Cleveland Browns Final Cuts Announced - Travis Wilson Among Them

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 30, 2008 11:42 AM EDT in General News Comment 20 comments

It's one of the more exciting days as a fan to find out who will be available on gameday during the regular season, but for those who have been cut, it has to feel like a downer. Overall, my projections were pretty good, but there was a shocker -- the removal of wide receiver Travis Wilson. You have to wonder if that one dropped catch against the Bears cost him everything.

FINAL TRANSACTIONS (TO GET ROSTER DOWN TO 53)

Players Waived

WR Travis Wilson - I wouldn't be surprised if he still gets brought back at some point though, if we run into another injury.
WR Steve Sanders
WR Efrem Hill
WR Lance Leggett
TE Brad Cieslak - Good luck to wherever he goes next.
TE Kolomona Kapanui
OL James Lee - I hope to see him on the practice squad.
OL Jonathan Palmer
DL Melila Purcell
LB David McMillan - A shame he never caught on.
LB Chase Ortiz
DB A.J. Davis
DB Jereme Perry
DB Travis Key - Big-time playmaker in little time with the Browns; hope to see him on the practice squad.
DB Brandon Mitchell
K Jason Reda - If Dawson gets hurt, I think he did enough to get the first phone call.

Waived-Injured

RB Travis Thomas
OL Derrick Morse
OL Marvin Philip
DL Chase Pittman

Terminated-Vested Veteran

LB Shantee Orr

Injured Reserve

OL Lennie Friedman

Here are some of players who were on the bubble and made the final 53-man roster:

POSSIBLE SURPRISES (THEY MADE THE FINAL ROSTER)

WR Syndric Steptoe - His strong preseason effort paid off, and I'm sure his progress on kick returns helped him in case Joshua Cribbs gets banged up again.
WR Paul Hubbard - This is probably a fairness issue -- they gave Travis Wilson several years to develop before cutting ties with him, so why not give Hubbard at least a year to progress?
OL Nate Bennett - With Lennie Friedman being placed on the injured reserve (speaking of which, when did he get banged up?), Bennett takes his roster spot. I don't think anyone could've projected this one unless they had inside information on Friedman.
OL Isaac Sowells - My reasons hold true. Take that, doubters! ;)
DL Louis Leonard - He adds some versatility, because he can play nose tackle or defensive end.
DL Ahtyba Rubin - Showed more progress in his first camp than Babatunde Oshinowo seemed to.
DB Gerard Lawson - He had some trouble tackling in the final preseason game, but I thought his awareness level was a little higher than the rest of the guys trying to make the team. He's also taken a few reps at kick and punt return -- if Cribbs is out Week 1, the Browns could put Steptoe at kick returner and Lawson at punt returner (or Lawson could do both if Steptoe is out for a week too).

Leave your thoughts on the cuts here. I correctly projected 49/53 roster spots, which is 92.4% accuracy. Grade me with an "A" ;). I will be updating this post shortly with a little note next to some of the players.

Poll

Which roster decision are you most surprised about?

Paul Hubbard over Travis Wilson & Steve Sanders

104 votes

Shantee Orr getting the boot

71 votes

Isaac Sowells making the final roster

24 votes

199 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Sweet. Hubbard made it. Shame about Wilson….he’ll be replaying that drop in his mind for a while.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

by BringBackKosar on Aug 30, 2008 11:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That drop was sub-high school level embarrassing. I told myself right then that he needs to go. Clearly he is not cut-out for the league.

by joeee on Aug 31, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What about Orr? That is a big surprise to me, I thought he looked good in the preseason. I guess he had to go to keep Hubbard.

I would say Hubbard, Lawson and Bennett are all eligible to be waived to the practice squad if a new pickup occurs.

by NickFantana on Aug 30, 2008 11:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I thought about cutting Orr yesterday on my list, but I chose to place Beau Bell on the IR (obviously, he made the team now).

I’d say Lawson is the most likely to be waived. I don’t see us getting another offensive lineman of receiver; I look for someone on the defensive side of the ball if it happens.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 30, 2008 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You were right

about Sowells. I hope we draft an OT next year. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, it is amazing how much better our roster looks versus 2005.

