CLEVELAND – Even if there was a surprise among Cleveland's cuts, the Browns would have blown it with their timing.
The team didn't reveal its roster cuts until three hours after submitting them to the NFL offices on Saturday, a sign the Browns may be busy working the waiver wire to make more changes to their 53-man squad.
The biggest news — literally — was that the club activated Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers from the physically-unable-to-perform list. Rogers missed all of training camp and the exhibition season while recovering from a leg injury. Last week, the league announced he would not be suspended for an offseason weapons charge, and will not have to miss any games.
The 6-foot-4, 350-pound Rogers missed Cleveland's final five games last season after getting hurt. Rogers did not play in the preseason last year either, and the Browns are hoping he can return to anchor their 3-4 defense.
The most notable cuts were to two draft picks: defensive back Larry Asante (fifth round) and defensive lineman Clifton Geathers (sixth round).
The team also waived veteran cornerback Brandon McDonald, quarterback Brett Ratliff, tight end DeAngelo Smith and terminated the contract of wide receiver Bobby Engram.
McDonald, who started 27 games over the past three seasons, announced his released on his personal Twitter page — hours before the team's list was made public. McDonald was in and out of the starting lineup several times because of blown coverages over tackles.
He got into some trouble early in training camp for making offensive comments on his Twitter page about Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens.
General manager Tom Heckert had been scheduled to discuss his first season-opening roster since joining Cleveland in January with the media. However, the team pushed back Heckert's teleconference until Sunday, when the Browns are expected to make more roster moves and add players to their practice squad.
The Browns are likely to make some changes at linebacker. They still have 12 on their roster.
Ratliff's release means rookie Colt McCoy will be the Browns' No. 3 quarterback. After a rough preseason, McCoy completed 13 of 13 passes for 131 yards in Cleveland's 13-10 win over Chicago in the final exhibition game on Thursday night.
Ratliff was listed as Cleveland's No. 3 QB for 14 games and the backup for two last season. He previously played for coach Eric Mangini with the New York Jets.
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