CLEVELAND -- Ben Tate was averaging 1.7 yards per carry the last five weeks, which would have gotten him cut from the Cleveland Browns eventually.
Getting cut on a Tuesday, in Week 12, reveals another layer.
Locked into the franchise's first playoff push since 2007, the Browns can't afford a malcontent, especially one who isn't producing. The first-year regime of Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer are vise-grip protective of the locker room, the culture, the "Play like a Brown" mantra. Farmer barely agreed to do a midseason sit-down with the media because he didn't want to distract from the team and the coach's voice. You think he wants a running back hinting publicly at unhappiness with the Browns' running back rotation while Cleveland sat at 6-3 atop the AFC North?
As Mike Singletary likes to say, "Can't do it!"
Complain. Cut. Next.
It's still a bit surprising, considering the erratic but explosive play of rookie backs Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell, that the Browns didn't keep Tate as a reliable fallback plan. Tate doesn't fumble. He's dependable. He can catch passes out of the backfield.
He's just not explosive. The Browns need explosion. A reason for the wild rotational swings among the three backs is that the Browns were desperate for bigger gains. West, Crowell and Tate have carried the ball a combined 296 times and have two carries for more than 25 yards -- one apiece for the rookies.
Lack of explosion lends to expendability.
The Browns face at least marginal risk with the Tate release. Crowell has shown fumbling problems and West found the inactive list in Week 6 after he wasn't doing the little things required of the position.
But the upside is clear with these two. Plus, the Browns can increase Glenn Winston's workload if they choose. They like his development.
If Tate was an elite player, he'd still be on the roster. If he didn't pose the threat of locker-room issues, he'd still be on the roster, too.
He had no advantage in either area, making the Browns' decision easy.
