Sunday Dawg Chow: Browns news (9/3/23)

Dawgs By Nature:

• Can the Browns continue their Week 1 magic this year? (Thomas Moore) - Cleveland finally broke its opening day losing streak last season. Will the Bengals be the next in line?
• Browns 53-man roster: Comparison between 2022 vs 2023 (Jared Mueller) - The Cleveland Browns initial 53-man roster for the 2023 season isn’t their current 53-man roster as the Labor Day weekend hits. With a week to go until the Week 1 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, it is possible that the current roster won’t be the one they have when they welcome their in-state rivals.
• Browns roster vs Bengals roster: A head-to-head look at the initial 53-man (Jared Mueller) - The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals face off in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL regular season. The two are also hoping/expecting to compete for the AFC North title. For years, the Bengals have held supremacy over the Browns in the final standings of seasons while Cleveland has kept Cincinnati the little brother in head-to-head matchups. In 2023, Paul Brown’s first team wants to continue the latter while changing the former.
• Ohio State vs. Indiana: 6 NFL draft prospects for Browns fans to watch (Jared Mueller) - The 2023 NFL season has yet to begin but that doesn’t mean we can’t at least start looking ahead to the 2024 NFL draft. Each week we hope to bring you one game to focus on that has some interesting NFL draft prospects to watch for the Cleveland Browns.

Cleveland Browns:

• Who is Brownie the Elf? Inside the rise, fall, and revival of the Cleveland Browns’ beloved — and bemusing — mascot (ESPN) - Nobody, at least still living, knows for sure how Brownie the Elf came to be the first official mascot of the Cleveland Browns some 76 years ago. Yet one fact is certain: It was Art Modell who put the elf on the shelf after buying the team in 1961.
• Browns players have embraced Jim Schwartz defense (Beacon Journal) - Catherine Raiche’s introduction to the NFL came in 2019 with the Philadelphia Eagles. At the same time, the Eagles had an aggressive defensive coordinator in his fourth season with the team: Jim Schwartz. Their paths have reconnected three years after they last worked together. Raiche was hired by the Browns last year as the assistant general manager/vice president of football operations, while Schwartz was brought on as their defensive coordinator in January.
• How adding Alex Leatherwood to the practice squad can help the Browns (cleveland.com) - With the initial 53-man roster set, the Browns moved late this week to adding or subtracting from their practice squad. They claimed offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood after Chicago waived him earlier in the week.
• ‘Dawg Tags’ to revolutionize fan experience at Cleveland Browns Stadium (clevelandbrowns.com) - The Cleveland Browns have teamed up with Digital Seat Media to place “Dawg Tags” throughout Cleveland Browns Stadium. This game-changing innovation will introduce a cutting-edge QR code system that takes Browns fans’ gameday experience to new heights.
• Browns: Examining the three weakest positions after cutdown to 53 (Browns Wire) - General manager Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns have done a good job of constructing a complete, competitive roster. Well, only as complete and competitive as one can get under a salary cap. The Browns lead the league in money spent per year and the talent shows across the roster. It is difficult to find weak spots on the roster, all things considered. Here are the three weakest units going into the season.

NFL:

• Rams WR Cooper Kupp visiting specialist in Minnesota to further understand hamstring issue (NFL.com) - Cooper Kupp is getting an extra look at his hamstring a weekend before the NFL season kicks off. The star Rams wide receiver is in Minnesota today visiting with a body specialist to further understand the root of his injury, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per sources.
• Steelers offensive line coach has transformed his unit from ragtag to riches (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) - Sometimes, being a position coach in the NFL is like being tourism director of Hawaii: The job doesn’t require much, just don’t screw it up.
• Mike Vrabel is becoming a coaching legend—Through his yells and his hugs (The Ringer) - The Tennessee Titans head coach is entering his sixth, and perhaps most interesting, season at the helm. But how he got here—and how he’s gained the backing of his players—is just as important.

How excited are you to see what Jim Schwartz can do with the defense? Let us know in the comments!