The much anticipated 2021 NFL season is almost upon us. There are so many things for Cleveland Browns fans to look forward to while some still hold a bit of dread that the “other shoe” will drop.
General manager Andrew Berry has done his best to make sure the team’s roster is set up for success even if a major injury hits. With depth across the board, the Browns initial 53-man roster looks ready to contend even with normal NFL attrition due to injury.
Berry has been given a lot of credit for the moves he has made in his first two seasons at the helm of the front office, for good reason. As we covered earlier this week, his drafting has mostly gone well so far. His free-agent work has been aggressive, as he promised, but hasn’t blown the future salary-cap space needed to sign some of the young guys.
While Cleveland’s roster has evolved over Berry’s first two offseasons with the team, he doesn’t get total credit for bringing in all of the players. His history with the Browns, however, makes breaking down the roster interesting as Berry was brought in under Sashi Brown and was kept under John Dorsey. His one year away in Philadelphia is the only time in the past five years he wasn’t involved with the Browns front office.
So let us take a look at the team’s initial 53-man roster, prior to Jacob Phillips going on injured reserve, and just how much of the roster Berry has remade in just two seasons:
