With the New England Patriots on the docket tomorrow at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Cleveland Browns have made three roster moves. Unfortunately, one of those moves was not the activation of newly acquired linebacker Deion Jones, as he likely makes his debut next week against the Baltimore Ravens.
Elevations from the practice squad are not a new thing for all 32 teams, and churning the bottom of the roster is a common practice by the Browns. Both of these are moves they made today, as well as the activation of a player off of Injured Reserve and back onto the active roster.
We take a look at the three roster moves here and discuss their repercussions.
Browns elevate Chester Rogers, Herb Miller from the practice squad
The Browns have elevated both wide receiver/return specialist Chester Rogers and cornerback Herb Miller from the practice squad. Miller is a frequent flier on special teams, while Rogers has almost exclusively taken over return duties for the Browns.
This, however, is the last time the Browns can elevate Rogers from the practice squad, as teams can only do so three times per player. Given his consistency and success as a returner, expect Rogers to be signed to the active roster next week.
This puts the roster spot of Demetric Felton in question. The status of Rogers will certainly be a development to watch closely next week.
Dakota Allen signed to active roster
In another roster move, the Browns have signed linebacker Dakota Allen off the practice squad and to their 53-man roster. Allen was a gameday elevation a week ago and now joins the team.
This move, however, is likely temporary as Allen will more than likely be cut when the Browns activate linebacker Deion Jones to the active roster. While Jones was not activated this week, he is expected to make his debut next week against the Ravens.
For now, however, the Browns at least put another linebacker on the roster until Jones is ready. If Jacob Phillips continues to struggle, we could even see Allen or Jordan Kunaszyk take defensive snaps tomorrow against the Patriots.
Greedy Williams officially activated off of Injured Reserve
This last move was wildly expected given the way Williams spoke to the media yesterday. However, Williams has officially been activated off of Injured Reserve and onto the active roster, set to make his season debut for the Browns.
With Denzel Ward set to miss this game, failing to clear the concussion protocol, Williams will likely be thrust into a heavy dose of snaps right away. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the Browns handle the snap count of both Williams and rookie cornerback Martin Emerson, who has graded out as the secondary’s best player thus far through the 2022 campaign.
For now, however, the health of Williams could not have come at a better time as there is an immediate void to fill in the secondary.
