Cleveland Browns: 5 Players who won’t be back in 2022
By Randy Gurzi
Cleveland Browns player who won’t return No. 3: D’Ernest Johnson
You would be hard-pressed to find a team that’s deeper at running back than Cleveland. We all know how good Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are. Chubb is arguably one of the best in the game right now and Hunt is a former NFL rushing champion.
There are those who can make a case that Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard are close to those two right now — but when you go to the No. 3 back, it’s not even close. No one even knows who the No. 3 guy in Dallas is, but with the Browns, that player is none other than D’Ernest Johnson who has been called upon twice in the past two seasons, and both times he exceeded all expectations.
Last year, he stepped in for Chubb against the aforementioned Cowboys and went for 95 yards on 13 carries. He finished the season with just 166 yards but once Hunt and Chubb were back together, it was just too hard for him to see the field.
However, he was called upon once again in Week 7 when the Browns took on the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. With Chubb and Hunt out for that one, Johnson went off with 146 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
That performance was likely enough to get Johnson a shot somewhere else in 2022. There are far too many teams that could use him for Cleveland to be able to continue to stash him on their roster.