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As the season opens up with two losses, the Cleveland Browns continue to carry the second youngest roster in the NFL. More importantly, after their first unit, depth is pretty thin. One area of concern is the back up to second year running back Trent Richardson. Did the Browns make the right move by claiming Bobby Rainey and making him the lone speller. Despite his poor preseason performance, the release of Brandon Jackson is puzzling.

Although he has held his ground and adapted to the position, Chris Ogbonnaya is now the starting fullback for the orange-and-brown.  While Ogbonnaya seems comfortable there, he is not built to withstand the physicality at the fullback position. Case in point – Cameron Wake of the Miami Dolphins and Elvis Dumervil of the Baltimore Ravens.

Why not let Ogbonnaya back up Richardson and bring in a veteran steam rolling fullback to open the holes and help block? This is not a crazy idea.

So what’s a solution? Bring back Lawrence Vickers. Why bring in a 30-year-old fullback you ask? The are many reasons and the numbers never lie.
From 2006 to 2010, the Browns ran for over 8,400 yards. Vickers opened up the majority of those holes.

In 2007, with Rob Chudzinski as offensive coordinator, Vickers paved the way for Jamal Lewis to run for 1,304 yards. Sometimes the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet are the things worth noting. Vickers was let go after the 2010 season.

So the questions I pose to you are simple. Would Richardson run for more yards with Ogbonnaya or Vickers leading the way? Would Rainey or Ogbonnaya be a better back up for Richardson?

It’s hard to understand why Vickers has not been picked up by any team. Does turning 30 years old also devalue a true fullback?

Ryan Ruiz is the Cleveland Browns Beat Writer for The Inscriber: Digital Magazine. You can follow him on Facebook: Ryan (BrownsWriter) Ruiz and Twitter @ryanpruiz24. Ryan is also a Browns correspondent for The Sportsfix. Tune in every Friday at noon on www.thesportsfix.net.

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