Written by Thomas Moore

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The Cleveland Browns made nine roster moves on Sunday as the team works to get the roster down to the NFL-mandated number of 75 players by Monday.

The most-noticeable name on the list was wide receiver Carlton Mitchell, the third-year player out of South Florida who was a sixth-round draft pick in 2010. Mitchell was never able to find a role with the Browns, finishing his tenure in Cleveland with three receptions for 31 yards.

“(Carlton) was one of the guys that we were hopeful that he could show us everything that he could do,” Browns coach Pat Shurmur told the team’s website. “Unfortunately in the last couple of years he’s dealt with injuries. When you talk about why guys make it or don’t make it and how it relates to injuries or not being able to practice, if you’re a guy that’s proven that you can play in this league and you’re injured, well that’s in your favor, you’ve proven it. For guys that haven’t proven that they can play in this league and struggle to stay on the field and practice, that’s not in your favor so quite frankly that may be the case.

“I have a lot of respect for Carlton. He’s flashed and done some things here, but again we’ve got to make hard decisions and unfortunately he’s not with us anymore.”

The other players waived were offensive linemen Jake Anderson and Matt Cleveland, defensive back Emanuel Davis, linebackers JoJo Dickson, punter Spencer Lanning, and wide receivers Bert Reed and Jermaine Saffold.

“I’ve said it numerous times that this is a tough time of year for a coach because you develop a relationship with the players, they compete extremely hard for you and you’ve got to make tough decisions and let guys go so there is a list of guys,” Shurmur said.

With 80 players currently on the roster, the Browns will have to trim five more names by 4 p.m. on Monday.

“Yeah, we’ll get that done soon,” Shurmur said.

Well, that’s good to know.

(Photo by The Plain Dealer)