UPDATED: The Browns didn't change coaches this year, but the roster never stays the same.
View full sizeBrowns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, left, and head coach Eric Mangini will be working with plenty of new players this season. Updated with fans guide to training camp graphics below
CLEVELAND — The Browns may not have changed coaches this year, but the roster never stays the same.
When Eric Mangini leads his players onto the field Saturday for the first practice of training camp, they will include 40 -- exactly half the roster -- who were not with the team during the 2009 summer camp.
That figure includes several players who joined the Browns during the 2009 season, such as Matt Roth, Jason Trusnik, Chansi Stuckey, Blake Costanzo, Evan Moore and others.
The large turnover is attributable to other factors.
The team Mangini inherited in 2009 needed ample upgrading and it is natural for roster turnover to continue in a coach's second year. Plus, the addition of President Mike Holmgren and General Manager Tom Heckert resulted in an overhaul of the team's college and pro personnel departments. New men in charge results in new players.
How many will take on prominent roles in the 2010 season remains to be seen. As camp begins, we are projecting as many as 10 new starters among the 22 on offense and defense.
Defensive line
Coach: Bryan Cox.
Currently on roster (12): Titus Adams, Kenyon Coleman, Kwaku Danso (r), Clifton Geathers (r), Swanson Miller (r), C.J. Mosley, Shaun Rogers, Ahtyba Rubin, Derreck Robinson, Brian Sanford (r), Brian Schaefering, Robaire Smith.
Projected starters: Coleman, Rubin, Rogers.
Questions: How long, if at all, will Rogers and Smith be suspended by the NFL for recent gun-related incidents at airports? . . . Will Rogers be moved to end to make room for emerging run-stuffer Rubin at nose tackle? . . . Could raw prospects Danso and Geathers develop quickly enough to make the final roster, or are they bound for the practice squad?
Linebacker
Coach: Matt Eberflus.
Currently on roster (12): Eric Barton, Marcus Benard, David Bowens, Titus Brown, Blake Costanzo, Scott Fujita, Chris Gocong, D'Qwell Jackson, Kaluka Maiava, Matt Roth, Jason Trusnik, David Veikune.
Projected starters: Roth, Bowens, Gocong, Fujita.
Questions: Have the acquisitions of Gocong and Fujita pushed Jackson down the depth chart? . . . Will Barton play again or will last season's neck injury end his career? . . . Will Veikune improve enough to make the impact expected from a second-round pick? . . . Has Roth put his demand-to-be-traded attitude behind him? . . . How will the coaches mix and match the inside-outside combinations available to them?
Secondary
Coach: Jerome Henderson.
View full sizeHow soon before first-round draft pick Joe Haden is starting at cornerback? Currently on roster (15): Mike Adams, Larry Asante (r), Sheldon Brown, Chris Chancellor (r), Abram Elam, Coye Francies, Joe Haden (r), Gerard Lawson, Brandon McDonald, Chris Roberson, DeAngelo Smith, Nick Sorensen, Ray Ventrone, T.J. Ward (r), Eric Wright.
Projected starters: Brown, Wright, Adams, Ward.
Questions: Which of the rookie draft picks will develop into a starter the quickest? . . . Is McDonald's roster spot in jeopardy? . . . Can Ward stay healthy throughout his first NFL camp? . . . Will Francies reappear on radar in his second season? . . . Are there any signs of Brown, 30, slowing? . . . Does Haden have the speed to stay with NFL receivers?
Quarterback
Coach: Carl Smith.
Currently on roster (four): Jake Delhomme, Colt McCoy (r), Brett Ratliff, Seneca Wallace.
Projected starter: Delhomme.
Questions: Will the change of scenery alone be enough to eradicate Delhomme's 13-month turnover problem? . . . Could Wallace threaten the starting job, or is he ticketed for backup and gimmick roles? . . . How will the coaches parcel out playing time in the four exhibition games? . . . What does Ratliff need to do to preserve his roster spot? . . . How realistic is it for McCoy to play as a rookie?
Running back
Coach: Gary Brown.
Currently on roster (six): James Davis, Montario Hardesty (r), Jerome Harrison, Peyton Hillis, Chris Jennings, Lawrence Vickers.
Projected starters: Hardesty, Vickers.
Questions: Can Hardesty beat out the rushing machine that Harrison became in the final month of last season? . . . What does Harrison have to do to permanently win over his doubters? . . . Will injuries play no role in the Hardesty-Harrison competition? . . . Can Hillis, who missed a couple weeks of off-season practices with an undisclosed illness, fight off the quicker Davis and Jennings for a roster spot? . . . What should we expect in Year 2 from 2009 camp phenom Davis?
Wide receiver
Coach: George McDonald.
Currently on roster (nine): Jake Allen, Josh Cribbs, Bobby Engram, Johnathan Haggerty (r), Mohamed Massaquoi, Carlton Mitchell (r), Brian Robiskie, Syndric Steptoe, Chansi Stuckey.
Projected starters: Massaquoi, Cribbs.
Questions: Will anyone emerge as a No. 1-caliber playmaker? . . . How much improvement will Robiskie show from his disappointing rookie season? . . . What does Engram have left at age 37? . . . Has the 6-4 Allen been overlooked as a potential contributor? . . . Is Haggerty a viable threat to earn a roster spot? . . . Is Mitchell? . . . Can Stuckey emerge as a Wes Welker-type slot receiver? . . . Could Massaquoi benefit the most from the new quarterbacks?
Tight end
Coach: Steve Hagen.
Currently on roster (five): Joel Gamble, Evan Moore, Robert Royal, Alex Smith, Benjamin Watson.
Projected starter: Watson.
Questions: How much impact on defenses will Watson's presence have? . . . Can Moore expand on the unexpected instant impact he made last year? . . . Was Royal's poor 2009 season a mirage or the norm? . . . If it continues, can he make the team?
Offensive line
Coach: George Warhop
Currently on roster (13): Casey Bender, Paul Fanaika, Scott Kooistra, Shawn Lauvao (r), Alex Mack, Pat Murray, Tony Pashos, Joel Reinders (r), John St. Clair, Eric Steinbach, Joe Thomas, Floyd Womack, Billy Yates.
Projected starters: Thomas, Steinbach, Mack, Lauvao, Pashos.
Questions: Can Lauvao unseat Womack at right guard? . . . How much better will Mack be in his second season? . . . What does St. Clair need to do to make the team? . . . Is Steinbach's job really in jeopardy or has he proved to the coaches he's the most dependable left guard? . . . Is the 6-7, 320-pound Reinders a legitimate prospect or just a big man? . . . Who's the backup center?
Specialists
Coach: Brad Seely.
Currently on roster (four): Phil Dawson, Reggie Hodges, Ryan Pontbriand, Dave Zastudil.
Projected starters: Dawson, Pontbriand, Zastudil.
Questions: Will Dawson put his contract concerns behind him once again? . . . How healthy is Zastudil at the beginning of camp?