Cleveland Browns: 3 cuts before 2021 season that would surprise no one

1. LB Elijah Lee

Cleveland’s linebacker corps was not great in 2020, and went through a good deal of flux with frequent injuries to starters. Claimed off waivers in late October, Elijah Lee didn’t play much on defense, but he did finish eighth on the team in special teams snaps despite appearing in only 10 games.

That’s where Lee will have to really excel if he wants to keep his spot, because all of a sudden, the linebacker room is overcrowded. Tony Fields II, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Jacob Phillips, Malcolm Smith, Sione Takitaki, Anthony Walker, and Mack Wilson are competing for jobs, and there are likely only five, maybe six spots available.

It doesn’t really make sense for the team to keep even six, because the amount of snaps where more than two LBs are sharing the field is expected to be quite low.

JOK, Phillips, Takitaki, and Walker are practically guaranteed to make the final roster. Smith is next up, and that leaves Fields, Wilson, and Lee fighting over a spot which may not even exist. Given that Fields is a new draft pick, he would seem to have a leg up on the other two, as long as he plays special teams.

Lee is only 25, so if he doesn’t end up making the team, a practice squad spot is not out of the question, especially because he has starting experience that came with the San Francisco 49ers in 2018.