Formerly Utilized Cleveland Browns That Will Be Fighting For Time In 2024
Syndication: The Enquirer
With the first wave of free agency officially behind us, it feels like the Cleveland Browns are done spending the big bucks. Andrew Berry was active early and often making trades and signing free agents, but it’s certainly calmed down the last week, especially with the annual coaches and owners’ meetings going on in Orlando.
2024 will be pivotal for this organization as it’s year three of the Deshaun Watson experiment. And while the winning has been great the last four years (compared to the prior four), there’s no doubt the pressure is on for this to be the year. Knowing that we have seen Berry be more aggressive than in the past to get this roster in tip-top shape.
As the Browns prepare to fight for a Super Bowl in 2024, here are few players who will be fighting for their lives.
Jerome Ford, Running Back
Jerome Ford was given a major opportunity last year when Nick Chubb went down with a knee injury, and unfortunately, he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. Part of this was the lack of performance from the banged-up offensive line, but in this instance, we can’t take those factors into account.
With the additions of Nyheim Hines and D’Onta Foreman in free agency, it looks less and less likely that he will be seeing the field in 2024. Foreman will likely be in position for most of the carries, with Hines brought in for passing downs and when Foreman needs a break.
I’m not saying that Ford will get blanked on snaps or be cut from the team in 2024, but it appears to be a long shot for him to be one or two on the depth chart even before Chubb returns from injury.
David Bell and Cedric Tillman, Wide Receiver
When news of the Jerry Jeudy trade broke, it was crystal clear exactly how Berry felt about this wide receiver room. While the money he’s paying Amari Cooper and Jeudy (after extension) goes against every grain in his body, he knows he needs to upgrade the position to give Watson the best chance to be successful.
Bell and Tillman are both third-round picks from the 2022 and 2023 draft respectively, and to this point both have been a bust. Bell has two seasons under his belt and the only thing we’ve seen to this point is a couple of garbage touchdowns in a week 18 game last year that meant absolutely nothing.
Bell was a tremendous player at Purdue who stuffed the stat sheet even against the best BIG10 competition, but his game has yet to translate. His lack of speed and athleticism limits his route tree and I would not be surprised if Berry officially cuts ties with him this offseason.
Tillman has had less time on the field but has still shown me nothing to even get the slightest bit excited. His college teammate, Jaylin Hyatt went the pick before him to the New York Giants, and it’s a well-known fact at this point that Hyatt is who Berry wanted.
In all of Berry’s moves thus far, taking Tillman is the only one I’ll call emotional. It felt like he was so set on a wide receiver he settled on the injury-riddled teammate of the guy he really wanted. Tillman will likely get another shot on the roster, but won’t see a lot of playing time.
Siaki Ika, Defensive Tackle
There was a lot of excitement about Siaki Ika last offseason after the draft. He was a massive body taken in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft at a position that was desperately needed. Some experts tried to warn us that he was a massive body and nothing more, and we certainly saw signs of that last season.
It wasn’t shocking last year when Dalvin Tomlinson, Maurice Hurst, and Shelby Harris were brought in to fill a huge void, but the fact that all three will be back next year (Hurst and Harris re-signed) shows exactly where Berry stands on him.
Truthfully, we may see him get a few more snaps this year than last year as Ika was inactive almost every single week, but I would not expect to see him on the field much more than five snaps per game.
I wouldn’t typically be too concerned about a move like this, but seeing a third-round pick struggle to get on the field and Berry stockpile at the position is not a great look.
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