We are in the final week of our Cleveland Browns training camp preview, as camp officially begins July 31. If you have been visiting Dawgs By Nature sparingly throughout the offseason, now is the time to start making multiple visits per day again. Here is a rough schedule of what will be posted this week:
- Sun, July 25: Cornerback Position Preview, Part II
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Mon, July 26: Offensive Line Position Preview, Part I
- Tue, July 27: Offensive Line Position Preview, Part II
- Wed, July 28: Top 5 Position Battles in Camp
- Thu, July 29: Primer: Recap of Training Camp Polls & Various Notes
- Fri, July 30: 53-man Roster Projection (First Draft)
Once training camp starts, we'll have recaps of every practice session based on all of the reports from around the city. If you will be attending training camp this year, please feel free to publish your experience as a FanPost, and I will promote it to the front page (as long as it's not just a boring one-paragraph, "I was there" post).
We'll also be chiming in a few other open-discussion topics over the next couple of days, such as the one today: "Roster Shockers." Here's what you do:
- Do not predict the entire 53-man roster.
- Pick one player who you think might be a "surprise" roster addition. The addition does not have to be a new player.
- Pick one player who you think might be a "surprise" roster cut.
- Your picks need not be over-the-top; just pick players that you think would at least warrant some buzz, such as, "oh, I thought they were/weren't a roster lock." We're not talking about something crazy like cutting Joe Thomas here.
I'll start it off...
Surprise Roster Cut
LB Eric Barton - Although he's one of Mangini's players from the Jets, he never played at an above average level last season and is injury prone. I can't imagine removing someone like Matt Roth, Jason Trusnik, or Chris Gocong, who are younger with opportunities to grow, in favor of Barton.
Surprise Roster Addition
WR Bobby Engram - I'm not completely sold on the fact that Engram is just being brought in as a veteran presence for camp (although I probably should get that feeling after we saw what happened to David Patten last year). Engram has been in the league for 14 years, and he didn't play very much last season with the Chiefs.
In 2007, Engram had the best season of his career, catching 94 passes for 1,147 yards and 6 touchdowns. He also has some experience as a punt returner, which is a bonus is anything happens to Cribbs. He might not have the legs anymore, but surely his hands are still capable of catching the ball. I want a veteran on the roster during the season; not just prior to it.
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Now it's your turn. Make your picks!