Rosevelt Colvin was cut…what are the chances his NFL career are over?

by rufio on Aug 30, 2008 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Forgot a poll...

I forgot to add a poll when I initially made the post; I’ve attached one. I voted for the first choice — I really didn’t expect Hubbard to make the 53-man roster. Orr was still a surprise, but I had considered cutting him on my list.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 30, 2008 3:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

BTW, I didn’t include Nate Bennett on the list, because that move was made due to the unforeseen Lennie Friedman IR move. The options listed in the poll don’t really factor in injuries as much.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 30, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Other teams' cuts

Jacksonville’s 5th round DB Trae Williams was cut.

Rudi Johnson also cut.

Anyone else of interest?

by rufio on Aug 30, 2008 4:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Bills decided to cut William James instead of Ashton Youboty. James was expected to be their starting nickelback. He definitely would be an improvement over Gerard Lawson in coverage, I don’t know about on special teams.

by NickFantana on Aug 30, 2008 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Another potential depth pickup is Kynan Forney, formerly of the Falcons. How alliterative. He’s a guard. Tony Grossi’s article about the cuts mentioned that Savage was hinting about improving on Bennett’s spot. He definitely seems like a place holder and it seems it would make it easier to keep him since everyone else is assembling their practice squads now.

by NickFantana on Aug 30, 2008 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’ll continue to respond to myself and mention the Pats cut Fernando Bryant. I don’t see how we don’t end up with either Will James or Bryant.

by NickFantana on Aug 30, 2008 10:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If I recall, there was some interest among fans in Williams before the draft. The Jaguars will probably try to land him on their practice squad.

I’m glad I won’t have to hear Ian Eagle shout “Rudi Johnson! Touchdown!” (cue CBS broadcast touchdown whoosh sound).

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 30, 2008 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

mostly normal cuts

Orr, as mentioned, definitely is a surprise cut. He was supposed to be in mainly for filling the special teams void left by Chaun Thompson and not much else. Maybe he’ll be back

by brad on Aug 30, 2008 7:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

In a way, Orr wasn’t all too different than Thompson was. If we didn’t want Thompson anymore, then I was a little fishy about Orr’s chances.

Also note: originally, McMillan, Orr, and Hall were supposed to get cracks at Peek’s position during the preseason. As far as I remember, Orr was never given a start.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 30, 2008 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So, we have a 52 player roster and Isaac Sowells?

I crave the approval of others.

by fwembt on Aug 30, 2008 10:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Funny how Isaac Sowells was taken in round four during the 2006 NFL Draft, and Travis Wilosn was taken in round three that year. It’s awkward to compare an offensive lineman and a wide receiver, but Sowells hasn’t appeared to make any progress, while Wilson at least seemed to make some in the slot. Wilson ends up being the roster casualty, though.

It slipped my mind that David McMillan was a fifth round draft pick during the 2005 NFL Draft by us too. For some reason, I kept thinking he had been an UDFA that year.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 30, 2008 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I saw that Deltha O’Neal was cut. Would he help our secondary at all? I know that he used to be a starter a few years ago but I have no idea if he’s still any good.

The best thing probably is to hit [Grady] 2nd -- Jay

by Buckeye Brad on Aug 31, 2008 1:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think the Browns are willing to gamble with the current situation they have. For all we know, the chance still exists that our defensive line and linebackers will be so good that the secondary will be average — which would presumably be “good enough”.

If we start getting burned over the first 3-4 weeks, then we can make a necessary move to patch things up.

I’d like to say O’Neal interests me, but heck, I think a lot of us are saying that about any veteran cornerback on the waiver wire.

Dawgs By Nature - Find out why Pittsburgh still sucks.

by Chris Pokorny on Aug 31, 2008 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Browns fan stuck livinb in Cincy

Deltha O’Neil is AWFUL, he would be zero help!!!!!! Fernando Bryant intrigues me, I know nothing about the Jacksonville guy though.
Heading to Cleveland week 1 for the game, can’t wait

by bellar on Aug 31, 2008 9:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs