10 Browns Who Won’t Be on the Roster by Week 1

As the players have a few weeks off before they must return to the Cleveland Browns’ CrossCountry Mortgage Campus, the front office is diligently towards what their final 53-man roster will look like.

While final cuts in the NFL aren’t due until August 30th, a few days before Week 1 of the regular season, a number of names on the Browns’ 90-man offseason roster are already facing long odds to stick with the club.

An offense-heavy draft this year means most guys losing roster spots from past seasons will likely come from that side of the ball.

Here’s a look at 10 players that won’t be on the Browns' Week 1 active roster once the regular season begins in September:

Dillon Gabriel, quarterback

The arrival of Todd Monken as head coach has resurrected the career of Deshaun Watson. Along with the drafting of Taylen Green in the sixth-round, it’s been looking for some time like Gabriel -- a third-rounder last year -- is already the odd man out.

A rumored Shedeur Sanders’ trade could save his roster spot, but that option, if it was ever seriously explored, might have been explained with the possible addition of Brenden Sorsby in mind, which now we know won’t happen.

Cedric Tillman, wide receiver

Adding wideouts with two of the team’s first three picks means there is a serious surplus at the position.

Of all the incumbents, Tillman might be the one who could get some minimal return value through a trade, but it’s hard to see him coming back after watching Isaiah Bond take a few steps forward this year. A third round pick in 2023, Tillman just couldn’t become the volume pass-catcher needed by the Browns.

Jamari Trash, wide receiver

Like Tillman, there’s just no room for all the wideouts. While Thrash -- a fifth-rounder from 2024 -- could potentially be fighting for the last roster spot against the likes of Greg Lavardain, Malachi Corley and Tylan Wallace, all those guys are better players in the return game, giving them a special team’s advantage.

Zak Zinter, guard

The team really amassed a nice amount of offensive linemen this year, even considering all the departures. With the additions of Spencer Fano, Tytus Howard, Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins and Austin Barber, plus the projected move of KT Leveston to guard, Zinter -- a former third-rounder in 2024 -- will probably be auditioning for other teams during the preseason.

Kendrick Green, guard

A former third-rounder for the Steelers back in 2021, Green managed to appear in just one game last season for Cleveland, despite all their O-line woes.

Brenden Bates, tight end

The Browns kept themselves busy at tight end, drafting a couple of guys, adding a free agent, and re-signing two more. One of those returnees is Bates, who was tendered as an UDFA. Already on his second-stint with the team, he might already be on borrowed time in Berea.

Ahmani Marshall, running back

The team’s Top-3 running backs seem set with Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson and Raheim Sanders, but the addition this year of true fullback Michael Burton might be what sentences Marshall to the chopping block.

Sam Kamara, defensive tackle

One year ago Kamara looked like a player on the rise, but this time around he looks expendable at defensive tackle or defensive end, despite the team still needing some help at the latter position.

Julian Okwara, defensive end

Okwara missed all of last year, and with the team surely looking to upgrade on the edge before Week 1, Okwara seems like the sacrificial lamb.

Nathaniel Watson, linebacker

While the team could conceivably still add a name here, Watson looks like he’s competing for one final spot at this position with Winston Reid and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, after the team added free agent Quincy Williams and landed Justin Jefferson in the draft.

Watson and Reid both missed last season with injury, but Reid looked better as a rookie back in 2024 than Watson, a sixth-rounder that year.

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