00:00the lady who covers the Browns for the Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com.
00:03She is Mary Kay Cabot.
00:05You can also, of course, listen to her podcast, as you should,
00:08the Orange and Brown Talk podcast.
00:11Hi, Mary Kay.
00:13Hey, guys. How are you doing?
00:14We're doing fine.
00:15Nick Pannone's in for Andy today.
00:17Before we get into stuff that really matters,
00:20Joe Milton got cut by Dallas, and I want him.
00:25Well, you know, I wanted Joe Milton when he was coming out.
00:28See? Yes.
00:30Yeah, I thought he would be a good late-round pick,
00:32but now that they have Talon, I don't see that there's a spot for Joe.
00:36I think that maybe there's, like, a little bit of crossover there
00:39between those two guys.
00:41So I don't see that as a feasible thing right now.
00:46Yeah, neither do I, but I love the idea of Talon Green
00:50and Joe Milton together with whoever is playing quarterback
00:53and those guys developing.
00:54But that's a story for another day, Mary Kay.
00:57Did the cut surprise you?
01:00Anything roster-wise when things went down on Sunday
01:04that caught you off guard?
01:06Just Dylan on IR, but that didn't totally shock me
01:13because he had not practiced the day before when we were out there on Saturday.
01:16He was not practicing.
01:19He was not throwing the ball.
01:20So I wasn't, you know, flabbergasted by that.
01:24I would just say mildly surprised.
01:26But what a great way to keep all four quarterbacks for now.
01:33And it's just going to be something to watch over the next month
01:37to see if Talon Green can keep himself on the 53 after that's all over.
01:43Mary Kay, what'd you make out of Todd Munkin sharing with you guys yesterday
01:48that now that this is all set and Dylan's going to be on the shelf
01:51for at least a couple of weeks,
01:53that Talon Green and Shador are going to rotate those scout team reps?
01:58What'd you make out of that comment?
01:59Because I know there was a lot of chatter on social about, of course,
02:02what that means for Shador, what that means for Talon,
02:05how they view both players.
02:06But I was curious to know your perspective
02:08when you heard Todd share that with you guys.
02:11Well, I think it's very significant.
02:13I think it's very significant because that means that Talon Green
02:19is going to be getting some very, very quality reps
02:23going against the defense.
02:24There will be crossover with what those guys do on their own offense.
02:27And it also means that, you know,
02:30that they're really trying to get him up to speed
02:32and give him an opportunity to be on that 53-man roster
02:36even when Dylan comes off of IR.
02:39So I do think that there's some meaning in that.
02:43And now it's just an opportunity for Talon to go out there
02:46and show what he can do.
02:47Twofold on this, Mary Kay.
02:48What's that also say about Shador,
02:50that they're taking some of those reps away from him?
02:53And does it combine with him not beating out Deshaun
02:58to put any light on they don't think he's the guy moving forward?
03:02I would think it does because I would have started him personally,
03:07but they're not doing that.
03:10Well, you know, he will also get a couple of regular offensive reps,
03:15I would think.
03:16I mean, Todd was a little bit unclear about that,
03:19but I think what it means is that he will get some of the backup reps that,
03:24you know, there's not a lot of those to go around,
03:26but it seems like he'll get some of those
03:29and then he'll get the scout team reps.
03:30So I think that's how that will go.
03:35I thought it was interesting that Todd wouldn't comment yesterday
03:39on the idea of would you have kept four quarterbacks.
03:42Does that mean anything?
03:44No, he just, there's certain things that he doesn't like to talk about,
03:48and that is roster decisions because that is Andrew Berry's wheelhouse,
03:54and then the other thing is injuries.
03:55But he's going to have to find out very quickly that he is the spokesperson
04:00for the injuries on the football team,
04:02and he's just going to have to do that.
04:04Now, when he was obviously offensive coordinator,
04:06he didn't have to do that, but now he does,
04:09and he'll kind of get the hang of that going forward.
04:14Obviously, Mary Kay, they're assembling now the practice squad.
04:18That's the chapter of this roster build that we're at now.
04:21I think maybe a lot of people surprised Luke Floria's name
04:25not on that practice squad.
04:27Obviously, ESPN reporting that they don't plan on bringing him back
04:31to the practice squad.
04:33What should we read into that?
04:34Because, you know, there's a lot of fans here
04:36that really like what Luke did in these last couple of preseasons
04:40in Cleveland, and he's an easy guy to root for
04:42as a Kent Stater and a Mentor High School alum.
04:45Well, as I wrote yesterday, you know,
04:47he doesn't really play special teams,
04:49and if you're not going to be returning kicks and punts
04:51and things like that, there's not really going to be a place for you.
04:54So they didn't see a future here for him on the 53,
04:58so it's best to just let him go, either find a spot somewhere else
05:01or perhaps get into coaching, which he has expressed an interest in doing.
05:06So these are some of the reasons why he's not coming back.
05:09Mary Kay Cabot joining us from the PlainDealerCleveland.com,
05:12the Orange and Brown Talk podcast.
05:14I thought there were two practice squad signings by the Browns yesterday, Mary Kay,
05:19that they were really smart, sensible, but doesn't sound like practice squad.
05:25When they brought in veteran quarterbacks Miles Bryant and D'Angelo Ross,
05:30and D'Angelo's 29, obviously was, you know, with the Browns last year a little bit,
05:35sixth-year pro, Miles Bryant, 28, seventh-year pro, shows the need for cornerbacks,
05:42does it not, and cornerbacks who are ready to go on the football field?
