David Bell Retires

      The Cleveland Browns announced what had already been assumed earlier this year: that wide receiver David Bell would be retiring from football.

Bell suffered a hip injury in 2024 during the second game of the season and reportedly developed a complication during surgery that has prevented him from continuing his football career.

The Browns drafted Bell in the third round (99th overall) in 2022 from Purdue, where he was named as Big Ten freshman of the year (2019), Receiver of the year (2021), and either first or second team All-Big Ten in each of his three seasons with the Boilermakers.

Bell showed excellent hands, but didn't have the speed to consistently get open on the outside, and didn't receive a full-time chance on the inside as a slot receiver, which I think would have been the preferred position for him.

Bell finished his Cleveland career with forty-one catches for 408 yards and three touchdowns, all three touchdowns in 2023.

Browns Cut to 53 with a few surprises

  The Cleveland Browns made their cuts to fifty-three by today's required deadline and while the Browns could be active on the waiver wire, the moves are likely to be minimal.

That's not to say that the Browns did not have some difficult decisions and are hoping that a few of their cuts will make it through waivers to join their practice squad.

Two undrafted players made the roster linebacker Mohamoud Diabate and safety Ronnie Hickman.

Diabate played three seasons at Florida before transferring to Utah in 2002 and he took advantage of the issues at linebacker with Anthony Walker and Sione Takitaki still working their way back from injuries suffered last season.

Diabate likely made the roster when he forced a fumble and also scored a safety in the Browns tie with the Eagles to go with six solo tackles.

Ronnie Hickman pictured above, signed from Ohio State, intercepted three passes in the preseason and joined D'Anthony Bell as backup safeties who will be expected to help on special teams, which Mohamoud Diabate is expected to contribute as well.

Andrew Berry has traditionally been very reluctant to release players he's drafted but he knows what is on the line this season and he isn't as averse to moving on from his picks as in the past.

Berry released two players from the 2021 draft, fourth-round defensive tackle Tommy Togiai and seventh-round running Demetric Felton, and two players from the 2022 draft, fourth-round kicker Cade York (as reported yesterday) and seventh-round defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas.

The release of York and Thomas along with the earlier releases of fourth-rounder Perrion Winfrey and seventh-rounder Dawson Deaton means that only one year after the draft, Cleveland has only five of the nine selections under contract with one of them, sixth-round wide receiver Michael Woods, out for the season due to injury.

What seems to be the most controversial decision is the team keeping 2022 third-round choice David Bell over preseason standout Austin Watkins.

Watkins led the league in receiving statistics in the preseason with sixteen catches, 257 yards, and two touchdowns but Bell is younger and is a better special teams performer, which is vital for one of the backup receivers.

Bell also seems to be a better fit in the slot and Watkins likely was edged off the roster, not by Bell but by the return of off-season signee Marquise Goodwin from blood clots which caused him to miss training camp and was thought to perhaps cost him a significant part of the season.

The Browns also released veteran offensive lineman Michael Dunn and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst but both are thought to be returning once the administrative procedures of placing players on the injured reserve etc. are completed.

Demetric Felton likely would made the squad as the third running back, had the Browns not traded for Pierre Strong with New England earlier this week, and the Browns will try to bring him back to the practice squad, if possible.

Kellen Mond was released as the Browns have decided to go with two quarterbacks on the active roster but with his experience with the Browns last season, Mond would likely be added to the practice squad as well.

Jaylen Darden is a wideout that I'd love to see clear and return to the practice squad as he has plenty of skills but struggled through some training camp injuries that hindered his chance to make the team.

The main losses of note on defense are the former draftees Tommy Togiai and Isaiah Thomas along the defensive line.

Togiai got caught up in the numbers at defensive tackle after a strong preseason but he didn't stand out enough to hold off the newcomers at the position and Thomas, who missed all of the preseason with a knee injury, also was hampered by the team having to place another injured second-year defensive end in Alex Wright on the roster.

Both could wind up on the practice squad as well.

Cleveland may make a move or two depending on the talent available on the waiver wire but these cuts over the long term look to come down to David Bell vs. Austin Watkins (which unless Watkins becomes a star is for the last wide receiver spot on the roster) and the biggest will be the decision at kicker to trade for Dustin Hopkins and release Cade York, which will affect this season and should York move elsewhere and become the kicker that the Browns thought he would be when they drafted him, affect many seasons to come.

Browns Select David Bell

     The Cleveland Browns were down to their final third-round selection to find themselves some help at wide receiver and it appears that they did so with the choice of Purdue's David Bell.

This was the compensation selection given to the Browns for the Vikings hiring of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their general manager and the Browns will receive another pick at the end of the third round in the 2023 draft.

David Bell is a player that I really liked and when I did the Browns Persons of Interest post, I almost used Bell as the pictured player for the piece but I decided on the player that was unlikely to be available in Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks.

At six feet even, Bell doesn't have great speed, which is the difference between the first round and the third round, but otherwise has everything that you would like to see from a young receiver..

Bell's an excellent route runner that has top-notch hands and played against good opposition in the Big Ten with Purdue where Bell won the conference's receiver of the year award in 2021 when Bell caught 93 passes for over one thousand yards and six touchdowns.

Bell is expected to see plenty of playing time and be used in the slot and the inside as Jarvis Landry was used in the past.

Bell's toughness and catching ability make him a very safe pick and Bell should see plenty of playing time as a rookie.

I thought Bell was the best remaining receiver on the board and given Bell's similarities to Jarvis Landry, this could be the final blow in any hopes of Landry returning to the Browns.

I think Bell could be the possession receiver that every quarterback needs and will prove to be a very popular player in Cleveland.

I'm still not sure that I love the Browns trade down from 44 overall with Houston in a deal that brought Cleveland a third-rounder (Martin Emerson) and two fourth-rounders on the draft's final day.

The first of the two picks acquired from the Texans will be the third choice of the round and the Browns also have their own fourth-rounder (118) and the other pick added from Houston was originally Philadelphia's at 124, so the Browns will be quite active early on day three with three of the first eighteen picks.

I have a feeling that unless Andrew Berry loves a particular player with that third pick, Berry could possibly be willing to move that pick along in order to perhaps try to obtain a third-rounder in 2023 after trading their third to Houston in the DeShaun Watson trade.