5 Cleveland Browns with the most to lose in Preseason Week 2

Player No. 2: Chase Winovich

When the Browns made the trade to bring Chase Winovich to Cleveland, it was with the hopes that he could fill the role of a high-end rotational pass rusher. Winovich fell out of favor with the New England Patriots because, well we are talking about Bill Belichick so who knows, but he was fairly effective as a pass rusher his first two seasons in the NFL.

Winovich immediately looked to ingratiate himself with the Browns fanbase upon arriving in Cleveland. While that earned him some favor with the fans, at the end of the day the fourth-year edge defender needs to produce to earn his spot in this rotation. In his first preseason game with the Browns, Winovich played 23 snaps and was virtually invisible on the football field.

With the starters, Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, already cemented, the Browns are looking to solidify their edge rotation. Now, with Stephen Weatherly already on the injured reserve list, and rookie Isaiah Thomas likely out with a hand injury, Winovich is going to get plenty of run against the Eagles. Will the version of Winovich that played like his hair was on fire in New England show up on Sunday afternoon?

If Winovich can show that he can still apply steady pressure on the quarterback, he could lock down the role of first edge defender off of the bench. But, if Winovich disappears yet again, the Browns may start to prioritize getting rookie Alex Wright more snaps in support of the starters earlier than initially thought.