GABRIEL AND FLORIEA DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER 

Three quick thoughts on the Browns’ final cutdowns on Sunday to the regular-season roster limit of 53:

1) I feel terrible for quarterback Dillon Gabriel that he has had to go onto the Injured Reserve list with a back issue and will have to miss the first four games. He worked hard enough — and certainly did enough — to be on the roster from the start of the season. But he’ll be back before you know it. With him and Shadeur Sanders, the Browns have a nice pair of second-year quarterbacks.

2) I feel even worse for wide receiver Luke Floriea. The Mentor High School product was incredible. He came within a whisker of catching three touchdowns last Thursday night, something that has not been done by a Brown or in Cleveland since Gary Collins snared three scoring passes in the 1964 NFL National Championship Game victory over the Baltimore Colts. I hope that Floriea and wide receiver Gage Larvadain, who was also waived, can be re-signed to the practice squad. They can both play in the NFL — in the regular season.

3) And finally, the linebackers corps is made up almost exclusively of players who aren’t exactly household names. It looks like that might be a real question mark going forward. But, on the other hand, with all of the various position groups having so many young players, it is exciting. I can’t wait to watch this team grow, mature and develop. It reminds me a lot of the beginning of the Bernie Kosar era just over 40 years ago, and you know how that all worked out.

Steve King