10 players the Cleveland Browns should bring back to their practice squad

The Cleveland Browns locked in their initial 53-man roster before they took to the practice field Tuesday afternoon. All in all, there were not too many surprises involved in today’s roster cuts. However, there were a couple of fan favorite’s that found themselves on the chopping block.

In total, 1,184 players went back on the market as of 4:00pm Tuesday. A large portion of those players went on waivers with the rest falling in the vested veteran category which allows them to become free agents. NFL teams are scrambling to see if there is anyone on waivers that would be an upgrade to their current roster.

But after the waiver claims are processed, teams will start adding players to their practice squad. This season each team will have 16 players on their respective practice squads. The Browns cut several players that would make excellent practice squad candidates.

Here are 10 players the Browns should bring back to their practice squad

Practice squad candidate No. 1: Austin Watkins Jr., WR

There was perhaps no bigger Cinderella story in Berea this preseason than Austin Watkins Jr. Signed as an afterthought on July 22nd, Watkins came into training camp with little to no fanfare. That changed as soon as the team started playing preseason games.

Watkins jumped into the collective hearts of Browns fans when he caught a 22-yard game winning touchdown in the Hall of Fame game. From there the hype surrounding Watkins only grew. Watkins finished the preseason as the NFL’s leading receiver catching 16 balls for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

If it were only a matter of performing well in preseason games, Watkins would have easily been named to the initial 53-man roster. But many factors come into play when building a roster. As talented as Watkins is, he is an X-receiver who is smaller and slower than the two X-receivers ahead of him on the depth chart.

When you add in the fact that Watkins is not a key special teams’ contributor, and it became too difficult to find him a spot on the roster. However, Watkins put enough good tape out there that he could get claimed on waivers and land on another team’s 53-man roster. But if Watkins is still there after the waiver claims have processed, the Browns would be foolish not to stash him away on the practice squad.