It will take more than pain to keep Tavierre Thomas from making the Cleveland Browns final roster

Cleveland Browns special teams were notoriously awful last year, but one player they brought in that was able to add value was Tavierre Thomas. Claimed after being let go by the Arizona Cardinals, Thomas was a gunner for the Browns. What makes his contributions last year that much more impressive is that he did much of it gutting through a sports hernia. Going down field at full speed trying to stop punt returns had to be agony.

With a clean bill of health and a new number, 20, Thomas stands out as a possible player that could make the final roster on his special teams contributions over anything else. With Freddie Kitchens as head coach and now Mike Priefer as the special teams coach, there is a greater emphasis on those units and that might improve Thomas's chances this year.

He could certainly help himself be a more attractive option if he can also show some viability in the secondary. The former Ferris State bulldog came out with great size at 6' 202 and sub 4.4 speed for a corner. It's not difficult to see why that translates to special teams coverage units. The rest of his testing numbers aren't as impressive, but his athleticism isn't preventing him from having success as a corner.

The battle for corner spots will be extremely contentious, so if they want five or six guys who can offer coverage ability, they will have plenty of options to choose from. If they like the idea of using one of those roster spots on primarily special teams, Thomas has a good shot. No matter how it shakes out, the rest of the NFL will be waiting to see who the Browns release as they have players that can contribute for other teams.

Thomas played through a tremendous amount of pain last year and performed at a high level, so he's as tough a competitor as anyone trying to fight for one of the last roster spots this year. it would be a mistake to bet against him.