The Browns have reached the 53-man roster maximum by making a whole lot of cuts and acquiring one player just before the bell.
On Saturday, the Browns announced that they acquired defensive lineman Devaroe Lawrence from the Saints in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round pick. Lawrence, 26 in October, overcame legal trouble as a youngster to achieve his dream of making it to the NFL. Injuries have held him back in the pros, but the Saints stuck by him even after ACL surgery in December of 2016.
“We felt he was athletic, explosive and we felt like he could recover,” said Saints coach Sean Payton (via Luke Johnson of The Times-Picayune). “In other words, he was battling an injury and we saw traits that are hard to find sometimes for defensive tackles, and it’s hard to find that position, especially after the draft.”
So, with Lawrence in the fold, the Browns waived the following 19 players to get down to the limit:
- LB B.J. Bello
- DL Caleb Brantley
- TE Devon Cajuste
- RB Matthew Dayes
- OL Christian DiLauro
- OL Spencer Drango
- DL Daniel Ekuale
- DL Zaycoven Henderson
- RB Dontrell Hilliard
- WR Blake Jackson
- DB Mike Jordan
- DB Montrel Meander
- DL Nate Orchard
- DB Tigie Sankoh
- WR Da’Mari Scott
- LB Brady Sheldon
- DB Simeon Thomas
- P Justin Vogel
- FB Danny Vitale (waived/injured)