Could Bubba Ventrone Decide 53rd Player?

How could a special-teams coach have a final say as to who makes the team? An interesting scenario has unfolded that I believe could lead to exactly that.

The Cleveland Browns have begun trimming their roster down to an initial 53-man roster. The team announced a flurry of moves yesterday that takes them down to 75 players at the moment.

After walking through the exercise of getting to an initial fifty-three, I have come down to one last decision that I can't make a call on. I posted my only original roster prediction over a week ago and little has changed with exception of the unexpected trades. You can check it out by clicking the link above. So let's discuss the alterations from the original:

First, with the trade of Josh Dobbs, I will utilize that spot for a tenth offensive lineman and add Michael Dunn for more depth at guard. 

Second, of course it will be Pierre Strong Jr. in the third running back spot. To me, he replaces Felton on the roster moving forward.

Finally, I am moving on from Cade York and will have no kicker on the initial roster at 4pm on Tuesday.

With my roster sitting at 52 players, I am left trying to decide who to bring back from the original prediction. One other piece of new information that I have to consider is the fact that Jordan Kunaszyk will have to go on injured reserve after the initial 53 is announced. This really boils down to two players in my opinion, safety D'Anthony Bell and linebacker Matthew Adams.

If I choose Bell, that leaves me with (5) linebackers and (5) safeties. If I choose Adams, that would put me at (6) linebackers and (4) safeties. From a pure numbers standpoint, I'd give the edge to Adams because carrying (5) safeties would put me at (11) defensive backs overall.

Choosing Adams though, would put Bell at risk to a waiver claim and I may not be able to bring him back to the practice squad. Since Adams is a vested veteran he would not be subject to waivers and would be free to sign with any team. While you would certainly tell Adams that you want him back on the practice squad, don't think his agent wouldn't be taking calls from teams.

It is this exact scenario, where I believe new Browns special-teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone would make the final decision based on who he feels is more valuable on special teams. He wanted to bring Adams in from their time together in Indy and he has coached Bell all preseason, as Adams was sidelined with an injury. Ultimately, I feel that one makes the roster with the other making the practice squad but Ventrone could be tasked by Andrew Berry to make that call.