05:46Well, yes, obviously, and Andrew Berry loves cornerbacks,
05:50and you can never have too many good cornerbacks.
05:53It's an area of a little bit of concern.
05:56There can be some injuries there at times,
05:59and so they're always, always looking for depth.
06:01So those guys on the practice squad, they're very close to getting called up to the 53,
06:07and now they have a little bit of flexibility with those guys,
06:10and they're in the pipeline.
06:11Were you surprised at all, Mary Kay, that they said goodbye to Julian Okora
06:15in the shuffle yesterday just because we all kind of thought that edge rusher
06:20was another one of those positions that was kind of thin?
06:23Yeah, because that leaves them with only eight defensive linemen right now,
06:27including three full-time defensive ends, and that's not enough.
06:31That's not enough for your rotation.
06:32When they were seeking to sign Derek Barnett,
06:35they were going to be adding him to what they would call their Bravo rotation,
06:40four different guys, and that would have included Alex Wright,
06:44Isaiah McGuire, Jared Verse as well.
06:46And so that was supposed to be their, you know, fearsome foursome,
06:50and now they're down to three full-time defensive ends.
06:54So I think that's a spot that they're going to continue to look at.
06:57They're going to continue to try to find some bodies there to bolster that position.
07:04I thought it was interesting, especially in the last preseason game,
07:09Cordae Sidnor looked really good at defensive end.
07:12Logan Fano was active, and they have Tyreek Sapp, a rookie at defensive tackle.
07:17They brought all three of those guys back, Mary Kay.
07:20So trying to develop some young depth from within for maybe down the road a little bit,
07:25and I don't even mean just this year down the road.
07:27For a couple of years down the road, always cheaper if you can develop your own guys
07:31on that defensive front.
07:34Right, and Julian could end up back on the practice squad by today.
07:38So that's how this works.
07:39The back end of the roster right now and the practice squad, it's all very fluid.
07:43And fortunately, ever since the COVID years, they've expanded the practice squad rosters,
07:49and you can keep veterans on there, and you just have so much more flexibility.
07:54So they have some guys they can tap into there, and they'll have what they need,
07:57but I think they will keep their eyes open, too, for other defense events.
08:01On the topic of roster construction and just that they had a Dylan Gabriel injury,
08:06so they were able to keep all four quarterbacks,
08:08I do think another interesting thing that happened was they were able to find a list
08:13for Joe Royer to go on right now while he's figuring out his personal matters.
08:18Obviously, that's a fifth-round rookie that you drafted that missed his entire training camp.
08:23Mary Kay, are you hearing anything about his situation?
08:26Like, is the team expecting him back?
08:28In years past, maybe this would have been dire straits that a fifth-round rookie didn't show up
08:33because we would have really been counting on somebody like Joe Royer.
08:36Now, maybe this roster is a little bit better.
08:38Blake Whitehart, Carson Ryan, you feel okay about those players,
08:41and obviously Harold Fannin's really good.
08:43But what's going on with Joe Royer?
08:45It feels like that's another topic that nobody really wants to get into when they're asked about it.
08:51Well, no, they don't want to get into it.
08:53It's a private matter, a personal matter,
08:55and they are respecting whatever Joe Royer is going through right now.
08:59And so we do ask about it occasionally just because you never know when they are going to be ready
09:04to say,
09:05oh, yeah, he could be back with the team soon.
09:07That's happened with a number of other guys where you don't know where they are,
09:11and then suddenly they're willing to say, oh, he should be back out there this week.
09:15So we don't know anything about Joe Royer right now,
09:19but hopefully he's getting the help he needs in whatever way he needs it
09:24and that he can be back with his team soon.
09:28Mary Kay Cabot joining us, plaindealercleven.com, Orange and Brown Talk podcast.
09:33Next, is Austin Barber playing his way into a potential starting job, Mary Kay,
09:38within the next couple of games?
09:40Well, I don't know about the next couple of games, but they love Austin Barber.
09:44They really do.
09:45They're watching that tape, and they love what they see,
09:48and they're trying to find a spot for him, and that's why he's been working at guard.
09:51And so I guess at this point it's probably incumbent upon Kevin Jenkins to hold him off
09:57and not let him get in there and try to take that job because he's pressing him.
10:01He's pressing him hard, and Todd Munkin even acknowledged that that could happen
10:07by the opener on September 13th in Jacksonville.
10:10So we'll have to see how it goes, but as of right now, I think Kevin still has the edge,
10:16but Barber is not far behind.
10:18Where's DeJuan Jones?
10:19Do you think DeJuan is the number one backup tackle,
10:22or is that Austin Barber maybe at both guard and tackle?
10:25No, I would think DeJuan Jones is the swing tackle right now
10:29and that Barber is the next guard up.
10:31That's the way it's been going in practice.
10:34But once again, you never really know.
10:36They're going to put the five best out there at any given time,
10:39and if they feel that Barber is one of the five best, then he will be out there.
10:44So we'll see how it goes.
10:46You know, DeJuan is out there still just working hard to hopefully get in the rotation somehow.
10:52Mary Kay, been busy for you the last couple of days,
10:54and it will be for the next couple of months.
10:57So thanks for your time today.
10:58Appreciate it.
10:59Sure.
11:00Thanks for having me.
11:01Mary Kay, great coverage on the Browns' cutdowns on Sunday
11:04and read her at theplanedealercleveland.com.
