In one fell swoop, the new Harvard-flavored front office of the Browns reminded everyone how poorly the franchise’s previous regimes drafted and expressed supreme confidence in the players it picked this year.
On Saturday, the Browns traded former No. 8 overall selection and gargantuan bust Justin Gilbert to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2018 sixth-round pick and kept all 14 of their choices from this year’s draft on the initial 53-man roster.
All NFL teams were required to trim their 75-man rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday.
Although the Browns will release more players and claim others off waivers beginning at noon Sunday, their massive 2016 draft class remained unscathed through the league’s biggest cutdown day. It’s just the latest chapter of their aggressive youth movement.
Meanwhile, Gilbert became the last of six players the Browns drafted in the first round from 2011-14 to be dumped. The others were defensive tackle Phil Taylor (No. 21 overall in 2011), running back Trent Richardson (No. 3 in 2012), quarterback Brandon Weeden (No. 22 in 2012), linebacker Barkevious Mingo (No. 6 in 2013) and quarterback Johnny Manziel (No. 22 in 2014).
Gilbert, a cornerback, is also the second first-round pick to be traded by head of football operations Sashi Brown and chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, both of whom are Harvard graduates, in a span of 10 days. On Aug. 25, they shipped Mingo to the New England Patriots for a fifth-round choice in 2017, adding to their stockpile of picks in the next two drafts.
“We have a ton of discussions with different teams throughout the offseason, and we’re able to pull off some trades here that we think position us well and that were mutually beneficial,” Brown said in a news release. “Good players that can play on other rosters and teams saw some value, and for us, they either just weren’t fits or we felt like the better opportunity was to take some of the compensation that we were able to receive back.”
Browns coach Hue Jackson made it clear Friday during a conference call that Gilbert, 24, was on the roster bubble and in jeopardy of being released. If he turns his career around with the AFC North rival Steelers, the Browns will regret trading with Pittsburgh for just the third time since 1968. That’s a long shot, though, based on the Oklahoma State product’s two disappointing seasons under the previous Browns coaching staff.
Uneven performance
Gilbert, who received nearly $13 million guaranteed on his rookie contract, is coming off an uneven preseason, too. He suffered a concussion Aug. 26 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and didn’t play Thursday night during a 21-7 loss to the Chicago Bears in the exhibition finale.
He appeared in just 23 of 32 games with three starts, compiling 29 tackles, nine passes defensed and an interception, which he returned for a touchdown.
Plagued by maturity problems and an undisclosed personal issue, he was a healthy scratch three times last season and once in 2014.
As a rookie, he was late to a team meeting the night before the season finale and subsequently suspended for the game. He later admitted he “was missing like tons of meetings” partly because he’s a self-proclaimed “hard sleeper.” Last year, he crashed a car two days before the season opener during what Brunswick police described as a road rage incident.
Yet the Steelers gambled on Gilbert because of their fondness for his physical gifts.
The Browns have five cornerbacks left: two-time Pro Bowler Joe Haden and fellow starter Jamar Taylor, Tramon Williams and rookies Trey Caldwell (fifth round) and Tracy Howard (undrafted).
Of the players the Browns cut Saturday, wide receivers Taylor Gabriel and Marlon Moore headlined the list. Moore’s contract was terminated. Gabriel and 17 other players were waived.
Gabriel, 25, joined the team as an undrafted rookie in 2014 and started six of his 29 games the past two seasons. He caught 64 passes for 862 yards and a touchdown.
Moore, 29, spent the past two seasons with the Browns and became a reliable special-teams contributor. He suffered a hip injury against the Bucs and has been sidelined since.
Numbers game
But the bottom line is Gabriel and Moore became victims of the numbers game as the Browns kept all four receivers they drafted this year — Corey Coleman (first round), Ricardo Louis (fourth), Jordan Payton (fifth) and Rashard Higgins (fifth).
They join converted quarterback Terrelle Pryor and Andrew Hawkins as the six receivers on the active roster. Former All-Pro Josh Gordon is suspended and won’t be eligible to return until Week 5.
So the Browns are on track to enter the Sept. 11 regular-season opener at the Philadelphia Eagles with starting quarterback Robert Griffin III throwing to a group of receivers with a combined 27 starts at the position. Hawkins has started 25 games and Pryor two at receiver.
The situation prompted Jackson to say, via the release, “we’ve got to make sure we hold this thing together until” Gordon returns.
Cutting defensive back Pierre Desir, a fourth-round pick in 2014, and cornerback Charles Gaines, a sixth-round choice last year, became official after both moves were reported Friday.
First-year tight end Connor Hamlett was waived, too, despite being one of the most pleasant surprises of training camp. Two sources said the Browns hope to sign Hamlett to their 10-man practice squad, which can be established beginning at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Browns kept three tight ends: Pro Bowler Gary Barnidge, Randall Telfer and rookie Seth DeValve (fourth round).
Not many observers, if any, forecasted four running backs on the roster. But Raheem Mostert and Terrell Watson remain behind starter Isaiah Crowell and prominent backup Duke Johnson, both of whom Jackson said “can be two of the better players in the league.”
Other surprises
Among the other surprises to make the team, at least for now, were rookie inside linebacker Scooby Wright (seventh round) and Caldwell.
There are 16 rookies on the roster, including two undrafted ones (inside linebacker Dominique Alexander and Howard), plus three first-year players and 10 second-year players.
“We knew heading into this that we could be young,” Jackson said. “Sashi and his staff have done a great job of positioning us for several years in the future, but I think he’s also positioned us ... right now to have an opportunity for some young guys to make an impact.”
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.