Now that both of the Browns’ leading tacklers, inside linebackers D’Qwell Jackson and Eric Barton, are shelved for the season, the active roster stands at 52, leaving one available job, even after this week’s promotion of rookie LB Marcus Bernard from the practice squad and signing of veteran LB Josh Stamer as a street free agent.
I suspect that poobah-for-now Eric Mangini will round out the roster with another practice squad promotion or tryout player, and the news may come fast. But this is really an optimal situation for raiding another team’s practice squad. All you need to do is keep him on the active roster for three weeks.
So who’s out there? A consolidated, current list of NFL practice squads isn’t readily available, so I had to visit each team’s official site to get the names below.
Based on the positional make-up of the Browns’ current active roster, I’d pay special attention to wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and linebackers, in roughly that order. Not that I’d expect any such newcomer to make an instant impact — indeed, he’d probably be inactive on game day — but it would provide the coaches a low-risk, up-close, extended look at a player who another team thought worthy of developing in house.
The one name that immediately stands out is OT Alex Boone (SF), late of Lakewood St. Ed’s and Ohio State. Serious immaturity issues dropped the two-time All-Big Ten selection right off the draft boards last April. That would be a giant red flag to someone like Mangini (and me too), but maybe staying out of trouble for his first half year as a pro makes the risk seem less than the potential upside, especially given the Browns’ need to secure a better long-term answer at right tackle.
Anyway, who should we snag?
Buffalo: Hall, Bruce RB, Mississippi; Harris, Cary DB, USC; Hawthorne, C.J. WR, Hawaii; Hennessey, Nick OL, Colgate; Huggins, Felton WR, Southeastern Louisiana; Mace, Corey DT, Wyoming; Ramsey, Andre OL, Ball State; Waters, Anthony LB 6-3 238 Clemson
Dolphins: Tristan Davis, RB; John Nalbone, TE; Nate Ness, S; Andrew Hartline, T; Kory Sperry, TE; Julius Pruitt, WR; Will Billingsley, CB; Ryan Baker, DE
Patriots: Titus Adams DT Nebraska; Bruce Davis LB UCLA; Rob Myers TE Utah State; Terrence Nunn WR Nebraska; Darryl Richard DT Georgia Tech; Isaiah Stanback QB Washington; Ryan Wendell G Fresno State
Jets: Kenwin Cummings LB Wingate; Jason Davis FB Illinois; Keith Fitzhugh S Mississippi State; Antonio Garay DT Boston College (former Brown); Marcus Henry WR Kansas; Matt Kroul DL Iowa; Ryan McKee T Southern Mississippi; Matthew Mulligan TE Maine
Ravens: Drew, Davon TE East Carolina; Gerard, K.J. CB Northern Arizona; Harper, Justin WR Virginia Tech; Mattison, Bryan G/T Iowa; Reitz, Joe T Western Michigan; Riley, Eron WR Duke; Rodgers, Stefan T Lambuth; VanDeSteeg, William LB/DE Minnesota
Bengals: Brown, Freddie WR Utah; Hill, Darius TE Ball State; Johnson, James RB Kansas State; McDonald, Clinton DE Memphis; Murray, Rico CB Kent State; Pope, Geoffrey CB Howard; Purify, Maurice WR Nebraska; Shirley, Jason DT Fresno State
Steelers: Bright, Eugene TE Purdue; Grisham, Tyler WR Clemson; Harris, Tuff S Montana; McLendon, Steve DT Troy; Redman, Isaac RB Bowie State; Shipley, A.Q. C Penn State; Vincent, Justin RB Louisiana State; Woods, Donovan ROLB Oklahoma State
Texans: Bing, Darnell LB USC; Crummey, Andrew OL Maryland; Foster, Arian RB Tennessee; Helms, Brett C LSU; Henry, Chris RB Arizona; Stenavich, Adam T Michigan
Colts: Giguere, Sam WR Sherbrooke; Gill, John DT Northwestern; Hall, Devon DB Utah State; Lambert, Terrail DB Notre Dame; Matthews, John WR San Diego; Smith, Taj WR Syracuse; Thomas, Jaimie OG Maryland
Jaguars: Bartel, Richard QB Tarleton State (former Brown); Bolen, Brock FB Louisville; Cox, Kennard DB Pittsburgh; Hughes, Nate WR Alcorn State; Navarre, Jeremy DE Maryland; Newton, Cecil C Tennessee State; Potter, Zach TE Nebraska; Stephenson, Cameron G Rutgers
Titans: Booty, John David QB USC; Durand, Ryan G Syracuse; Edison, Dominique WR Stephen F. Austin; Rivera, Mike LB Kansas; Schommer, Nick S North Dakota State; Velasco, Fernando C/G Georgia; Williams, Paul WR Fresno State
Broncos: Ball, Lance RB Maryland; Branson, Marquez TE Central Arkansas; Carter, Tony CB Florida State; Erickson, Mitch G South Dakota State; Johnson, D.J. CB Jackson State; Kelley, Braxton LB Kentucky; Powell, Carlton DL Virginia Tech; Willis, Matthew WR UCLA
Chiefs: Bates, Jackie CB Hampton; Favorite, Marlon DT LSU; Gales, Dion DE Troy State; Greenwood, Bobby DE Alabama; Harris, Darryl G Mississippi; Lawrence, Quinten WR McNeese State; Price, Ricky S Oklahoma State; Williams, Javarris RB Tennessee State
