Upon hearing the news that the Cleveland Browns included their first-round selection in the 2011 NFL Draft, defensive lineman Phil Taylor, among their first roster cuts on Tuesday, you may have come across a tweet like this, from Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez:
With the release of DT Phil Taylor, all 8 of the @Browns 2011 draft picks are no longer with the team.
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) September 1, 2015
Or this one, from NFL Network’s Albert Breer:
With Phil Taylor’s release, four years later, the Browns literally have nothing left from the Julio Jones trade. — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 1, 2015
Or maybe this one, from Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller.
Julio Jones trade revisited: Falcons: Jones Browns: Phil Taylor, Greg Little, Owen Marecic, Brandon Weeden
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 1, 2015
All follow the same theme: “LOL, Browns,” serving to highlight what has long been a butt of the NFL’s jokes. The instability, the inconsistency, the losing records—all get wrapped up into what would have been, for almost any other team, a routine roster cut coming at the time of year during which these things happen. But it’s the Browns, so let’s laugh.
And they aren’t wrong. The Browns no longer have any of the eight players they drafted in 2011 now that Taylor is gone. And the trade that led the Browns to Taylor four years ago—one that led the Atlanta Falcons to snag receiver Julio Jones—has only produced players who are no longer in Cleveland. But this isn’t a sign of dysfunction. It’s simply business as usual in the NFL.
When a team turns over head coaches and general managers the way the Browns have since Taylor was drafted in 2011, there are bound to be roster casualties. A new coach-GM combo wants to come in and put their own stamp on the team. That means not just drafting and signing players based on their specific visions but also removing the players who do not meet those goals.
In 2011, the Browns’ head coach was Pat Shurmur and the general manager was Tom Heckert. It was Shurmur and Heckert who were responsible for the trade to the Falcons, for drafting Taylor, for choosing Greg Little and for using their second of their two 2012 Round 1 draft picks on quarterback Brandon Weeden. These moves were not the sins of the current regime, helmed by general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine, and they should not suffer for them.
The fact remains that Taylor never lived up to his draft pedigree. He has dealt with injuries big and small that have sapped his potential. He’s also been through three different defensive schemes in his time in Cleveland; at this point, he simply wasn’t a fit, especially not with rookie Danny Shelton in the fold. What the Browns did on Tuesday is what they believe is best for business in 2015, just as Heckert and Shurmur believed what they did in 2011 was also best for the Browns’ bottom line. Just because Heckert and Shurmur were wrong doesn’t mean that Pettine and Farmer are just as off-base.
Further, to simply say “the Browns don’t have any of their 2011 draft picks, let’s point and laugh,” is woefully shortsighted given the circumstances that led to each of those eight players leaving town. As we know, Taylor underperformed, dealt with injuries and has been replaced. Defensive end Jabaal Sheard, signed as a free agent by the New England Patriots, was no longer a fit for the Browns’ defense. Little is one of the most drops-prone receivers in the league and wasn’t worth a roster spot or a new contract.
Tight end Jordan Cameron simply didn’t want to stay this year; he’s now with the Miami Dolphins. Fullback Owen Marecic didn’t work out. Cornerback Buster Skrine wanted more money than he was worth and is now a nickel cornerback for the New York Jets and will likely lead his team in penalties this year, as he did in 2014 for Cleveland. Offensive tackle Jason Pinkston was forced to retire because of blood clots. Defensive back Eric Hagg was a seventh-round pick—and those are never considered roster locks.
This is normal roster attrition in the NFL. But it’s looming large for the Browns now because this entire draft class has moved on. What else could be expected in these circumstances, though? These 2011 draft picks aren’t even “the guys” of the Cleveland administration before this one; they didn’t even have the same team owner as they do now. It’s easy to make jokes at the Browns’ expense, but “easy” can also serve as a synonym for “lazy.” Given the numerous changes the Browns have experienced since the 2011 draft, it should come as no surprise that these players no longer remain on the team.