Dawg Bites: Looking at a Cleveland Browns Roster Full of Rookies
By Kevin Nye
Some of the cuts the Cleveland Browns chose to make last week did make some noise; quarterback Seneca Wallace and tight end Evan Moore seemed to be the two names that people really latched onto. But there’s a bigger story here than those who did get cut, and that, of course, would be the players who did not get cut.
The Cleveland Browns boast 15 rookies on their 53-man roster.
The NFL is not an old man’s league, that’s for sure, so it is wise to take younger players over older ones in the event that they’re similar in skill level (Colt McCoy over Wallace, perhaps). However, it strikes me as a little bit crazy to think that 15 of these guys are going to be getting their first-ever taste of the NFL this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s not unheard of for teams to start rookies, of course. You know as well as I do that it happens every year. However, I simply find myself a little concerned. As a comparison, the Eagles have ten rookies on their roster, the Cincinnati Bengals have ten, the Buffalo Bills have seven, and the Chicago Bears have five (that’s me choosing the first three opponents the Browns face, plus the city I live in, in case you were wondering).
I’ve been putting a lot of trust into the current staff – in both the front office and actual coaches – so I have to continue that trend and let this one go. But wow…15 rookies?
Although, if you think about it, playing veterans really hasn’t worked out too well for the last decade and a half, has it?