Cleveland Browns: 3 Standouts from live scrimmage at First Energy Stadium
By Cory Kinnan
EDGE Porter Gustin
It looks more and more likely by the day that the Browns will give the fourth edge rusher roster spot to former undrafted free agent Porter Gustin over former third-rounder Chad Thomas. In Sunday’s scrimmage, Gustin furthered his case with a solid outing against first-round pick Jedrick Wills and the other Browns’ squad.
The first three pass-rushing roster spots are locked down by Myles Garrett, Olivier Vernon, and free-agent addition Adrian Clayborn. However, Gustin has proven he deserves to be a part of this team and deserves to see reps in a rotational manner in 2018 after joining the squad more than halfway through the 2019 season and holding his own.
Defensive line depth has been a massive issue for the Browns over the past two seasons, and with Andrew Billings opting out it does not seem like that issue is resolved. While Gustin is not a defensive tackle, it looks like the Browns will have a formidable rotation off the edge for once with Clayborn, and now Gustin emerging behind Garrett and Vernon.
From a former five-star recruit to an undrafted free agent from a year ago, Gustin has been putting in the work to prove he belongs. With cutdowns soon to come, it would appear he has the edge over Thomas for that fourth and final defensive end roster slot.