The dust has finally settled on the Cleveland Browns‘ initial 53-man roster.
The Browns had their share of surprising cuts, but overall, the moves made the team made were expected.
There will surely be more roster turnover before the season starts, but today, let’s go over some of the most interesting, but expected, moves Cleveland made this past week.
Releasing John Kelly
After being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, John Kelly has proven himself as a capable NFL running back.
Unfortunately for Kelly, since he came to Cleveland in 2020, the Browns have only continued to discover dynamic talents at his position.
With players like Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, D’Ernest Johnson, Jerome Ford, and Demetric Felton on the team, keeping Kelly on the active roster was never really in the discussion for the Browns.
Despite not making the active roster for the Browns, Kelly did enough in the preseason to get himself back on Cleveland’s practice squad.
JOHN KELLY!!! pic.twitter.com/8LQNaOVh21
— More Important Issues (@More_Issues) August 21, 2022
If Kareem Hunt gets the trade he requested or an injury occurs in the running back room, Kelly is a prime candidate to get brought up to the active roster.
Joshua Dobbs is QB2
After a terrific pre-season, it should surprise no one that Cleveland went with Joshua Dobbs instead of Josh Rosen for the role of backup quarterback.
Dobbs burst onto the scene for the Browns this preseason, leading all but one of Cleveland’s scoring drives.
Josh Dobbs went ALL OUT on this two-point conversion 😮
🎥: @NFL pic.twitter.com/bcjmtx4Vjz
— Sporting News NFL (@sn_nfl) August 28, 2022
Dobbs dominance mixed with Rosen’s struggles made this an easy choice for the Browns, who seem to be trending towards Dobbs athletic, mobile style of play over Rosen’s traditional, pocket-passing style anyway.
Cleveland brought Rosen back to the practice squad, but with the team’s recent acquisition of Kellen Mond, it’s unlikely he suits up for the Browns again.
Corey Bojorquez beats out Joseph Charlton
Out of every “position battle” the Browns had during the preseason, this one had the least surprising result.
Cleveland signed Charlton to a reserve/futures contract at the end of last season, but when they signed Bojorquez to a multi-year deal in free agency, it was only a matter of time until Charlton was released.
Punting cost Cleveland games last season, so the team was determined to invest in a long-term solution at the position this off-season.
They did just that with Bojorquez, who was responsible for the NFL’s longest punt last season, a punt in which he sent the ball 82 yards in the other direction.
Packers punter Corey Bojorquez just smashed an 82-yard 💣 pic.twitter.com/CXhCkxCj0k
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 17, 2021
Charlton was never more than a placeholder at the punter position, but nevertheless, he made it to the final round of cuts.
What it means
Cleveland did have some surprises on cutdown day. Waiving players like Isaac Rochell, Blake Hance and all but two tight ends came as a surprise to many Browns fans.
However, this is only the initial 53-man roster, and we have already seen changes and even more will follow suit.
So, Browns fans hold onto your hats, a few more moves could be coming before week one.
NEXT: 3 Things To Know About New Quarterback Kellen Mond
