{
  "id": 5997070,
  "title": "Browns fans look back at the team’s biggest roster surprise heading into the season",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/browns-fans-look-back-at-the-teams-biggest-roster-surprise-heading",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-06T15:46:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/browns-fans-look-back-team-154638986.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Cleveland Browns made their final roster cuts and unveiled their initial 53-man roster just one week ago. In my initial projections, I correctly predicted 47 out of 53 players (88.6%). The players who I accurately predicted to make the team were WR Luke Floriea, TE Joe Royer, OL KT Leveston, DT Sam Kamara, LB Nathaniel Watson, and CB Tre Avery. Following this, the team underwent additional changes, waiving DE Julian Okwara and CB Michael Coats, and placing DT Kalia Davis on injured reserve. Instead, they bolstered the roster with the signings of DE Sam Williams, CB Noah Igbinoghene, and CB Toriano Pride. To gauge fans' opinions on the biggest roster surprise, I posed this question in this week's Reacts poll. The leading choice with 41% of the vote was the Browns' decision to cut wide receiver Luke Floriea, a beloved local player who quickly gained fans' affection. Fans were even more surprised that the team did not even sign Floriea to the practice squad, despite him having a tryout with another team. Another 33% of voters were taken aback by quarterback Dillon Gabriel being placed on injured reserve at the start of the season. Many expected the Browns to explore a trade for Gabriel, but the sudden injury left fans unprepared for such a turn of events. The third most surprising move, with 21% of the vote, was the outright cutting of OL Joe Royer. Fans had minimal emotional investment in this decision as Leveston was locked in a position battle for right guard with rookie Teven Jenkins. As training camp progressed, Austin Barber began receiving reps at right guard and performed well, leading to Leveston's expendability in terms of depth. Lastly, only 5% of fans voted QB Taylen Green as the biggest surprise. Although not ready to be a starter, Green's speed proved to be a valuable asset that the Browns could utilize in package formations during the season. One user pointed out that \"none of the above\" should have been an option, as CB Michael Coats was waived prior to the poll being created. The Browns currently have 350/1 odds to win the Super Bowl according to FanDuel, a significant drop since roster cuts were finalized.",
  "summary": "A look back at some of the Browns’ surprising roster decisions as we turn the page toward the regular season.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}