Stay or Go? Way too early look at 2020 Browns’ roster: Offensive Line

Part two of our series of which players the DBN staff writers are predicting will remain roster members for the upcoming 2020 season. Cleveland may not have a head coach, but they have us to decide what the nucleus of the next version of the Browns will look like.

So here is our “Stay” or “Go” predictions for the Offensive Line:

Center

J.C. Tretter

Jesse Kuroiwa: Easy stay. Tretter just signed a contract extension which should keep him with the Browns for the forseeable future. There is absolutely no reason to cut a good lineman and create an even more volatile situation up front. STAY

Guards

Joel Bitonio

Thomas Moore: In a year where the offensive line was abysmal, left guard Joel Bitonio and center JC Tretter where the only bright spots. A second-team All-Pro selection for the second consecutive season, Bitonio finished with a team-high Pro Football Focus grade of 74.2, was the team’s pass blocker with a grade of 86, and tied for the best run blocker with a grade of 65. STAY

Photo by: 2019 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Wyatt Teller

Matt Wood: Again this one is a little more cloudy with the front office changes BUT I think Teller has some starting potential. Depending on if the Browns go with more of a zone blocking scheme or a power blocking scheme this could tell the tale if he is a starter moving forward, but he is for sure depth as his contract is very reasonable. STAY

Eric Kush

Chris Pokorny: After starting the first 7 games of the season at right guard, the Browns treated Kush like kryptonite for the rest of the season. The Browns have a lot of bad depth on the team at guard, and expended draft picks on two other players (Wyatt Teller and Justin McCray) to basically replace Kush last year. That lost value of draft picks might not matter with a regime change, but either way, the team can do better than Kush. GO

Drew Forbes

Barry Shuck: Forbes is a future starting guard for the Browns. A knee injury placed him on IR for most of his rookie season and then was activated mid-November. Could very well challenge for the right guard slot. STAY

Colby Gossett

Jesse Kuroiwa: I don’t even know who this is, but he is on a cheap contract. His combine numbers weren’t bad, but if we switch systems he is the type of player who would probably leave to make room for someone who fits the system. GO

Tackles

Greg Robinson

Thomas Moore: Of all the mistakes that general manager John Dorsey made during his tenure with the Browns, entrusting the left tackle position to Greg Robinson may have been the biggest. Robinson was ejected in the first game of the season, was benched for a game midway through the year, and finished with a team-high 11 penalties while allowing 26 quarterback pressures and an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 66.9. GO

Photo by: 2019 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images

Chris Hubbard

Matt Wood: LOL. GTFOH. Expensive and he can’t block. He’s gone. GO

Kendall Lamm

Chris Pokorny: It’s rough looking up and down the Browns’ roster and wanting to just cut most of these offensive linemen. Kendall Lamm is under contract for 2020, but the team can save $2.5 million by parting ways with him. Cleveland has an even bigger decision to make with Chris Hubbard, so if the team moves on with him, Lamm might stick around just to have a cheaper guy with starting experience available. But on the whole grand scheme of things, I think Cleveland would really like to get younger and better with their reserve depth, and Lamm’s two starts and injuries in 2019 didn’t do enough to impress. GO

Justin McCray

Barry Shuck: McCray is a seasoned veteran and has started several games this year. After Robinson played so poorly in the first half, McCray started one game and then was benched. He played sparingly thereafter. Solid depth, but not starting material. GO