A handful of observations from the Browns' 53-man roster...
— The Browns, as expected, kept three quarterbacks: Tyrod Taylor, rookie Baker Mayfield and veteran Drew Stanton. Taylor, who spent the past three seasons with the Buffalo Bills, is the team's 2018 starter while Mayfield, the first overall pick, is expected to back him up.
— Cleveland's wide receivers room will include three rookies this season: Antonio Callaway (a fourth-round pick), Damion Ratley (sixth round) and undrafted free agent Derrick Willies. They join a group headlined by Pro Bowlers in Jarvis Landry and Josh Gordon. Rashard Higgins, who has been arguably the team's most improved player through camp, rounds out the room.
— Roster cuts mean touch choices. Among this year's difficult decisions were parting ways with three tenured defensive linemen in Nate Orchard, Carl Nassib and Jamie Meder, who started a combined 45 games for the Browns.
Orchard, the 51st overall pick in 2015, started 11 games as a rookie before injuries and other dynamics moved him into a backup role. The subject of a "Hard Knocks" feature, Orchard had a 64-yard interception return for touchdown in last week's preseason finale against the Lions. It wasn't enough, however, to earn the veteran a spot.
Nassib, another "Hard Knocks" favorite thanks to his colorful personality, made 5.5 sacks and nine pass breakups in two seasons. The 2016 third-round pick started 11 games last year.
Meder, meanwhile, played 43 games in four years for the Browns, including 15 starts in 2016. He is perhaps best known for helping lift Cleveland to its only win over the past two seasons with a field-goal block against the Chargers on Christmas Eve 2016.
— As the Browns continue to retool an offensive line that lost future Hall-of-Famer Joe Thomas to retirement, they traded tackle Shon Coleman to the 49ers in exchange for a seventh-round pick next year and waived Spencer Drango. Coleman, a third-round pick out of Auburn in 2016, started all 16 games last season at right tackle and entered the spring as Thomas' replacement. Drango, a fifth-round pick from Baylor in 2016, started 19 games in two years. Cleveland also waived backup centers Austin Reiter, who spent the previous two seasons with the team, and Anthony Fabiano.
— The Browns' linebackers are perhaps the team's deepest position group, and it'll stay that way. Cleveland kept starters Christian Kirksey, Jamie Collins and Joe Schobert in addition to rookie Genard Avery and James Burgess, who made 75 tackles and four sacks last season in nine starts when Collins went down with a season-ending knee injury.
— As of Sunday afternoon, five members of the Browns' 2016 draft class remain with the most-recent departures of Coleman, Drango and Nassib. Higgins, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, linebacker Joe Schobert, tight end Seth DeValve and safety Derrick Kindred are all expected to play various roles this fall.
— Beyond Nassib and Orchard, several "Hard Knocks" favorites will be looking for new opportunities elsewhere. The Browns parted ways with journeyman tight end Devon Cajuste and rookie quarterback Brogan Roback. Cajuste was the subject of heartwarming feature regarding his father, Gregory, who has battled a litany of serious medical issues over the years. Roback, an undrafted free agent and Toledo native better known as "BRObie," was a long shot to make the roster but gained something of a following and the affection of the team's coaching staff.
— DeValve is set for a third season in Cleveland despite a quadriceps injury that has sidelined him since late July. The Browns kept the third-year tight in a room that includes David Njoku and newcomers in veteran Darren Fells and Orson Charles. DeValve caught 33 passes for 395 yards and a touchdown last season.
— Former undrafted free agent Denzel Rice earned a spot in the Browns overhauled cornerbacks room. He joins Denzel Ward, Terrance Mitchell, T.J. Carrie and E.J. Gaines after Cleveland signed him in late January. Rice was the only member of the Eagles' 2015 team to make the roster as a UDFA.
— The Browns' interior defensive line gets a boost with the addition of veteran defensive tackle Carl Davis, who spent the previous three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. A third-round pick out of Iowa in 2015, Davis played in 15 games — including nine starts — last season, totaling 19 tackles and half a sack. He missed all of 2016 with an ankle injury. He joins a group that includes second-year standout Larry Ogunjobi and Trevon Coley, who made 15 starts last year.
— Lost in the shuffle of Saturday's first wave of cuts, the Browns also traded for former Saints defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round pick. Lawrence missed all of last season on the non-football injury list but was reportedly impressive for New Orleans throughout the preseason. The former Auburn standout figures to find his way in the defensive tackle rotation.
— In addition to Davis, the Browns claimed four more players off waivers to round out the 53: Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, offensive lineman Aaron Neary, defensive back Tavierre Thomas and linebacker Tanner Vallejo.
