.
TIGHT END
Previous Rosters
2020 – Hooper, Njoku, Bryant, Carlson
2021 -Hooper, Njoku, Bryant
2022 -Njoku, Bryant, James
2023 – Njoku, Bryant, Akins
Current Players
David Njoku
Jordan Akins
Zaire Mitchell-Paden
Giovanni Ricci
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with three tight end on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have one on the practice squad. They could do something crazy this year and only keep two as there has been talks that the new kickoff format will reduce the amount of tight ends used on special teams but I think we will see three again.
TACKLE
Previous Rosters
2020 – Wills, Conklin, Hubbard, Lamm
2021 – Wills, Conklin, Hubbard, Hudson
2022 – Wills, Conklin, Hubbard, Hudson, Haeg
2023 – Wills, Conklin, Hudson, Jones
Current Players
Jedrick Wills
Jack Conklin
Dawand Jones
James Hudson
Hakeem Adeniji
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with four tackles on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have one on the practice squad. The 2022 season where they kept Hubbard and Haeg was different as these players had inside/out flexibility.
GUARD/CENTER
Previous Rosters
2020 – Bitonio, Teller, Brown, Tretter, Harris
2021 – Bitonio, Teller, Dunn, Hance, Tretter, Harris
2022 – Bitonio, Teller, Dunn, Froholdt, Pocic
2023 – Bitonio, Teller, Pocic, Harris, Wypler
Current Players
Joel Bitonio
Wyatt Teller
Dawson Deaton
Michael Dunn
Ethan Pocic
Luke Wypler
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with five interior offensive linemen on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have one interior offensive linemen on the practice squad, this could be a guard or center. There is a chance they could keep six interior offensive lineman if they are add two rookies this offseason then they might want three veteran depth pieces too. I would rule out one of each on the practice squad though.
EDGE
Previous Rosters
2020 – Garrett, Vernon, Clayborn, Jackson, Gustin
2021 – Garrett, Clowney, McKinley, Jackson
2022 – Garrett, Clowney, Winovich, Wright, Thomas
2023 – Garrett, Smith, Okoronkwo, Wright, McGuire
Current Players
Myles Garrett
Ogbo Okoronkwo
Alex Wright
Isaiah McGuire
Sam Kamara
Isaiah Thomas
Lonnie Phelps
Za’Darius Smith
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with five edge defenders on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have three defensive linemen on the practice squad. I would guess that it is two edges and one defensive tackle but this could go either way based on talent they have. There are lots of people speculating they could add a defensive lineman in the draft and then keep eleven, I think this is unlikely as they tended to keep nine every year and then the Schwartz adjustment increased this to ten. Adding one more on top of this seems to be a stretch.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Previous Rosters
2020 – Richardson, Ogunjobi, Elliott, Taylor
2021 – Jackson, Billings, Elliott, McDowell, Togiai
2022 – Bryan, Elliott, Winfrey, Togiai
2023 – Tomlinson, Harris, Elliott, Hurst
Current Players
Dalvin Tomlinson
Siaki Ika
Chris Williams
Jayden Peevy
Shelby Harris
Maurice Hurst
Quinton Jefferson
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with five defensive tackles on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have three defensive linemen on the practice squad. I would guess that it is two edges and one defensive tackle but this could go either way based on talent they have. There are lots of people speculating they could add a defensive lineman in the draft and then keep eleven, I think this is unlikely as they tended to keep nine every year and then the Schwartz adjustment increased this to ten. Adding one more on top of this seems to be a stretch.
If they draft a defensive tackle then it is between Ika or Hurst that is moved on if everyone makes it to the end of training camp. With them unlikely to move on from Ika after one year you would expect it to be Hurst. For me I would keep Hurst although he will probably miss some time in 2024 due to his injury history.
