Month: July 2020

This past Tuesday twitter was filled with pictures and videos of Browns players reporting to the facility in Berea. My favorite part of late July. The players took their covid tests and those who passed were allowed into the facility for physicals. The NFL mandated a player must pass three consecutive tests before entering training camp. Apparently the Browns had arranged prior testing for the players and rookies reporting on Tuesday. Smart move. This front office is ahead of the curve again. Today the rest of the veterans take their third test in four days.

Speaking of Covid, three Browns players so far have ended up on the reserve/Covid list. RB Dontrell Hilliard, S Jovante Moffatt and recently P Jamie Gilliam. According to the NFL, the rules for placing a player on the reserve list are if a player tests positive for covid-19 or comes in contact with a person who tests positive for covid-19. The rules in the agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA, forbid teams from commenting on a players medical status, so teams can’t say if a player has tested positive or is in quarantine. There are reports, that Gilliam tested positive a month ago, then tested negative. He said in a recent interview he feels fine, but this still bears watching.

As of this writing, only two Browns players have opted out for the 2020 season. Offensive linemen Drew Forbes and Drake Dorbeck. I will never fault a player for opting out. I doubt, because of no pre-season games, that Dorbeck would have made the team and Forbes was going to be in the competition for the right guard spot. The Browns still have good depth on the offensive line. Right now it appears Wyatt Teller is the leader in the clubhouse for the RG spot with OL Chris Hubbard as depth. I’m really happy the Browns kept Hubbard. Also, rookie Nick Harris did play guard in college. But because OL coach Bill Callahan loved Teller coming out of college, he has the advantage prior to practices.

As for injured players, WR Jarvis Landry still remains a mystery. Landry assured everyone he would be ready for the season and will take his physical this weekend. It won’t surprise me if ends up on the PUP list for the start of training camp. That’s fine by me, I would rather have Landry ready for the season opener, if it takes place. Because of the continuing problems in Major League Baseball with players testing positive, the Marlins, Phillies and now the Cardinals have all had games postponed. I hope Browns players are paying attention. The players will have to police themselves and make sure no one does something stupid and cause a team wide outbreak. Due to the precautions in the facility, if a player is going to catch covid-19, it’ll be on the outside. This is were veteran leadership comes into play.

Last, head coach Kevin Stefanski held a press conference this week and there was some news. When the players hit the field for conditioning drills, they’ll be split into two groups. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Stefanski also said he’s been able to meet some players mask to mask. However he said he has not talked to TE David Njoku. Sounds like the Browns are planning on keeping Njoku. I’m sure they’re not comfortable with rookie Harrison Bryant as the number two tight end. The coach also reported no members of his coaching staff has opted out for the season. Good to hear. As for who will call plays, Stefanski says they have a plan for that. I’m sure they do, they’ve had a plan for everything else in this weird year.

Hopefully no more players will be placed on the reserve/covid-19 list and no other Browns will opt out for the season. I have full confidence the NFL will start on time, come hell or high water. However, I’m not really confident they’ll finish the season. Let’s all hope the NFL is paying attention to the success the NHL, MLS and NBA is having, as well as, the failures MLB is experiencing. So everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s almost time Browns fans, quarterbacks and rookies report to Berea today and the rest of the team reports Tuesday July 28. The players union and the league worked out a satisfactory testing program, cutting the roster to 80 players and no pre season games. The last hurdle seems to have been the revenue sharing and next years salary cap, which as of this writing has been resolved. The cut down to 80 players will not happen until August 16, so Browns fans can play their favorite game, adopt your favorite undrafted rookie in training camp. My biggest concern however, is the lack of any pre season games, which would be a definite disadvantage for teams with new coaching staffs, like the Browns. Hopefully, the team will scrimmage enough to work things out. We’ll all find out how well those zoom position meetings went.

