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.