Sweeping Cleveland: Browns Make First Efforts To Clean House

With a new coach in Pat Shumur, everyone knew big changes were to come in Cleveland. On Feb. 9, the first moves were made.

The front office decided to cut Robert Royal, John St. Clair, Shaun Rogers, Kenyon Coleman, David Bowens and Eric Barton.

Most of these players were former coach Eric Mangini's "guys" and with the offense moving to a West Coast system and the defense moving to a 4-3 these individuals wouldn't have fit.

Robert Royal wasn't a big part of the team and while playing 15 games he only made five catches as a tight end.

John St. Clair has been talked about by Browns fans as one of the worst linemen in the league so this move didn't make anyone in Cleveland surprised.

Shaun Rogers is the biggest name on this first wave of cuts as he was a former second-round pick with the Lions before getting traded in 2008. Teams might shy away from signing him as he has had a couple run-ins with the law in Cleveland and his production has been going down.

Kenyon Coleman will find another spot in the league. He isn't the biggest name but he was the one who made the biggest impact on the defense in these cuts. His one problem though is that he doesn't project to make the roster as a 4-3 defensive lineman.

David Bowens had three-plus tackles in every game starting in Week 10 from his linebacker position this year. Some Browns fans might be surprised that he was let go.

Eric Burton was responsible for 66 tackles last year in the same unit as Bowens. With those two cuts the Browns will need some linebacker help through free agency or the 2011 NFL draft.