Cleveland Browns: What We've Learned Through Week 4 of Preseason

The Cleveland Browns' slate of preseason games are over, and it has been a busy week for the team. The Browns reduced their roster to 75 players and have to cut it down to 53 by Saturday afternoon.

Given this active seven days for the Browns, there is much to keep up with. Here's what we learned through the final week of the Browns' 2015 preseason.

Browns Release DT Phil Taylor

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The Browns reduced their roster to the league-mandated 75 players on Tuesday, and there was one surprise among the cuts—defensive tackle Phil Taylor, a 2011 first-round draft pick, saw his time with the Browns come to an end.

Head coach Mike Pettine cited the depth on the defensive line as the major motivator for the release, as well as Taylor's slow recovery from last year's knee injury. With Ishmaa'ily Kitchen also released this week, rookie Danny Shelton will be the team's starting defensive tackle, and Jamie Meder will also be worked into the rotation.

Travis Coons Wins Kicker Battle

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The biggest one-on-one battle of the summer for the Browns was between Carey Spear and Travis Coons for the kicker job. And though Spear had the better nickname—"Murderleg"—he didn't have the better leg, and he lost out to Coons on Tuesday.

Mike Pettine said that Coons has the "slightly bigger leg," which is why the Browns chose to go with him. In the first three preseason games, Coons was one-of-one in his field-goal attempts, and his six kickoffs went an average distance of 69.2 yards, with 33.3 percent of them returned. Spear made both of his field-goal attempts, his kickoffs went an average of 69 yards, and 57.1 percent were returned.

It's clear that Coons' bigger leg is "slightly bigger," as Pettine noted. But even that slight advantage is a big deal for a team that plays outdoors in cold weather late in the season.

Barkevious Mingo Returns to Practice

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Browns linebacker Barkevious Mingo has been sidelined since early August after undergoing knee surgery. But this week, he returned to the practice field and looks to be on track to play in the team's Week 1 game against the New York Jets.

Mingo was limited in Monday's practice, but head coach Mike Pettine is encouraged, saying to the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot, "Because today was jog-through pace, he was able to go through a lot. That was encouraging to see that he truly is on pace to be back potentially for Week 1."

Mingo, too, is ready to get back on the field, saying to Cabot, "It's [two] weeks away or a week away. if I had my choice, I'd be out there, but we'll see how everything progresses in the coming week or weeks, however long we've got."

Mingo will likely be eased in, considering how much time he's missed. Scott Solomon should handle early-down work, while Mingo will work on third downs and in coverage for the majority of the year.

Terrelle Pryor Takes the Field

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There was some chatter that the Browns would retain the services of wide receiver Terrelle Pryor despite the fact that he missed a significant amount of training camp and the preseason with a hamstring injury. His athletic talents were just that rare.

That didn't sit well with Pryor, who spoke with the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot on Wednesday. He said:

"

I don't like being given anything. I do want to help the Browns. If that's the opportunity I have, cool, but that doesn't excite me. That doesn't say I've worked for it. When I get on the field I'd say I'm a great teammate. I spend a long time in the facility, I always ask questions, I try to be the best teammate, player I can be. But that doesn't excite me because I want to earn everything I have or get.

"

Finally, in Thursday's preseason finale against the Chicago Bears, Pryor had his chance. Pryor took the field in the second half, but wasn't targeted for a single pass. Instead, he took two direct snaps under center, rushing twice for a total of nine yards. He was also flagged for an illegal formation penalty and worked as a personal punt protector as well.

Is that enough to make the 53-man roster? With Pryor switching positions, it seemed like he'd at least get one passing target. Perhaps that was by design, with the Browns opting to not put much on tape when it comes to Pryor as a receiver in order to put opposing defenses at a disadvantage. Or perhaps they have more planned for Pyror this year than just using him as a receiver.

We will find out what the Browns' plans are and what Pryor's fate is by Saturday afternoon.

Only Four or Five Roster Spots Available

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Browns head coach Mike Pettine said on his radio show this week that four or five roster spots remain up for grabs for the team. That means Thursday night's preseason finale against the Chicago Bears was an important one for those at the bottom of Cleveland's roster.

These positional battles are happening at tight end, wide receiver, in the secondary and in backup roles on the offensive and defensive lines. Who is Pettine looking at closely?

"Josh Lenz is a guy that jumps out there. E.J. Bibbs will get another opportunity to play. He and Rob Housler will get some pretty good reps. Some of those young offensive linemen, Darrian Miller, Andrew McDonald, Vinston Painter, big Erle Ladson and Karim Barton—there's not much difference between all of them. A game like this can certainly separate them," said Pettine.

That's eight names for no more than five spots. These roster decisions are about to get very difficult.