SB Nation - Jason Reda

Gold Star for Mangini's and Kokinis' First Transactions

Chris Pokorny — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:30:53 -0000

As most of you know by now, the Cleveland Browns released several players on Monday. Monday was the first day that teams were allowed to start disposing of their players, and Eric Mangini and George Kokinis made moves towards improving the future of this team. In other words, they didn't get it "wrong".

QB Ken Dorsey: After his performance at the end of the season, I don't think anybody would argue against Dorsey's release (except for Bernie Kosar, perhaps). He was only considered a mentor to Brady Quinn at first, but I think we're past the point of mentoring for him now.
QB Bruce Gradkowski: He had a limited amount of time to show what he was capable of. Unfortunately for Bruce, he failed miserably.

OL Eric Young: These type of guys come and go, with their only real chance of hanging on being if the head coaching position remains consistent.
LB Antwan Peek: By far, this is the toughest cut to brush off, but it was a necessary one. Peek has been plagued by injuries almost more than Courtney Brown was. On top of that, Peek was never a Pro Bowl caliber player in the first place. This cut also means that focusing on OLB in the draft and in free agency remains a high priority, since the chances of Willie McGinest being retained are not too strong.
CB Terry Cousin: The veteran defensive back definitely underachieved last year, as he was not the answer we had hoped for when DB Daven Holly went down. It's good to see Mangini dump him, considering he did take a crack at veteran DB Ty Law last season.
K Jason Reda: Who knows; you might see him back in training camp.
P Mike Dragosavich

SB Nation is in the process of compiling the most complete and accurate list of free agents in the NFL, as many sites have outdated or inaccurate reports. When that becomes available, I'll post it for everybody to see and discuss.

Cut Day Claims First Victims, QB Target Available?

Adam T — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:37:15 -0000

Yesterday teams started making roster cuts. I am sure this is no longer a complete list, but here are some of the early names. Since the teams that did the most cutting were the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions, we probably would not be interested in any of these guys for anything more than depth.

Adam Jones, CB
Bruce Gradkowski, QB
Terry Cousin, CB
Jason Reda, K
Mike Dragosavich, P
Eric Young, OL
Ken Dorsey, QB
Antwan Peek, OLB
Dan Campbell, TE
Jon Dunn, OL
Edwin Mulitalo, G
Leigh Bodden, CB
Dwight Smith, DB

The interesting news from yesterday is that Tampa Bay signed QB Luke McCown to a two-year deal. The deal is worth $14 million with incentives. Many believe this means the Bucs will part ways with Brian Griese and Jeff Garcia. Unless Garcia is insistent on finding a starter's gig, he could be the off season target Angelo brings in for competition.

Cleveland Browns Final Cuts Announced - Travis Wilson Among Them

Chris Pokorny — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:42:41 -0000

It's one of the more exciting days as a fan to find out who will be available on gameday during the regular season, but for those who have been cut, it has to feel like a downer. Overall, my projections were pretty good, but there was a shocker -- the removal of wide receiver Travis Wilson. You have to wonder if that one dropped catch against the Bears cost him everything.

FINAL TRANSACTIONS (TO GET ROSTER DOWN TO 53)

Players Waived

WR Travis Wilson - I wouldn't be surprised if he still gets brought back at some point though, if we run into another injury.
WR Steve Sanders
WR Efrem Hill
WR Lance Leggett
TE Brad Cieslak - Good luck to wherever he goes next.
TE Kolomona Kapanui
OL James Lee - I hope to see him on the practice squad.
OL Jonathan Palmer
DL Melila Purcell
LB David McMillan - A shame he never caught on.
LB Chase Ortiz
DB A.J. Davis
DB Jereme Perry
DB Travis Key - Big-time playmaker in little time with the Browns; hope to see him on the practice squad.
DB Brandon Mitchell
K Jason Reda - If Dawson gets hurt, I think he did enough to get the first phone call.

Waived-Injured

RB Travis Thomas
OL Derrick Morse
OL Marvin Philip
DL Chase Pittman

Terminated-Vested Veteran

LB Shantee Orr

Injured Reserve

OL Lennie Friedman

Here are some of players who were on the bubble and made the final 53-man roster:

POSSIBLE SURPRISES (THEY MADE THE FINAL ROSTER)

WR Syndric Steptoe - His strong preseason effort paid off, and I'm sure his progress on kick returns helped him in case Joshua Cribbs gets banged up again.
WR Paul Hubbard - This is probably a fairness issue -- they gave Travis Wilson several years to develop before cutting ties with him, so why not give Hubbard at least a year to progress?
OL Nate Bennett - With Lennie Friedman being placed on the injured reserve (speaking of which, when did he get banged up?), Bennett takes his roster spot. I don't think anyone could've projected this one unless they had inside information on Friedman.
OL Isaac Sowells - My reasons hold true. Take that, doubters! ;)
DL Louis Leonard - He adds some versatility, because he can play nose tackle or defensive end.
DL Ahtyba Rubin - Showed more progress in his first camp than Babatunde Oshinowo seemed to.
DB Gerard Lawson - He had some trouble tackling in the final preseason game, but I thought his awareness level was a little higher than the rest of the guys trying to make the team. He's also taken a few reps at kick and punt return -- if Cribbs is out Week 1, the Browns could put Steptoe at kick returner and Lawson at punt returner (or Lawson could do both if Steptoe is out for a week too).

Leave your thoughts on the cuts here. I correctly projected 49/53 roster spots, which is 92.4% accuracy. Grade me with an "A" ;). I will be updating this post shortly with a little note next to some of the players.

Poll

Which roster decision are you most surprised about?

Paul Hubbard over Travis Wilson & Steve Sanders

104 votes

Shantee Orr getting the boot

71 votes

Isaac Sowells making the final roster

24 votes

199 votes | Poll has closed