Cleveland Browns Roster Cuts: Tom Heckert, Eric Mangini Keep Everyone Guessing

The Cleveland Browns played their cards very close to the vest on Saturday, not reporting their final roster cuts until well after 8:00 p.m., two hours after the deadline.

While head coach Eric Mangini said the cuts were reported to the NFL on time, he waited until the backlog of reports got through the main office before releasing them to the public in order to maximize the team's position with waiver wire acquisitions and losses.

Not a bad plan, actually, but once the names came out, there probably was more than one jaw on the floor around Browns Town, including the Berea locker room.

Waived were DB Larry Asante, DB Chris Chancellor, OL Paul Fanaika, DL Clifton Geathers, DL Travis Ivey, RB Chris Jennings, CB Brandon McDonald, DL Swanson Miller, OL Pat Murray, QB Brett Ratliff, DL Brian Sanford, and DB DeAngelo Smith, according to the Cleveland Browns.

Shaun Rogers was activated from the physically unable to perform list while Montario Hardesty was placed on season ending injury reserve, although the Hardesty move was made Friday night.

Three more players, WR Bobby Engram, OL Scott Koistra, and DL C.J. Mosley, had their contracts terminated.

What's stunning on that report are the 2010 draft picks no longer with the team, Asante and Geathers.

When you add in Hardesty, that's three of this year's draft picks that are gone, two of which may never come back and a third whose return is questionable.

While cutting your losses and moving on is a good thing, and the front office is to be commended for making the hard decisions here in September, the fact is you can't blow drafts picks to this degree and expect to win championships.

While Asante and Geathers were low-round draft picks, the Browns traded three picks to move up a handful of spots to take a running back with a history of significant knee injuries. Once you put those three elements together, the 2010 draft starts looking a little shaky.

Hardesty barely made it on to the field, and the earliest we'll see him again is training camp 2011. Asante and Geathers may end up on the practice squad, but even if they do, they may end up getting claimed somewhere else.

This isn't to suggest they're both going to turn into Pro Bowl players, but it's the fact that two draft picks from this season are history before Week 1 of the regular season.

If it had happened to just one guy, that's understandable. Two players plus the most unsurprising season-ending injury on the roster means somebody screwed up this past spring.

If the Browns win a lot of games, everyone will be happy and the lost draft picks will be forgotten. If the Browns slog it out to another 4-12 year, the whiffs in the draft will be pointed to as one of the main reasons behind the lack of production.

Mangini remains on the hot seat, and Heckert now has put his neck out for consideration.

The roster still is evolving as the Browns scour the waiver wires for more players, and we'll probably see a few more cuts along the way.

With Hardesty gone, it is surprising that Jennings didn't make the cut. This in turn suggests that, even though Peyton Hillis may be listed as a fullback, he's going to get enough reps to make Jennings' roster spot expendable and better used elsewhere.

Ratliff, as expected, is gone. When a team goes through as many quarterbacks as it has the last few years, and you're still listed behind a third-round draft pick, that means your chances of making the final roster are slim.

McDonald, along with Coye Francies, who was cut Friday, end a dismal chapter in the Browns defense. No one should shed a tear for either player.

The front office has a lot of work to do over the next few days, and the Browns have to get read for Week 1 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Preseason is over and the regular season is upon us. It's finally football season.