5 Browns Who Will Be on the Roster Bubble in 2015

Each year teams in the NFL have to take long, hard looks at their rosters and decide where the dead weight lies. Players who have become marginally productive and are due for a pay raise are always in the cross hairs and the first to likely be cut. The Cleveland Browns are in a favorable situation with very few bad contracts, but there are still a few players at risk of losing their roster spot.

According to OverTheCap.com, the Browns have just nine contracts that will pay players more than $2.5 million next year. That is a very nice place to be. Consider that the Baltimore Ravens have 15 such contracts they have to honor next season.

Even with the flexible cap situation there are still a few players who should be watching their back. If you have a bad season or your position group struggles mightily then all of a sudden you’re expendable. This is life in the NFL. It has a very short memory and can be twice as cruel.

Let’s take a look at five players who just might find themselves on the open market a little sooner than they expected.

Travis Benjamin

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

When former general manager Tom Heckert selected Travis Benjamin in the fourth round of the 2012 draft he was a speedster with a high ceiling. He had the makings of a great returner and possibly a damn good pass-catcher as well.

Neither of those things has panned out. That is partly because of injury and partly because of poor quarterback play but neither of those can save Benjamin if the Browns feel he has reached his potential.

Benjamin has amassed just 298, 105 and 314 yards in his three seasons as a receiver. He has never panned out as the consistent deep-play threat that Heckert envisioned.

He did show promise as a kick returner in 2013 before his season ended with a knee injury. When he returned in 2014 his confidence seemed lost, and he had trouble hanging on to the football. He fumbled the ball twice this season.

If the Browns find enough replacements at receiver then Benjamin could be looking for work elsewhere. Working in his favor, however, is the fact that the Browns will have to replace Miles Austin and possibly Josh Gordon this offseason as well.

Desmond Bryant

David Richard/Associated Press

The Browns struggles to stop the run will cause some casualties on the defensive line for sure. Ahtyba Rubin will likely not be brought back next year as his contract has expired and Phil Taylor is heading into the last year of his deal. That leaves Desmond Bryant as the possible sacrificial lamb.

It is not that Bryant hasn’t played well because he has at times. The issue is that he has been injured the past two seasons. He missed four games in 2013 and another in 2014. While he wasn’t able to play in just one game this past season his injuries limited his effectiveness.

When he was healthy he was as tough to stop as anyone. He tallied five sacks. That still might not be enough for the front office not to focus on him because his salary jumps from $3 million to $6 million next season.

It is unlikely but Bryant could end up on another roster in 2015.

Josh Gordon

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

There are always roster casualties that have nothing to do with money. Sometimes players do not fit a scheme or do not see eye-to-eye with coaching. Other times they seem oblivious to the fact that they are on their last leg in the NFL.

Wide receiver Josh Gordon falls into that category and for some reason that still does not make him watch his step. After missing 10 games due to suspension Gordon followed that up with a one-game team suspension in the season finale for missing a walkthrough.

It does not help his cause that he had minimal production. His debut in Atlanta went off well with eight receptions and 120 receiving yards but from there things went downhill. He finished the year with 15, 45 and 48-yard performances and never made it into the end zone.

When you couple all that with the fact he is one dirty drug test away from missing an entire year then his time left in Cleveland is probably short. The Browns will try to trade him first but if they cannot he might see free agency via the waiver wire.

Barkevious Mingo

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

It is hard to imagine a team cutting their sixth overall pick after just two seasons, but the Browns just might consider it. Outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo has been less than exceptional and didn’t even look like a legitimate NFL starter until the final few games of 2014.

That possibility could become a reality because of Mingo’s two sacks in 2014. He was supposed to be a specialist pass-rusher, but his specialty has not been so special. He has yet to develop a secondary move and he has become very predictable in rushing situations.

More so, the sixth overall pick should be a guy you can write in as an everyday starter heading into his third season and that is still not the case. At some point Mingo has to become a legitimate impact player or he will be classified as a bust.

Luckily for the Browns Mingo still is not making much money, but that might not save him from playing in a new destination in 2015.

Paul Mcquistan

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Offensive lineman Paul McQuistan was supposed to be a quality depth guy and a possible starting candidate at guard when the Browns signed him from Seattle last offseason. All he did this past year was play portions of two games and look lost in the process.

In 2014 McQuistan made $855,000, which is reasonable for a backup lineman. Next year that number jumps to $1.4 million and if he cannot help the roster then he may be looking for work elsewhere.

He was too slow and unathletic for former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s stretch run offense. The good news for McQuistan is that Shanahan is gone and he may have a regular blocking scheme to work within in 2015.

He better hope so because the film that McQuistan put out this past year won’t just get him cut from the Browns, it might also make him a guy who can’t find a job anywhere else next season.