Cleveland Browns 53-Man roster prediction Preseason Week 2
By Randy Gurzi
Safety (6): Damarious Randall, Morgan Burnett, Jermaine Whitehead, Sheldrick Redwine, Eric Murray, Justin Burris
Just like many of the positions on the Browns roster, the safeties have been completely overhauled since John Dorsey came on board in December of 2017. His first addition to this unit is still his best as he was able to flip quarterback DeShone Kizer for Damarious Randall in a trade with the Green Bay Packers.
Randall, who had been playing corner for the Pack, reverted to his collegiate position of free safety and became a vocal leader for the secondary. He enters 2019 in a contract year and has quickly become a fan favorite. The question now seems to be whether or not his play has priced him out of Dorsey’s range.
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There were a few more additions this offseason, with the most high-profile being Morgan Burnett. Another former Packer, Burnett was with the Steelers last season but played out of position. Returning to strong safety should help him get back to being the player he was in his Green Bay days.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks plans on using more two-linebacker sets, with an extra defensive back on the field. Rather than using a corner, he likes having a hybrid player who can cover and hit, which is the role Jermaine Whitehead will play this year.
As for the reserves, Sheldrick Redwine is a fourth-round rookie but will groom for a starting position one day. He’s an opportunistic player but needs some work — as we saw when he was part of a miscommunication that led to a wide-open touchdown on Thursday. Also on the roster is Eric Murray, who is good in coverage and can help on special teams. Justin Burris sneaks in as they go deep at safety. He was all over the field in Week 1 and if he keeps that up, he needs to be on the roster.