4 Cleveland Browns on the hot seat after free agency

The Cleveland Browns moves in free agency strengthened the team and also put these four players on the hot seat entering the 2021 season

It’s safe to say this has been the most exciting offseason in recent memory for the Cleveland Browns. Surely, it’s been the best since they returned to the NFL in 1999 at least.

After winning 12 games (including their playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers), Cleveland went out and loaded up on talent in free agency. So far, they have signed safety John Johnson, cornerback Troy Hill, linebacker Anthony Walker, defensive tackle Malik Jackson, and EDGE rushers Jadeveon Clowney, and Takkarist McKinley.

That’s quite a haul and we still have the 2021 NFL Draft to look forward to. As for the impact on the roster, these moves make several players on the team vulnerable.

Here, we look at four current Browns who are on the hot seat following free agency.

4. M.J. Stewart, CB

A former second-round pick out of North Carolina, M.J. Stewart was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after two seasons and landed with the Browns in 2020. He proved to be a solid addition as they had several injuries in the secondary which led to him seeing the field a lot — and he made the most out of his time with the team.

Stewart played in all 16 games and had 22 tackles, one sack, and two interceptions — one against the Tennessee Titans and one in their Week 17 win over Pittsburgh. He added another pick in the win over the Steelers in the Wild Card Round where he added 10 solo tackles.

Even with the impressive numbers, Stewart seemed to be a player who was usually just in the right place at the right time. He still was picked on a lot and gave up completions on 66.7 percent of the passes that went his way.

With the addition of Troy Hill, Stewart finds himself on the bubble, and his chances of making the team will go down immensely if the Browns add a corner in the draft as well.