Thursday it was announced that the Browns hired Kevin Rogers as senior assistant to the staff. Rogers worked with head coach Kevin Stefanski on the Vikings from 2006 to 2010 as quarterbacks coach. It seems strange that the Browns would hire another coach this close to training camp starting, however with the prospect of no pre season games, it makes sense. Coach Stefanski will need all the help he can get installing his offense. Stefanski considers Rogers a mentor. I’ll be writing an article for http://www.clesportstalk.com detailing the effect of no pre season games on the 2020 Cleveland Browns. Watch for it next week.

In other sports news, today is opening day for the Cleveland Indians. Late July and it’s opening day, wow. The tribe should make the expanded 16 team playoffs solely based on their starting rotation. In an era where switch hitters are a rarity in baseball, their first four hitters are switch hitters. My only concern would be the bullpen. Their greatest strength is their manager Tito Francona. Francona knows how to handle a bullpen and revolutionized how it is used. In 2016 he would bring in reliever Andrew Miller at any time during a game. Since being hired by the Indians in 2013, Cleveland leads the American league in wins with 639. Go Tribe.

So as we move forward, it’s apparent the NFL is determined to play games and stay on schedule as much as possible. Damn the pandemic, full speed ahead. Now that the union and the league have worked out the last of their differences, training camps will open on time next week. We’re still a long way from playing games, but football this fall would be a welcome sight. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

First lets start with the NFL vs. the NFLPA. As I told you last week, the players voted not to have any pre season games. The owners are holding firm, for now, on two pre season games. For teams with new coaching staffs, any pre season games would be very valuable, but the players health and safety take center stage. In that vein, the league still hasn’t addressed certain Covid-19 questions. If a player tests positive for Covid, will they go on injured reserve and not get paid or will there be a special designation? How will testing be done and what kind of turn around time will there be for the results of the tests? In other news, the NFL has given the players until August 1 to opt out of playing in 2020 for health concerns. If players opt out, will they get paid? Theses questions need to be answered prior to Monday July 20, when players for the Chiefs and Texans report to camp. The Browns report Tuesday July 28.

On to some good news. The last two draft picks signed, LB Jacob Phillips and S Grant Delpit. All Browns draft picks are signed and the Browns are the first NFL team to have all their picks under contract. It’s hard to judge how good this draft class is without OTA’s and rookie training camp, but based on their college careers, I think all can be contributors in 2020. First round pick LT Jedrick Wills and second round pick S Grant Delpit are the obvious starters, but I could see third round picks LB Jacob Phillips and DT Jordan Elliot in the playing rotation on defense. Fourth round pick TE Harrison Bryant, if he can add about 10 lbs., could be TE #2 if the Browns trade Njoku and sixth round pick WR Donovan People-Jones will be in the mix at wide receiver and kick returner. Fifth round pick C Nick Harris will be in the mix for the backup center and both guard spots. I just wish Browns fans had OTA’S and rookie training camp to make these judgments.

Last but not least, the BIG news. The Browns worked out an extension with 2017 number one pick DE Myles Garrett. It has been reported to be a five year, $125 million dollar contract with $100 million in guarantees and $50 million due on signing. Those numbers sound familiar to me. Hmmm…. where have I heard those numbers before? Oh, that’s right, in my article for http://www.clesportstalk.com entitled “Pay The Man”. That’s the contract I thought the Browns would offer Garrett. Is that a horn I hear? It sounds like it’s going Toot, Toot. However, I thought the Browns would have either a voidable fifth year or a team option to protect themselves. Nope, what the Browns front office did was even more team friendly. Garrett will play 2020 under his rookie fourth year at $4.6 million and 2021 under his fifth year option of $15.1 million. The contract extension will then go into effect in 2022 and run through 2026. I really love this front office. Of course in Pittsburgh, they want Garrett suspended till hell freezes over. Sorry Big Ben, Myles Garrett is coming for you. Maybe you should have retired, just saying.

So, with all the draft picks signed and with Vernon’s contract restructure, the Browns salary cap space according to http://www.overthecap.com, stands at $38.7 million. Save it for next year Browns, the way things are going this year, the team is going to need it. I can’t imagine the 2021 salary cap going up and it might, for the first time, decrease. Save it and roll it over into 2021. As always, please everyone stay safe, commit to good hand hygiene and please, I’m begging you WEAR A MASK. Go Browns.

