Browns release 4 players, trimming roster to 80 players

On Friday, the Cleveland Browns announced the release of four players:

• WR Tony Brown
• DE George Obinna
• DT Justin Zimmer (non-football injury)
• LB Jermaine Grace

Not too long ago, we finished previewing the Browns’ entire 90-man roster heading into training camp. NFL teams have until August 16 to reduce their rosters to 80 players, which is when full-padded practices (i.e. what we think of as training camp) can begin. If players aren’t going to be on the roster, it makes sense to trim it sooner rather than later, to reduce unnecessary footprint in Berea.

The Browns currently have 3 players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. When they come off the list, the team may ultimately be prepared to release a couple more players.

As far as the players let go today, fans had been most intrigued by undrafted free agent DE George Obinna. With the team stacked on the defensive line depth this year, though, his odds of cracking the final roster weren’t good, and the same goes for the other three players.