The “soft reset” of the Browns roster helped lower the average age, moving up 10 spots in the NFL youth ranking
After cutdown day on Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns roster was set at 53 for the first time. It is a fluid situation, so the roster could continue to change throughout the days leading up to the home opener next Sunday, but the main change with the roster is the age difference. Last season, the Browns ranked 24th oldest in terms of roster age as they came out to a 26.60. This year, the Browns go from 24th all the way to 14th, at 26.15.
The youngest roster in the NFL, at the initial cutdown, was the Green Bay Packers at 25.23, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, and Seattle Seahawks, rounding out the top five
Youth movement was expected
Considering how last season fell apart, the Browns were expected to undergo some form of youth movement. The team wasn’t going to engage in a full teardown of the roster but instead invest in the current core players while moving off older players with expiring contracts. The roster is transitioning from an older roster that has peaked to a younger roster with potential upside at many positions.
The wide receiver and running back room for Cleveland could be the youngest rooms on the offensive side of the ball.
It’s a roster reload, not a rebuild that is currently occurring.
Players who are close to their prime or exiting their prime
In terms of the age, the one thing that stood out is how many players that the Browns have that are 29+ on the roster. Currently the Washington Commanders have the oldest roster in the league and have over 25 players who are 29+ or older on their roster. Second is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As of right now the Browns are tied for fifth as they have 13 players who are 29+ or older. Some notable names of those players are defensive end Myles Garrett (who is 29), defensive tackle Shelby Harris (who is 34), guards Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller (30 and 33). Of course, there is the 40-year-old Joe Flacco as well.
Harris and Bitonio could retire after this season, while Teller could be used as trade bait. Barring something wild, Garrett is here for the long haul despite the trade request he put in last offseason that eventually turned into a new contract extension.
Flacco, well, who knows with the aged veteran whose arm strength hasn’t seemed to diminish with age.
The Browns roster is younger, but still could get much younger as we head to the NFL trade deadline and into next offseason.
Category: General Sports
