Cleveland Browns: It’s a new world for Browns fans, are we ready?

Many Cleveland Browns fans are about to climb a mountain of “fan-demonium” they have never experienced.

The Cleveland Browns released their “final 53-man roster” on Saturday, August 31. There weren’t many surprises, but the one’s that existed raised the hackles of many fans.

The selection of Jamie Dillon (aka: The Scottish Hammer) over Britton Colquitt was polarizing. And choosing “none of the above” when it came to the troika of Derrick Willies, (former Buckeye “wink wink”) Braxton Miller and Ishmael Hyman was baffling. Not to mention the collective angst of this year’s Devon Cajuste… Damon Sheehy-Giuseppe

Only it wasn’t final. In the moments immediately preceding the release of the “final 53”, the Browns announced they traded for  WR Taywan Taylor, of the Tennessee Titans and guard Justin McCray from the Packers. Then today, the team announced the signings of LB Malik Jefferson (formerly of the Bengals), as well as former Rams WR Khaderel Hodge and TE Ricky Seals-Jones (Cardinals).

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The signing of Taylor was quickly explained when the Browns announced the list of players who had been released and it included all of the receivers who were battling for the last spot.

The signing of McCray and the players signed today will be offset by releasing players who were “safe” yesterday.

All of this lends support to what general manager John Dorsey has been saying since he arrived. He is going to leave no stone unturned, and – aside from winning – he is only interested in improving the competitive balance of our roster. It appears he is doing just that.

John Dorsey is building the Cleveland Browns roster exactly as he said he would. So why does it still surprise us?

As fans, we fall in love with players, and there’s nothing wrong with that. How can you not love the story that comes with a player like Damon Sheehy-Giuseppe? We value players who were here during the lean years (I see you Duke Johnson) without considering that they were here because there was nobody better. But they were a part of the Browns. And once they’ve worn the Brown and Orange, they do matter to us. Does that do us a disservice? No, it just makes us human?

Many of us know what it’s like to “not make the cut” or to face the harsh reality that we are indeed “expendable”. And of course, that we are priced out of a job we did nothing to lose. So we, at least momentarily, criticize the “injustice” that comes from choosing proven over potential or for failing to reward loyalty or “effort”.

But the Cleveland Browns are taking on a new challenge. It’s not the challenge of becoming watchable. It’s the challenge of winning something that the team hasn’t sniffed since the late 1980s. This is rarefied air for fans. We are about to attempt to scale Everest and, like it or not John Dorsey is our sherpa.

Will it be an easy climb? Probably not. Will there be moments we find it hard to breathe. Probably.

It’s been about thirty years since the Browns were embarking on this quest. I’m not as young as I was then, but I’m ready. Let’s go!