Cleveland Browns Cut Eight More, Roster Down To 80 Players

The Cleveland Browns front office gave eight more players their walking papers on Thursday, trimming the roster to 80 guys.

The Browns now have their preseason limit of 80 players, and are set to begin training camp, most likely on July 31.

According to the Cleveland Browns Web site, the eight players released were kicker Shaun Suisham, defensive backs John Bowie, Benjamin Burney and Ramzee Robinson; running back Thomas Browns; offensive lineman Jason Capizzi; linebacker Auston English; and wide receiver James Robinson.

NFL teams have to cut their roster down to 53 players for the regular season, and are allowed to have up to eight players on their practice squad.

According to the current collective bargaining agreement, players who have accrued no more than one season and been on the active roster for no more than eight games can join this squad and practice with the team, though they are not eligible to play with the active roster and may be signed by another NFL team at any time.

Looking at who the Browns cut, the pecking order for some of the feature positions in training camp are starting to become clearer.

At running back, James Davis and Chris Jennings will be battling for the final running back roster spot behind Montario Hardesty, Jerome Harrison and Peyton Hillis.

At wide receiver, Jonathan Haggerty probably is fighting for a spot on the practice squad as the roster spots will go to Joshua Cribbs, Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie, Chansi Stuckey and Carlton Mitchell.

There’s a possibility the Browns could keep a sixth wide receiver on the 53-man roster, but it all depends on how the rest of the roster decisions go.

Wide receivers Jake Allen and Syndric Steptoe are depth at this point, and despite my fondness for Steptoe, I don’t see him making the team this year unless he’s so good in the preseason as to force the team to keep him.

Allen also could end up being a practice squad member.

Ramzee Robinson is the only surprise cut this early in the process. Robinson played a few games for the Browns last season, and getting at least an invite to training camp seemed reasonable. This can be viewed as an indication Eric Mangini and Mike Holmgren like the depth they have now.

Suisham, according to the media reports, wasn’t a very good kicker, and now that Phil Dawson is going to be present, there wasn’t any further need for Suisham.

If anything, Suisham’s stunning lack of success on the practice field may have bolstered Dawson’s case for a new contract.

Time will tell.

The Browns still have not announced if any of the rookies have signed their contracts, so that remains the only obstacle to clear before training camp opens at the end of next month.