4 Players the Cleveland Browns need to sign back to the practice squad

As the Cleveland Browns continue to cut players to get their roster count to 53 players, here are three players they should sign back to the practice squad.

Cut-down days are the hardest days for NFL teams, their fans, and the players who get cut. Coaches have to tell players who they’ve poured their heart into coaching for several weeks, fans have to see a borderline player they’ve attached themselves to, and players have to try to find a new place to showcase their talents. The Cleveland Browns aren’t immune to these hard decisions, especially in 2021.

This season may be the hardest one in a long time for them, as they finally have a team full of talent all over the field, and cutting down on some positions is going to prove to be extremely difficult.

While these players won’t be on the final 53-man roster for the Cleveland Browns come week 1 of the 2021 NFL regular season, they still have a chance to make an impact for this team via the practice squad. While it’s never a guarantee that a cut player will not be claimed by another team, if they do clear waivers, they can be negotiated with to join a practice squad and stick with the team.

For the second consecutive season, the NFL has allowed the practice squad to be expanded to 16 players, up from 10 prior to 2020. Each team is allowed to have up to six players who have more than two accrued NFL seasons. That expansion allows some key veterans that teams like, but don’t necessarily have room for on the active roster, to stick around their organizations.

Cleveland started making some cuts to get their roster number to the required 53 by 4:00 PM EST on Tuesday. Here are three players they have cut, that they need to sign back to the practice squad.

4. Sheldrick Redwine, Safety

Sheldrick Redwine was a fourth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL Draft and was a surprise to many that he made the team in 2020. However, with the number of injuries to the Cleveland Browns secondary, he was relied on quite often, appearing in 15 games and totaling 24 total tackles and his first career half-sack in the 2020 season.

In 2021, the Browns have much more depth, talent, and health in their defensive backfield, making Redwine an expendable player on the active roster. The additions of safety John Johnson III and the return of safety Grant Delpit from injury that kept him out his entire rookie season forced him to be on the outside looking in on this roster from the start of training camp.

However, Redwine is a player that brings versatility. He has experience in this system, and stepped up when needed in several situations in 2020 to help the Browns get to the playoffs. He would be a good addition to the practice squad, someone that could help the starters get ready for their opponent on a weekly basis, but also could provide a healthy body if an injury to someone on the active roster were to occur.