3 Cleveland Browns candidates to be cut going into the summer

1. Siaki Ika, DT

Cleveland's defense was porous against the run in 2022. That year, they surrendered 2,295 yards and 22 touchdowns while allowing 4.7 yards per attempt. That left them 25th in yardage and average per rush and 29th in the league in touchdowns.

Their inefficiency against the run was one of the primary reasons Joe Woods was let go and Jim Schwartz was brought in to coach the defense. They also rebuilt the front seven by signing Dalvin Tomlinson, Shelby Harris, and Maurice Hurst while trading for Za'Darius Smith.

In addition to those moves, Cleveland also took a massive nose tackle in the third round of the draft — Siaki Ika. The Baylor product had a well-known name but felt like a reach. While he was excellent at stopping the run in college, the NFL is a whole different game. He was never going to be succesful simply due to his size and after he tested near the bottom in every drill, the Browns probably should have looked elsewhere.

They didn't and the result was a rookie who was a healthy scratch in all but four games. He finally got on the field when Hurst was sent to the IR but finished without a tackle and was often seen being pushed away from the play.

Going into year two, the Browns are going to need to see a leap from Ika — or he could be in danger of being cut. Cleveland's depth chart is incredibly deep at D-tackle with Tomlinson, Hurst, and Harris all returning. They also used their second-round pick on Michael Hall, Jr. and a seventh-rounder on Jowon Briggs. Throw in veteran free agent addition Quinton Jefferson and this battle is going to be tough. It will also leave a talented player on the outside looking in.

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