Safety Sheldrick Redwine and wide receiver JoJo Natson are among the players the Cleveland Browns are expected to release before the start of the 2021 regular season.
NFL teams must trim their rosters down from 80 players to 53 by 4 p.m. ET Tuesday.
“I think they are all tough decisions,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday. “You look across the roster and I think the guys have been competing all the way back to when we first got together in the spring. That’s the great part of this job is they get to compete against each other and then compete against another team.”
The Browns aren’t expected to officially announce their cuts until Tuesday, but Natson was among the players who tweeted news about his release.
Other players the Browns are expected to release include quarterback Kyle Lauletta, defensive end Curtis Weaver, defensive end Porter Gustin, defensive end Cameron Malveaux, linebacker Tegray Scales, undrafted rookie defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, tight end Jordan Franks and tight end Kyle Markway.
The Browns drafted Redwine, 24, in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Miami.
Redwine missed most of training camp and two of the team’s three preseason games with an ankle injury.
The Browns are expected to retain safeties John Johnson III, Ronnie Harrison Jr., Grant Delpit and rookie Richard LeCounte III.
Redwine started eight of the 27 regular-season games he played in with 69 tackles, a half sack, three pass deflections and an interception.
In the playoffs, Redwine started against the Pittsburgh Steelers and intercepted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Natson is working his way back after tearing his ACL on Sept. 27, 2020, against the Washington Football Team.
Last season, Natson had three punt returns for 25 yards and a kickoff return for 31 yards.
Natson was not targeted as a wide receiver in three games played during the 2021 season.
In 2017, Natson entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts
Rookie sixth-round pick Demetric Felton has emerged as a skill position player and return man for the Browns this preseason.
Plus, speedy rookie wide receiver Anthony Schwartz could also perform return duties for the Browns.
On Sunday, Schwartz made his preseason debut, playing 19 snaps against the Atlanta Falcons.
Lauletta could return to the Browns practice squad after spending the final 12 weeks of the 2020 season there.
The Browns could look to develop Lauletta behind quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum.
Lauletta played in each of the Browns’ three preseason games, completing 61.1% of his throws for 514 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Gustin, Malveaux and Weaver were competing for the Browns’ fourth defensive end position behind Myles Garrett, Jadeveon Clowney and Takk McKinley.
On Monday, Stefanski complimented general manager Andrew Berry as the Browns trim their roster.
“Andrew and his staff do a great job of working the roster for 365 days,” Stefanski said. “They’re constantly looking at ways to upgrade whether it’s via trade or otherwise, so it’s all part of it.
“I told the team last night, I would love to keep everybody. I wish they relaxed those rules and we could keep everybody, but that is not the nature of this beast.”
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