Malik McDowell has ‘excellent chance’ of making Cleveland Browns 53-man roster

Malik McDowell’s signing might not have made a lot of waves when it happened but he’s done enough since then to make the Cleveland Browns 53-man roster

He’s gone from a long shot to a near lock.

Malik McDowell was signed by the Cleveland Browns this offseason and when the move happened, it didn’t get a lot of press. The general consensus was that he was coming into a crowded position and since he hadn’t played an actual game since Dec. 2016 (while still at Michigan State) he wouldn’t be on the 53-man roster when the Browns prepared for their Week 1 contest vs. the Kansas City Chiefs.

Then, McDowell got onto the field for the first time in 1,751 days against the New York Giants and he balled out.

That has the Cleveland faithful wondering if he will actually make the roster this season and one reader asked Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com how likely it will be to see him on the team. According to her, the young man has an “excellent chance” of continuing his career resurrection while wearing the orange and brown.

"“Yes, I think McDowell has an excellent chance of making the 53 on Tuesday. He’s come a long way, and the Browns are happy with his progress. They believe in McDowell and believe he can play in this league. He’s still raw and a little rusty, but he’s come a long way in the past few months.” — Cabot, Cleveland.com"

Mary Kay is correct that McDowell has a lot of rust to knock off and while that could hurt his chances, what really helps him is the simple fact that no one else is truly standing out at the position.

Defensive tackle might be crowded for the Browns in terms of sheer numbers but the performance in the middle of the defensive line has been one of the bigger disappointments so far in the preseason for Cleveland.

Players they expected to stand out have been quiet whereas others such as McDowell and veteran Sheldon Day have taken full advantage.

Teams have until 4:00 pm EST on Tuesday to cut their roster down to 53 players. At this point, it would be a huge surprise to see McDowell excluded from that list.