One of the biggest days on the NFL’s annual calendar is also the most brutal. Cutdown Day, which this year arrives on Sunday, Aug. 30, is easily the league’s busiest in terms of roster transactions. All 32 teams will have to trim their 90-plus-player training camp rosters to an initial 53 ahead of the first week of the regular season.
The transaction wire obviously never sleeps in the NFL, but much of the preseason chatter from this point forward will center on depth chart battles and cut candidates. A young, rebuilding team like the Cleveland Browns is interesting, though, with so many starting jobs and roster spots seemingly up for grabs entering training camp.
The Browns do have their fair share of roster locks, and we’re not just talking about highly-touted rookies like KC Concepcion or big free agent signings like Zion Johnson. That group includes some clear depth players who have a clear path to reaching September this year.
Training camp should be about roles, not roster spots, for these Browns players
QB Taylen Green
This may sound like an obvious name, as the Browns seem highly unlikely to waive the first drafted quarterback of the Todd Monken era. But players selected in the sixth and seventh rounds are rarely guaranteed a roster spot. Just last year, sixth-round QBs Kyle McCord (Eagles) and Cam Miller (Raiders) failed to earn a roster spot in training camp for their respective teams. Both players cleared waivers and wound up back on their teams’ practice squads.
The Browns likely can’t play that game with Green, who was the first pick of the sixth round, No. 182 overall. Teams are always intrigued by a player of his size and raw athletic ability. Even with 2025 draft picks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel already on the roster, if Cleveland were to waive Green, he likely would get claimed by another team. Even if he doesn’t see a ton of reps, Green should enter camp as a virtual lock.
WR Tylan Wallace
The Browns only signed one external veteran wide receiver in free agency, and that was Wallace. He spent five years with the Baltimore Ravens, including the last three with Monken as the offensive coordinator. He should be more of a core special teams player than a wideout to watch on offense, but the Monken connection is impossible to ignore.
Zac Jackson of The Athletic named Wallace among his five wide receiver locks, joining Jerry Jeudy, Concepcion, Denzel Boston, and Isaiah Bond. No argument here.
OL KT Leveston
No one had Leveston competing at right guard on their Browns bingo card this offseason, but he saw some first-team reps at that spot during minicamp. After practice, Monken sounded like a fan of Leveston, who’s played tackle for Cleveland since he was acquired in a 2025 trade with the Los Angeles Rams.
“Last year when he got a chance to play, you could see that running off the football, his aggressiveness, finishing plays — you love that about him. Those kinds of guys you’re always trying to find a spot for.”
Yeah, Leveston should be among the Browns’ depth offensive linemen in 2026.
S Daniel Thomas
The Browns have a somewhat crowded safety room with Grant Delpit, Ronnie Hickman, and rookie Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at the top of the depth chart. Thomas may not be asked to play many snaps on defense. Cleveland signed him this offseason to help be a veteran leader on special teams.
Thomas has logged over 1,400 special teams snaps over his six years in the NFL, including 232 snaps last year for the Detroit Lions, per Pro Football Focus. He signed a modest contract, agreeing to a two-year deal worth $3 million. He got over $1 million guaranteed, though.
Thomas could be one of those players who's rarely talked about but quietly makes a difference for a Browns special teams unit that has been absolutely brutal in recent seasons.
DE Logan Fano
The Browns drafted Logan Fano’s younger brother, Spencer, with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Their decision to make Logan a priority signing as an undrafted rookie and offer him $310,000 in guaranteed money kind of says it all.
The Fano brothers should be here to stay, at least for the 2026 season. The Browns are extremely thin at defensive end behind starters Jared Verse and Alex Wright. So far, they’ve passed on adding a veteran to the mix and seem content to let the young guns battle it out.
Cleveland typically carries a few UDFAs on its initial 53-man roster, and Logan Fano feels about as close to a lock as it gets in that regard.
RB Raheim Sanders
The Browns didn’t draft or add a veteran running back this offseason, so Sanders’ immediate future in Cleveland looks safe. The 24-year-old appeared in four games for the Browns last year, including a start in Week 17, after signing a three-year, $2.9 million contract.
Sanders is built a little thicker than starter Quinshon Judkins at 6-feet, 230 pounds. He’ll be competing with undrafted rookies like Ahmani Marshall, Davon Booth, and T.J. Harden in training camp, but his team-friendly contract should help him hold onto the No. 3 running back role as a second-year player.
DT Adin Huntington
Huntington was one of GM Andrew Berry’s data darlings following the 2025 draft, as he posted a relative athletic score of 9.62 out of 10. He wound up going undrafted largely because of his poor size for an interior defensive lineman at 6-foot-1, 280 pounds.
He still played in 13 games as a rookie for Cleveland, and saw a noticeable uptick in playing time from Week 16 on. The Browns’ new coaching staff has prioritized versatility, and Huntington’s rare speed and athletic ability for his position should offer enough intrigue to keep him in the mix.
Huntington signed a three-year deal in 2025 worth close to $3 million with $180,000 guaranteed. The team likes him. He should be a key depth piece for the Browns’ defensive line who can be a factor on special teams as well.
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