The Cleveland Browns announced their initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season ahead of Sunday’s roster cutdown deadline — and there were several surprises.
While it was reported earlier in the day that the Browns were keeping all four of their quarterbacks, they may have used some gamesmanship to make the numbers work.
Cleveland also opted to go light at defensive line, which could double as a bat signal for another big move or two coming in the near future.
For starters, let’s break down the first major roster decisions of the Todd Monken era:
The Browns' quarterback plan came with ripple effects across the offense
Quarterback (3): Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Taylen Green
While the Browns are keeping all four quarterbacks to start the season, only three of them will be on the active roster ahead of Week 1. Dillon Gabriel, who played the entire first half of Thursday’s preseason finale, tossed three touchdown passes and posted a near-perfect quarterback rating, was placed on injured reserve with a “back injury.”
Gabriel wasn’t sacked by the Patriots in his lone preseason start. In fact, he was barely touched and was shown chopping it up with teammates on the sideline during the third quarter on the Thursday Night Football broadcast.
His back injury is probably so minor as to not exist. He’s been designated to return, meaning the Browns can revisit the four-quarterback discussion after Gabriel sits out the mandatory first four games of the regular season.
Running back (3): Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson, Raheim Sanders, Michael Burton (FB)
No major surprises here, except maybe for Burton. The 34-year-old was banged up and didn’t participate in the majority of training camp. Monken ended up prioritizing having a veteran fullback on the roster over protecting a young pass rusher like Logan Fano or Khordae Sydnor (more on that below).
Wide receiver (6): Jerry Jeudy, KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, Isaiah Bond, Tylan Wallace, Malachi Corley
Browns fans will likely scoff at this decision, as Luke Floriea had a monster preseason and was clearly one of the team’s top six wide receivers. The deciding factor was special teams, as Corley projects as one of the team’s main kick returners. His skill set also mirrors that of Concepcion, making him a valuable backup to the first-round rookie.
Both Floriea and Gage Larvadain should be priority practice squad additions, but both wideouts will have to clear waivers first.
Tight end (3): Harold Fannin Jr., Carsen Ryan, Blake Whiteheart
In a corresponding move, the Browns placed fifth-round rookie Joe Royer on the reserve/non-football illness list. Royer never reported to training camp due to a personal issue, but he’s been designated to return at some point this season.
Injuries to Jack Stoll and Brenden Bates essentially made Cleveland’s top three of Fannin, Ryan, and Whiteheart — another special teams ace — set in stone. But despite Fannin’s greatness, this is one of the weakest overall position groups on the team and one GM Andrew Berry could look to address early on.
Offensive line (10): Spencer Fano, Zion Johnson, Elgton Jenkins, Teven Jenkins, Tytus Howard, Austin Barber, Dawand Jones, Zak Zinter, Luke Wypler, Parker Brailsford
Cleveland’s decision to waive offensive lineman KT Leveston was mildly surprising, as he was getting reps as the starting right guard over the first two weeks of camp. Like Floriea and Larvadain, he could end up staying with Cleveland on the practice squad, but it will be interesting to see if the versatile 26-year-old looks to seek a better path to playing time elsewhere.
As expected, the Browns kept all three of their rookie draft picks, with Brailsford notably avoiding an initial stint on IR due to the wrist injury that sidelined him for the majority of camp. Zinter was firmly on the bubble, but he held up well in preseason action to lock down the backup left guard spot.
The Browns' paper-thin defensive front suggests help could be arriving soon
Defensive line (9): Maliek Collins, Mason Graham, Jared Verse, Isaiah McGuire, Derek Barnett, Kalia Davis, Mike Hall Jr., Adin Huntington, Julian Okwara
Here’s the help-wanted section. The season-ending injury to Alex Wright was a killer, and although the starting group of Verse-McGuire on the edge and Collins-Graham on the interior should still be formidable, Cleveland is set to enter Week 1 with next to no reliable depth behind them.
At defensive end, Barnett just signed with the team a week ago, and Okwara didn’t play a snap in 2025 due to a preseason injury. Davis missed almost all of camp with an injury. Collins is still working his way back to full speed after spending most of the summer on the physically unable to perform list.
This group is so thin that it’s a bit surprising the team opted to carry a sixth wide receiver or fullback over a young pass rusher like Logan Fano or Sydnor. The Browns are likely banking on those guys clearing waivers and bolstering their practice squad, but the decision to waive them almost certainly sets up another move or two on the horizon.
Linebacker (5): Carson Schwesinger, Quincy Williams, Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, Winston Reid, Justin Jefferson
The most notable cut here was Nathaniel Watson, who appeared to be neck-and-neck with Jefferson, the fifth-round rookie, entering Thursday’s preseason finale. To his credit, Jefferson balled out, filled the stat sheet, and cemented his roster spot in that game.
This is another thin position group, as Mascarenas-Arnold is the Browns' only linebacker not named Schwesinger or Williams who played a snap on defense in 2025.
Defensive back (10): Denzel Ward, Tyson Campbell, Grant Delpit, Myles Harden, Ronnie Hickman, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Mekhi Blackmon, Donovan McMillon, Michael Coats Jr., Daniel Thomas
The story here is that players who spent the summer competing for depth roles, like Tre Avery and D’Angelo Ross, both got passed over for a new addition, as the Browns claimed Blackmon off waivers hours before the preseason finale.
Monken told reporters that Coats’ injury wasn’t serious, and the undrafted rookie wound up making the team, likely as a depth boundary corner behind Blackmon and support for Harden in the slot.
Thomas was always a good bet to make the roster as a special teams standout.
Special teams (3): Rex Sunahara (LS), Corey Bojorquez (P), Andre Szmyt (K)
- Injured reserve (5): Dillon Gabriel, QB (designated for return); Alex Wright, DE; Jamari Thrash, WR; Damarri Mathis, CB; Kendrick Green, OL
- Reserve/non-football illness (1): Joe Royer, TE (designated for return)
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