CLEVELAND — Who will stay and who will go?
Currently, the Cleveland Browns’ coaches and front office decision-makers are further evaluating film from training camp practices and the four preseason games in order to figure out what the initial 53-man roster will look like for the 2019 regular-season opener against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sunday, September 8.
The Browns, like the NFL’s other 31 teams, are constantly looking for ways to bolster the roster, and those difficult decisions will be made by Saturday at 4 p.m., when teams across the league have to be at the 53-player limit.
Here is a look at three players who should have done enough to make the initial Browns roster.
Kicker Austin Seibert
The Browns’ kicking situation was called into question many times throughout the last month as Seibert, a rookie fifth-round pick, and second-year incumbent Greg Joseph struggled with consistency in training camp practices and the first two weeks of the preseason.
But Seibert took a step in the right direction when he converted all four of his field goal attempts, including the first one from 54 yards out, in a 13-12 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida last Friday night.
Then, in the preseason finale, a 20-16 win over the Detroit Lions, Seibert converted two field goals and a pair of extra point tries.
Joseph did not attempt a kick in either of the final two preseason games.
Quarterback Garrett Gilbert
If the Browns elect to keep three quarterbacks on the active roster, Gilbert should be their man for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart behind incumbent starter Baker Mayfield and 13-year NFL veteran back-up Drew Stanton.
Gilbert finished the preseason having completed 40 of his 65 attempts (61.5 percent) for 403 yards with three touchdowns against no interceptions, while rookie undrafted free agent David Blough was successful with 25 of his 43 throws (58.1 percent) for 271 yards and two scores against two interceptions against the Lions.
Gilbert came to the Browns after a successful stint in the Alliance of American Football.
Gilbert completed 60.6 percent of his throws for 2,152 yards and 13 touchdowns with six successful two-point conversion tries, as well as 79 yards and one touchdown with a two-point score on 24 rushes out of the backfield for the Orlando Apollos.
Defensive lineman Devaroe Lawrence
Lawrence was traded to the Browns on September 1, 2018 after a short stint with the New Orleans Saints and was active for the season-opening tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers at FirstEnergy Stadium. After three weeks of being inactive on game day and getting waived, Lawrence spent 12 weeks on the Browns’ practice squad last season.
However, Lawrence impressed through training camp, even having coach Freddie Kitchens highlight him in front of the whole team as an example for working hard when the first-year coach was frustrated with the direction of a practice, and that success transferred over to the preseason games.
Lawrence registered seven total tackles, all of which were solo stops, and a team-leading four sacks during the preseason. During the third preseason game, which is considered “the dress rehearsal” for the regular season, Lawrence registered two sacks against the Buccaneers.
“I was very impressed with Devaroe,” Kitchens said. “Devaroe carried the practices over to the games. He was the same way in practices. I am always happy when guys do that. What you see in practice is what you see in the game. I just want to know what we are going to get when they cross the white lines, and I know what I am getting from him.”