Sports

The Cleveland Browns are blessed with having a wealth of talent at the tight end position with six listed on the team's current roster.

Although this is a good problem for the team to have, the Browns are likely to carry only four on the roster when the team plays host to the Dallas Cowboys on opening day.

One of the players vying for that No. 4 spot is third-year man Brad Cieslak.

Cieslak is in a heated battle with tight ends Darnell Dinkins and Kolomona Kapanui for a roster spot and is making a strong bid for the position in training camp.

During a one-on-one chat with Cieslak on Sunday, he expressed his desire to be on the team's 53-man roster when the season starts and is ready to contribute to the cause in any way possible.

"Making this team is up to me and how well I play," Cieslak said. "I need to perform really well in all the preseason games and show the coaching staff that I am the type of player who can contribute."

Cieslak has his work cut out and knows what it will take in order to make the club.

"I gotta go to work every day and improve every day," he said. "If I'm not getting better at certain things it's really not good for me and a waste of time for me. It's hard to keep that focus knowing that every day you have to do something better. If you slip it's hard to get that rope back. I think that if I can keep working on the things I need to work on I can be a contributor."

Versatile player

During a team press conference Browns' head coach Romeo Crennel broke down every facet of Cieslak's game and ways that he can contribute to the team.

"Brad is another all-around guy, we played him at fullback, we played him as a backup tight end, he's smart and he can kind of do it all so that increases his value because he can do more things and so I think special teams will impact him as well so we'll give him an opportunity on special teams," Crennel said.

Cieslak said that he is trying to master a number of the things so the coaches will feel comfortable putting him in anywhere. The tight end's versatility is what makes him most valuable.

The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Cieslak is a blue-collar guy who will bust his buns to get the job done. He's an outstanding run blocker with good pass catching skills and is a decent route runner.

Cieslak has the ability to split out wide in the receiver position when running the spread offense. He also works well running, catching and blocking out of the backfield. Cieslak must continue to work on his overall technique and speed.

Offensive weapon

Cieslak has performed well during training camp thus far and is earning his keep. If he continues to make plays like the one he made in camp he's a lock.

Cieslak made an outstanding leaping grab on a pass thrown to his back shoulder and while landing tapped both feet down like BoJangles in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown, showing good field awareness.

This is just another weapon for the Browns explosive offense.

Team note

The Cleveland Browns waived DB Steve Cargile and signed DB Travis Key and DB Brandon Mitchell, the club announced Sunday. The Browns beef up their secondary after giving up two long touchdown scores to wide receiver David Clowney in a preseason loss to the New York Jets on Thursday.

Carlos "Big C" Holmes covers the NFL for Dayton Daily News.

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