Cleveland Browns: 3 Surprising candidates to be cut in 2019
By Randy Gurzi
2. Chris Smith, Defensive End
The defensive end depth chart is less than ideal for the Cleveland Browns at this point even with two Pro Bowl players starting for them. After trading for Olivier Vernon, the Browns has themselves two studs with him and Myles Garrett on the same line. They also had Emmanuel Ogbah who was the 32nd pick in the 2016 NFL Draft which could have given them some great depth.
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However, they decided to move on from Ogbah as he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for Eric Murray. That leaves them a bit thin at defensive end with Chris Smith and Anthony Zettel serving as the only veteran edge rushers off the bench. That doesn’t mean both are safe.
It’s very possible that Cleveland decides to go with just one of the two players as experienced backups while allowing youth to be served around them. John Dorsey seems to like Chad Thomas and there’s a chance Genard Avery gets some snaps closer to the line this season as well. There’s also the waiver wire as the Browns could once again be active when teams start to release young defensive ends in their own roster cut.
With all that being said, the Browns could decide to move on from Smith, should Zettel prove to be a better option — especially when you consider they could save more than $3 million by releasing him according to OverTheCap.com.