3 Cleveland Browns on the 53-man roster who still aren’t safe

1. Cleveland Browns LB, Mack Wilson

Another position where the Browns went heavy was at linebacker. Their initial 53-man roster has Anthony Walker, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Sione Takitaki, Malcolm Smith, Mack Wilson, Jacob Phillips, and Tony Fields II. That’s seven players when there were many projections that they could go as thin as five.

Now, this one is a little different than other positions, and in the end, it may only be five. Both Jacob Phillips and Tony Fields are injured right now. Phillips will be moved to the IR and there’s a good chance Fields will as well. That would move them down to five linebackers, and it would even open up some room for players they want to claim.

However, it doesn’t mean the remaining five guys are safe. In fact, Mack Wilson has even been discussed in potential trade talks.

To be fair, the Browns aren’t said to be starting the talks — but teams don’t typically just call for a player without having some sort of indication that he could be acquired. Or maybe they do and we just don’t hear about Detroit picking up the phone and asking Kansas City what it would take to land that Patrick Mahomes guy.

This also doesn’t mean Wilson is out the door. He could very well continue his career with the team that drafted him in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

However, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. And this offseason, there seems to have been a considerable amount of smoke surrounding Mack Wilson.