LINEBACKER
Previous Rosters
2020 – Goodson, Smith, Takitaki, Wilson, Phillips, Davis
2021 – Walker, Owusu-Koramoah, Takitaki, Wilson, Smith, Fields
2022 – Walker, Owusu-Koramoah, Takitaki, Phillips, Fields
2023 – Walker, Owusu-Koramoah, Takitaki, Fields, Adams, Diabate
Current Players
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Tony Fields
Mohamoud Diabate
Charlie Thomas
Caleb Johnson
Jordan Hicks
Devin Bush
How Many In 2024
I would have expected the Cleveland Browns to head into the 2024 season with six linebackers on the final 53-man roster and based on previous years they will have one on the practice squad. In every season other than 2022 they have carried six and with them having over six or more active for every game you would naturally assume this is going to be the case in 2024 too. The changes to special teams though due to the kickoff could have sparked a change in roster building as they haven’t been as aggressive adding talent this offseason. You would only say JOK, Hick & Bush are highly likely to make the team. Fields & Diabate have a shot but no would should be too surprised if they miss out. This is why I see it as the most likely place where they balance the spot on the roster for carrying a third quarterback, meaning we could only see five linebackers.
CORNERBACK
Previous Rosters
2020 – Ward, Williams, Mitchell, Johnson, Stewart, Thomas
2021 – Ward, Newsome, Williams, Hill, Green
2022 – Ward, Newsome, Williams, Green, Emerson
2023 – Ward, Newsome, Emerson, Mitchell, Ford, Hailassie
Current Players
Denzel Ward
Greg Newsome
Martin Emerson
Cameron Mitchell
Kahlef Hailassie
Tony Brown
Vincent Gray
Justin Hardee
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with either five or six cornerbacks on the final 53-man roster. Based on previous years they will have two on the practice squad as well.
I would lean towards six making the roster, the reason for that is that they have been aggressive chasing special teams corners in Justin Hardee & Tony Brown. Hardee is much more likely to make the final 53 but if he is going to make the team he doesn’t really play much defense so it is unlikely they would 0nly have four defensive cornerbacks.
SAFETY
Previous Rosters
2020 – Sendejo, Joseph, Harrison, Redwine
2021 – Johnson, Delpit, Harrison, Stewart, LeCounte
2022 – Johnson, Delpit, Harrison, LeCounte, Bell
2023 – Thonhill, Delpit, McLeod, Bell, Hickman
Current Players
Juan Thornhill
Grant Delpit
Ronnie Hickman
D’Anthony Bell
Rodney McLeod
How Many In 2024
The Cleveland Browns are likely to head into the 2024 season with five safeties on the final 53-man roster, based on previous years they will have one on the practice squad as well.
SPECIALIST
Previous Rosters
Kickers
2020: Austin Seibert
2021: Chase McLaughlin
2022: Cade York
2023: Dustin Hopkins
Punters
2020: Jamie Gillan
2021: Jamie Gillan
2022: Corey Bojorquez
2023: Corey Bojorquez
Long Snappers
2020: Charley Hughlett
2021: Charley Hughlett
2022: Charley Hughlett
2023: Charley Hughlett
Current Players
Dustin Hopkins
Lucas Havrisik
Charley Hughlett
Corey Bojorquez
Cade York
How Many In 2024
It will just be the three on 53 man roster but they could keep someone on the practice squad. While it is something I wouldn’t do they decided to do it this year while they saw what they had with Hopkins. It seems like York is back to fill this role and I would expect Havrisik to be let go after the draft as they bring in the UDFA class.
53 MAN ROSTER & PRACTICE SQUAD
Tomorrow I will be dropping an updated 53 man roster prediction but here is how many of each I expect them to keep:
Quarterback (3)
Running Back (3)
Wide Receiver (6)
Tight End (3)
Tackle (4)
Guard (3)
Center (2)
Edge (5)
Defensive Tackle (5)
Linebacker (5)
Cornerback (6)
Safety (5)
Specialist (3)
For the 16 man practice squad you are likely looking at:
Quarterback
Running Back
Running Back
Wide Receiver
Wide Receiver
Tight End
Tackle
Guard/Center
Edge
Edge/Defensive Tackle
Defensive Tackle
Linebacker
Cornerback
Cornerback
Safety
Kicker
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