The Opening Drive 8/26: Browns Making Plenty of Early Deadline Day Moves
Wide receiver plot twist, offensive tackle addition, and more.
Today is the day. It’s a tough one for about 1,200 NFL hopefuls across the league, but a big day of accomplishment for the players who make their 53-man roster. The Browns have made some tough calls, already reversed one, and remain active in the market this morning. There’s plenty more to come in the next six hours before the 4PM deadline.
Before we get there, I want to remind you of some rules and regulations the Browns must follow regarding the 53, the practice squad, and the waiver wire in the days ahead.
Typically, the waiver wire process is 24 hours, but on cutdown day, it’s slightly shorter. Although teams began making their cuts in the days leading up to Tuesday’s deadline, those moves are not official until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. Teams have until Wednesday at noon ET to put in claims. If a team claims a player off waivers, it inherits that player’s current contract.
Vested veterans (players with at least four years of experience) become unrestricted free agents immediately and can sign with the team of their choosing. Players with fewer than four years of experience are subject to waivers, in which teams can make claims, and are awarded players based on last year's draft order.
If a player clears waivers, he becomes a free agent and can sign with any team, including the practice squad of the team that cut him.
Teams are typically able to sign 16 players to the practice squad. A 17th player can be added if he’s part of the league’s International Player Pathway program.
Teams can sign up to six veterans with unlimited experience to the practice squad. The rest of the spots are for players with two or fewer accrued seasons.
To head to the reserve/physically unable to perform list — and thus not count against a team’s 53-player limit — players must have been placed on the active/PUP list at the start of training camp and remained there throughout. They must miss at least the first four games of the season before being activated.
For injured reserve, teams may designate two players on cutdown day who can return after a minimum of four games. Any other players that teams wish to place on IR and return after four games must initially make the 53-man roster and then be placed on IR the following day. Those placed on IR before or on cutdown day, and without the designation to return, are out for the season.
Unless a team trimmed its roster to fewer than 53 players, if it claims a player who was waived by another team by Wednesday’s deadline, it must make a corresponding move to keep its roster in compliance. Many teams go through this period without gaining a single player off waivers, or even without submitting a waiver claim.
Last year, only 27 players were claimed off waivers on cutdown day. You can claim multiple players as last year the Panthers claimed six.
Browns are 2nd in the NFL’s waiver wire priority list.
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The Browns finally got active in the trade market, just as expected. Three positions stood out as priorities — cornerback, running back, and offensive tackle. Each carries different long-term implications, but in the short term for 2025, they’re the spots most likely to prove costly if left unaddressed.
This morning, Cleveland made its first move, acquiring offensive tackle KT Leveston from the Rams in exchange for a 2028 seventh-round pick — yes, a selection three drafts away. Leveston, a Kansas State product, was taken with the 254th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft but never saw the field as a rookie after an ankle injury in camp landed him on IR for the entire season. The Rams opted not to activate him, ensuring they retained his rights.
With Los Angeles carrying a surplus of tackle depth, moving Leveston for essentially the same late-round pick made sense on their end. For Cleveland, it’s a low-risk move with upside. Leveston is a powerful blocker at 6’4”, 330 pounds, yet moves well for his size. His run-blocking strength flashed on Saturday when he put Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on skates during the first quarter.
I will need to study more of his game to have a true feel for what the Browns have in Leveston, but it’s clear the team liked him after watching him up close and then scouting their own tape of the game. This is reminiscent of when the Browns placed a waiver claim for cornerback Kahlef Hailassie of the Chiefs two years ago, right after both sides met in the final preseason game.
It appears Leveston has some inside/out flexibility to his profile, as he played some snaps on the interior in college, but nothing solid enough to lock him into a dual role. He is built more like a guard than a tackle, but his experience is primarily at left tackle, where he logged 2,248 snaps at Kansas State. Every snap for Leveston with the Rams this preseason has also come at left tackle.
He projects more as a primary backup for Jack Conklin, while veteran Cornelius Lucas will serve the same role on the right side behind Dawand Jones.
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Browns Film Breakdown will return later today with thoughts on all the roster moves.
Omg, we signed the guy who ate Tryon on that play! Ha! That’s hysterical. You know Tryon had to have gotten some shit the last couple days in Berea for that play.
Well, I’ll take that brand of nasty for our backup OT any day.