Linebacker Depth Highlights Roster-Cut Surprises
Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
90 became 53 for the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday afternoon. A preseason that featured significant playing time from the starters influenced the group that will head into Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Although the team’s most prominent move, releasing Cade York and trading for Dustin Hopkins, has received the most attention, the initial roster as a whole isn’t without its surprises. Let’s take a closer look at a few of the decisions that caught us off guard.
Berry Keeps Seven Linebackers
One of the biggest surprises from Tuesday was the number of linebackers that Berry and Jim Schwartz elected to keep on the roster. Even though Cleveland will have three on the field in most scenarios, seven felt like a lot of depth.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t even include Jacob Phillips, who was put on injured reserve and likely won’t see the field this season with a torn pectoral muscle.
Anthony Walker, Sione Takitaki, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and Tony Fields always seemed like the four locks after the Phillips injury. Jordan Kunaszyk and Matt Adams always feel like they had a good shot because of their special teams ability.
The real shock was Mohamoud Diabate, the undrafted linebacker who not only jumped off the film during the preseason but also was a major standout at training camp.
What Berry is saying here is that special teams matter. Seven is quite aggressive when three players (Kunaszyk, Adams, and Diabtae) will primarily focus on special teams, but after years of struggles, I’m fine with making it a focus.
Lack Of Depth At Offensive Tackle
Perhaps the most significant question mark for the Browns in 2023 is the offensive line. Even though they have a ton of money and draft capital tied up at the position, the 53-man roster will be thin at offensive tackle.
Behind Jedrick Wills and Jack Conklin, the depth at tackle will only be James Hudson and Dawand Jones. All four have had their moments of greatness, but all four have also shown plenty of inconsistency. What’s strange about this group of tackles is that no one really can move inside and play guard if needed.
Additionally, Bill Callahan and Berry kept five interior offensive linemen, and three of them are true centers. That means Nick Harris and Luke Wypler who are the two non-starters are going to have to be comfortable playing guard or center in case of an injury.
It’s worth noting that the Browns did sign Alex Leatherwood to the practice squad. Leatherwood is a former first-round pick and was the starting left tackle at the same time Wills was the starting right tackle for the collegiate powerhouse.
Tyrone Wheatley was the odd trade for me. He looked good at times in the preseason at tackle and felt like he could move inside if needed. But after trading him to the New England Patriots for a backup running back, apparently Berry had other thoughts.
This offense will live and die by the success of the line, so let’s hope Callahan gets some things figured out before kickoff.
No Maurice Hurst Initially
Although it’s recently been reported that Maurice Hurst was brought back to the 53-man roster after the staff moved a few players to injured reserve, it was stunning that Hurst didn’t make the initial squad. I get that Berry knows how to play the game and felt comfortable with waiting a day for him, but who’s to say another team couldn’t have come and snagged Hurst?
Browns place LB Jordan Kunaszyk on IR. Re-sign DT Maurice Hurst to 53.
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) August 31, 2023
I get it, Hurst has been a major injury concern since his second year in the league, but when he is on the field the guy can flat-out play. He once again proved that this preseason as he made several plays behind the line of scrimmage and put consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Hurst is exactly what this roster needs. He doesn’t need to play 40 snaps per game, but behind Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris he is going to get some looks and can buy Siaki Ika time before being forced on the field.
The rookie nose tackle looked about as I expected in the preseason. He made a few nice plays at the line of scrimmage, but he was also caught out of position more than once, which opened a huge hole for opposing running backs.
I’m thrilled to see that Hurst is back on the roster, but shocked to see Berry risked him finding another home.
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