Sunday, September 6, 2015

The Raven Report 9.6.15: The #Browns & #NFL Cut Day

By @nevaRWilliams

Welcome everyone to The Raven Report for Sunday, September 6, 2015.

As many of you know, Saturday was the final cut down day for the upcoming NFL season. While I’ll get to some notable cuts in a bit, I’d like to go over the cuts made by the Cleveland Browns.

First of all, in case you missed it earlier in the week, the Browns had to cut down from 90 players to 75. The big names of that group were 2011 draft pick but oft injured defensive lineman, Phil Taylor. While Taylor seemed to get mixed reactions about his play from fans and media alike, he seemed to have trouble staying on the field due to injuries suffered every season. Along with that, the selection of Danny Shelton in this past year’s NFL draft made Taylor expendable, since Shelton has shown off his power, drive and fresh legs in the preseason. Other names in the 75 cut, was local Cleveland fan favorite, wide receiver Shane Wynn.

Onto the cuts down to 53. If you watched Thursday’s Browns vs. Bears preseason game, then you know the lackluster performance that quarterback Thad Lewis put on. Lewis, in his second stint with the Browns, finished the game poorly with just 100 yards passing, one interception and took on 7 sacks. Any QB who puts on that showing deserves to be cut, and thats what the Browns did on Saturday afternoon. Other recognizable names cut Saturday afternoon were wide receivers Josh Lenz, Darrius Jennings and Vince Mayle. Mayle was a 4th round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, but did not give anything worth noting throughout four preseason games.
Josh Lenz on the other hand proved to many in the Browns organization and fellow teammates that he just might have what it takes to become an NFL wide receiver. But with the Browns keeping four tight ends, Gary Barnidge, Jim Dray, EJ Bibbs and Rob Housler, younger players like Lenz, Jennings and Mayle became expendable. For me, I still feel like there is a chance that Lenz, Jennings or Mayle may still find a spot on the Browns practice squad.

The rest of the Cleveland Browns cuts are as follows:

QB Thad Lewis, OL Karim Barton, QB Pat Devlin, RB Shaun Draughn, DB Landon Feichter, RB Tim Flanders, DB Kendall James, WR Darrius Jennings, OL Erle Ladson, WR Josh Lenz, WR Vince Mayle, DL Jacobbi McDaniel, OL Andrew McDonald, OL Darrian Miller, DB Robert Nelson Jr., OL Vinston Painter, LB Hayes Pullard III, DB Joe Rankin, LB Mike Reilly, DB De'Ante Saunders, DL Dylan Wynn, OL Eric Olsen, DT Phil Taylor, TE Anthony Ezeakunne, WR Shane Wynn, LB Everette Brown, LB Moise Fokou, RB Jalen Parmele and DB Aaron Ross.

With the cutting of so many offensive linemen and both Thad Lewis and Pat Devlin, I fully believe that the Browns will look at the waiver wire to see if they can find a suitable back up quarterback, as well as a few linemen.

In what some believe to be a “stunner cut”, the San Francisco 49ers cut defensive lineman Darnell Dockett after giving him $2 million in guaranteed money in the offseason. It’s believed that Dockett may retire and even begin an on-air broadcasting career.

Elsewhere around the league, the Philadelphia Eagles cut QB Tim Tebow, despite a solid showing in the fourth preseason game. The Eagles also recently traded QB Matt Barkley to the Arizona Cardinals.

Former Colt receiver Reggie Wayne was let go by the New England Patriots. Some industry insiders believe that Wayne could opt for retirement.

Speaking of former Indianapolis Colts, the Tennessee Titans parted with Hakeem Nicks after having just three receptions for 59 yards in his two preseason games with the Titans.

Other notable cuts around the NFL:

DT Devon Still, Bengals
QB Matt Cassel, Bills
RB Jonas Gray, Patriots
WR James Jones, Giants
WR AJ Jenkins, Cowboys
FB Henry Hynoski, Giants
DE Jason Babin, Jets
QB Matt Flynn, Jets
DT Red Bryant, Bills
K Nick Novak, Chargers
LB Jameel McClain, Giants
OL Derek Sherrod, Chiefs
QB Christian Ponder, Raiders
S Taylor Mays, Raiders
P Steve Weatherford, Giants
WR Duron Carter, Colts
DE Da’Quan Bowers, Buccaneers
DE IK Enemkpali, Bills
QB Logan Thomas, Cardinals
DE Quentin Groves, Bills
LB Philip Wheeler, 49ers
QB Matt Simms, Bills
DB Will Blackmon, Seahawks
DB Charles James, Texans
WR EZ Nwachukwu, Texans
LB Kourtnei Browns, Texans
DT Jerel Worthy, Packers
DE Corey Wootton, Packers
LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Rams
QB Rex Grossman, Falcons
QB TJ Yates, Falcons
QB Josh Freeman, Dolphins
K Caleb Sturgis, Dolphins
DL Louis Nix, Texans
RB Storm Johnson, Jaguars
DL Josh Chapman, Colts
LB Matt Shaughnessy, Cardinals
QB Ryan Lindley, Patriots
LB James-Michael Johnson, Chiefs
FS Sanders Commings, Chiefs
OL Isaiah Battle, Rams
DB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Saints


Lastly, be sure to check out the Triple Threat CLE Radio Show on No Static Radio, Friday nights at 9pm EST on NoStaticRadio.com. This coming Friday, September 11, we will break down the Browns schedule for the season and go over the rest of the leagues games and much more.

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