Browns coach Hue Jackson made no promises former first-round draft pick Justin Gilbert would survive roster cuts this weekend.
All NFL teams must trim from 75 to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday. And although the Browns are thin at cornerback, Gilbert may not be safe after two disappointing seasons under the previous regime. He suffered a concussion last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and didn’t play Thursday night in a 21-7 loss to the Chicago Bears in the exhibition finale.
“Justin did some things better [in the preseason],” Jackson said of the eighth overall selection in 2014 on Friday during a conference call. “I think everything has an opportunity to be evaluated, everything that every player’s done. Our goal and our job is to make sure that we keep the best players here.
“Do I think he’s improved? Yeah. Are we going to sit down and evaluate and talk through every opportunity that a young man has had and we can see where they fit for our football team? We’re going to do that also.”
Meanwhile, the Browns began cutting players Friday to shape what will ultimately morph into their roster for the Sept. 11 regular-season opener at the Philadelphia Eagles.
They waived cornerback-turned-safety Pierre Desir and cornerback Charles Gaines, people familiar with those transactions said. The Browns haven’t announced the moves and will wait until Saturday to announce several cuts.
Defensive end signed
The team, though, did announce it signed defensive end Stephen Paea and waived/injured running back Rajion Neal, who suffered a quadriceps injury Thursday.
Desir, a fourth-round pick in 2014, found himself buried on the depth chart behind Jordan Poyer and Rahim Moore after the new coaching staff moved him from corner to free safety this offseason. He appeared in 19 games for the Browns with seven starts and compiled 45 tackles and seven passes defensed.
Gaines, a sixth-round pick last year, appeared in six games with four starts and tallied 15 tackles, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
“These are extremely difficult days, because we’ve got to tell a lot of young men that they’ve done everything that you’ve asked of them the last eight months that they don’t have the chance to be part of the team right now,” Jackson said.
Some doors close and others open. Just ask Paea, who was cut by Washington on Tuesday.
Paea, 28, has started 41 of the 66 NFL regular-season games in which he has appeared. He’ll give the Browns depth on their defensive line, which has been depleted by the loss of starting end Desmond Bryant to a season-ending torn pectoral muscle in July and the four-game, performance-enhancing drug suspension end Armonty Bryant will serve to begin the season.
Paea, 6-foot-1 and 300 pounds, entered the league in 2011 as a second-round pick of the Bears from Oregon State and had his best pro season in his contract year with them, starting all 16 games in 2014 and compiling career highs in tackles (33), sacks (six) and forced fumbles (two).
He parlayed that into a four-year, $21 million deal with Washington last year. However, he struggled to adjust to a three-man front after playing in the Bears’ 4-3 scheme. The Browns use a 3-4 base defense, but they also frequently employ their nickel package, which has a four-man front.
“He can play in a 3-4. He’s played in some 3-4 before,” Jackson said. “I think he’s versatile.”
Paea lost his starting job a week into the 2015 season, served as a backup for another 10 games and then suffered a season-ending foot injury. He finished the season with 19 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.
He spent most of this summer toiling with backups until Washington discarded him.
Moves on the horizon
Several other notable moves are looming.
The Browns drafted four receivers this year, but it’s hard to envision all of them making the team. Corey Coleman (first round) is a lock. Rashard Higgins (fifth) appears to be safe. Ricardo Louis (fourth) and Jordan Payton (fifth) are on the bubble. If the Browns cut any of them, they’ll try to sign them to their 10-man practice squad Sunday.
“We’re definitely going to do everything we can to keep those guys here. We drafted them. We think they have bright futures,” Jackson said. “Obviously, we haven’t made as many plays yet from that group as we like, but we think that all those guys have an opportunity.”
On the other hand, Jackson sounded as if the Browns would part with receivers Taylor Gabriel, Darius Jennings and Marlon Moore.
“I’ve really appreciated all of those guys because they’ve been here, they’ve been part of our program and they’ve worked extremely hard,” Jackson said. “I think those guys have done a good job in preseason, but I think we all know we can’t keep them all.”
The Browns may not keep either of their punters.
On Monday, they traded three-time Pro Bowl punter Andy Lee and a 2017 seventh-round draft pick to the Carolina Panthers for punter Kasey Redfern and a 2018 fourth-round choice. Then they signed punter Michael Palardy on Tuesday to compete with Redfern. Neither of them have appeared in an NFL regular-season game.
On Thursday, Palardy punted five times for 243 yards (48.6 average) with a long of 75 and a dud of 14. Redfern punted four times for 158 yards (39.5 average) with a long of 52 and a dud of 26.
“We’re still working at that and understanding that’s an area that we need to address and make sure that we have secure and ready by the time we get to Philadelphia,” Jackson said.
Jackson expects the Browns to be busy on the waiver wire Sunday. They’re second in the waiver order, so they’ll probably claim at least a few players released by other teams.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.