Raiders: Bodiford, Shaun WR Portland State; Boyd, Jerome SAF Oregon; Gunheim, Greyson DE Washington; Hubbard, Paul WR Wisconsin (former Brown); Nixon, David LB Brigham Young; Norris, Slade LB Oregon State; Reece, Marcel RB Washington; Schuening, Roy G Oregon State
Chargers: Banks, Gary WR Troy; Beckwith, Darryl ILB Louisiana State; Castille, Simeon CB Alabama; Clark, Corey T Texas A&M; Coleman, Andre DE Albany; Latsko, Billy FB Florida; Leman, J LB Illinois; Toledo, Joe OT Washington
Cowboys: Bright, Travis G Brigham Young; Carpenter, Rudy QB Arizona State; Chandler, Scott TE Iowa; Dixon, Marcus DE Hampton; Holley, Jesse WR North Carolina; Johnson, Manuel WR Oklahoma; Love, Jamar CB Arkansas; Washington, Chauncey RB USC
Giants: Anderson, Vince CB Webber International; Bender, Jacob G/T Nicholls St.; Bomar, Rhett QB Sam Houston State; Broughton, Nehemiah FB The Citadel; Coe, Michael CB Alabama State; Hendricks, Dwayne DT Miami; Pascoe, Bear TE Fresno State; Rashad, Shareff S Central Florida
Eagles: Collins, Dobson WR Gardner-Webb; Fanaika, Paul G Arizona State; Ikegwuonu, Jack CB Wisconsin; Langford, Reshard S Vanderbilt; Mailei, Marcus FB Weber State; Norwood, Jordan WR Penn State (former Brown); Reynolds, Dallas G BYU; Rucker, Martin TE Missouri (former Brown)
Redskins: Armstrong, Anthony WR West Texas A&M; Bowen, Alvin LB Iowa State; Holmes, Lendy S Oklahoma; Jackson, Rob DE Kansas State; Oldenburg, Clint OT Colorado State; Robinson, William OT San Diego State; Skolnitsky, J.D. DE James Madison; Woodson, Andre QB Kentucky
Bears: Asiata, Johan G UNLV; Basanez, Brett QB Northwestern; Bell, Kahlil RB UCLA; Marten, James T Boston College; Raiola, Donovan C Wisconsin; Smith, DeAngelo CB Cincinnati (former Brown); Ta’ufo’ou, Will FB Cal; Turenne, Woodny CB Louisville
Lions: Fowler, Eric WR Grand Valley State; Gerberry, Dan C Ball State; Gronkowski, Dan TE Maryland; Heckendorf, Kole WR North Dakota State; Henderson, Robert DE Southern Mississippi; Peerman, Cedric RB Virginia (former Brown); Word-Daniels, Jahi CB Georgia Tech
Packers: Brian Brohm QB Louisville; Patrick Williams WR Colorado; Kregg Lumpkin RB Georgia; Trevor Ford CB Troy; Cyril Obiozor LB Texas A&M; Anthony Toribio NT Carson-Newman; Ronald Talley DE Delaware
Vikings: Anderson, Colt S Montana; Brown, Patrick T Central Florida; Clark, Chris T Southern Mississippi; Johnson, Ian RB Boise State; Johnson, Tremaine DT Louisiana State; Mills, Garrett TE Tulsa; Perretta, Vinny WR Boise State; Wright, DeAndre CB New Mexico
Falcons: Bergeron, Troy WR None; Brock, Eric S Auburn; Bruggeman, Rob OL Iowa; Clark, Jeremy DT Alabama; James, Robert LB Arizona State; Lucas, Maurice DE Colorado; Smith, Antone RB Florida State; Valdez, Jose OG Arkansas
Panthers: Birmingham, Decori RB Arkansas; Cantwell, Hunter QB Louisville; Fry, Dustin C Clemson (former Brown); Ivy, Mortty LB West Virginia; Jackson, Dexter WR Appalachian State; Martin, Charly WR West Texas A&M; Pociask, Jason TE Wisconsin; Walker, Marcus CB Oklahoma
Saints: Parson, Mark CB Ohio; Herb Donaldson RB Western Illinois; Earl Heyman DT Louisville; Tim Duckworth G Auburn; Renardo Foster T Louisville; Jermey Parnell T Mississippi; Tyler Lorenzen TE Connecticut; Adrian Arrington WR Michigan
Buccaneers: Anderson, Brandon CB Akron (former Brown); Cook, Emanuel S South Carolina; Dile, Marc OL South Florida; Evans, Maurice DE Penn State; Huggins, Kareem RB Hofstra; Purvis, Ryan TE Boston College; Robinson, Lee LB Alcorn State; Urrutia, Mario WR Louisville
Cardinals: Barksdale, Rashad CB Albany State (NY); Canfield, Trevor G Cincinnati; Collins, Jed FB Washington State; Gant, Edward WR North Alabama; Harrington, Chris LB Texas A&M; Holmes, Antoine DT North Carolina State; Jones, Onrea WR Hampton; Renkart, Brandon LB Rutgers
Rams: Bradwell, Chris LDT Troy; Brown, Marcus RCB McNeese State; Butler, Eric TE Mississippi State; Moore, Jay MLB Nebraska; Ogbonnaya, Chris HB Texas; Parks, Cord LCB Northeastern; Walker, Sean WR Vanderbilt; Young, Eric RT Tennessee (former Brown)
49ers: Barton, Kirk T Ohio State; Boone, Alex T Ohio State; Burnett, Martail LB Utah; Finley, Joe Jon TE Oklahoma; Lattimore, Keon RB Maryland; Miller, Brit FB Illinois; Mitchell, Khalif DT East Carolina; Zeigler, Dominique WR Baylor
Seahawks: Goddard, Na’Shan T South Carolina; Heygood, Anthony LB Purdue; Moore, Devin RB Wyoming; Williams, Kyle T USC; Williams, Trae CB South Florida; Willingham, DeAngelo CB Tennessee