CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – With the preseason coming to a close Sunday night in Atlanta, there doesn’t appear to be many roster spots still up for grabs, but there are a few.
In an interview that aired on the University Hospitals Cleveland Browns Radio Network prior to kickoff, Browns executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry was asked how much of the work has been completed when it came to finalizing the initial 53-man roster.
“The vast majority, without putting a hard number on it,” Berry said. “That’s probably a little more difficult. At this point we’ve had five or six weeks of information, so I don’t know that one game will swing it wildly at this point.
“That being said, there are meaningful snaps to be played for those final roster spots and certainly as we begin to think through building out our practice squad. The larger body of work is more important for us.”
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This year teams can carry a 16-man practice squad, but those players must clear waivers first following the Tuesday 4 p.m. cut down deadline before being brought back.
“It’s not just building depth through 53, it’s building depth through 69,” Berry said.
They also can’t simply stash a player on IR before the deadline or else that player is out for the year.
To be eligible for the three-week IR return, a player has to be on the initial 53 for 24 hours.
Back to the roster, Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski will be looking for versatility – the ability to play multiple spots, including special teams – to fill the precious few remaining openings.
“Most decisions at this point are probably players across positions,” Berry said. “Typically, there’s maybe one position battle that you need a little bit more information on going into the final week of practices and preseason game but it’s largely, ‘Hey, do we go heavy here or do we go heavy at this other spot’ and you’re really trying to compare across positions.”
It’s not just about cutting down their own roster either.
Berry and the Browns are keeping their eyes on the 31 other teams.
Entering the final cuts, they also have a surplus at a few positions which could open the door for a trade or two to maximize their current assets and cultivate future ones in terms of draft picks.
“The trade market is something we always have a very strong pulse on,” Berry said. “I wouldn’t rule out any possibilities in terms of a deal as it pertains to our own team, but I think probably the other thing that I would mention is, when we think of the roster it’s not just the 53 but it’s also the 16 practice squad players we’re going to add because most of those guys given how the regular season is a war of attrition, many of those guys will be on our active roster and have to play some type of significant role throughout the year.”