Let’s start with the players union. Last Friday, the NFLPA voted to play no pre season games. I seriously doubt the NFL owners will go along with this prospect, but you never know. The union is also stressing the league pay more attention to health officials in order to protect players. The league then issued a statement that any player can opt out of playing the 2020 season. If a player feels it’s safer for himself and his family not to play in 2020, then they can sit out the season. This bares watching.

The big news last Friday was TE David Njoku asking for a trade before training camp. Go to http://wwwCLEsportsTalk.com for my opinion on this. The article covers some potential trade situations. Personally, I don’t think the Browns should trade Njoku, but I hate distractions. Just click on the Browns link to read the article. This week it was also announced that the Browns and DE Olivier Vernon had worked out a contract restructure. Vernon’s contract for 2020 is now $11 million guaranteed. This gives Vernon security for 2020 and the Browns an additional $4.5 million in cap space. It also means the pursuit of DE Jadeveon Clowney is over. Finally. Like I’ve said in previous blogs, I’d rather have Vernon on the the last year of his contract, than Clowney on the first year of his contract. This give the Browns about $41.8 million in cap space.

Also in the last seven days the Browns signed two more draft picks. Third round pick DE Jordan Elliot and first round pick LT Jedrick Wills. Elliot signed a four year contract worth $4.6 million and Wills signed a four year contact, with a fifth year option worth $19.7 million. This leaves only second round pick S Grant Delpit and the second third round pick LB Jacob Phillips unsigned.

Finally, the Browns first opponent Baltimore, announced they would only allow 14000 fans in the stands for game one against the Browns. This years sports landscape is getting stranger and stranger by the day. From the news that the Ivy League is shutting down it’s fall sports, to the possibility that the state of Texas won’t play high school football, to The Ohio State announcing they will only play conference games this year. It appears that fall sports are in serious trouble. So if you love fall sports, wear a mask in public, social distance and wash your hands. Everyone please stay safe and Go Browns.

The Browns news started this week on Monday with the signing of QB Cam Newton by New England. Bill Belichick’s dog Nike may not like drafting QB’s, but he likes signing them. What makes this Browns news? Adam Schefter reported only two teams talked to Newton, The Patriots and the Browns. Immediately Browns twitter went in hyper drive that the Browns had no faith in QB Baker Mayfield. No, Browns GM Andrew Berry was doing due diligence. He’s said many times, he’ll always be looking to acquire talent and upgrade the roster. Sounds like a good NFL GM doing his job. The humorous side story to this news was that Newton and OBJ have been working out this off season so the Beckham to the Patriots crap soon followed. Beckham quickly shot down these rumors by saying he was happy in Cleveland, but why would you believe him right? As I’ve said before, OBJ is all in on the Browns.

Next, Browns center J.C. Tretter, who is the president of the players union, posted a statement on the NFLPA website concerning players reporting to camp on July 28. “Professional athletes in every sport have to regularly fend off criticism that our profession should be considered less of a job and that we shouldn’t fight for protections and benefits,‘’ he wrote. “As we begin our fight for necessary COVID-19 protections, these recycled misconceptions will be used to undermine the strength of our union and the legitimacy of your career.‘’ “We’re not invincible, and as recent reports have shown, we certainly aren’t immune to this virus,‘’ Tretter wrote. “Underlying conditions like high BMI [body mass index], asthma, and sleep apnea are all associated with a higher risk of developing severe symptoms and complications when infected with COVID-19. Those conditions are widespread across the league. NFL players are humans — some with immuno-compromised family members or live-in elderly parents. Trust me: we want to play football. But as a union, our most important job is to keep our players safe and alive. The NFLPA will fight for our most at-risk players and their families.‘’ While the NFL moves forward, the players are preceding with caution, as they should.

The NFL has hit a few speed bumps in their schedule this week. First they cancelled the Hall Of Fame Game and the Induction ceremony in Canton. Then they announced the cancellation of the supplemental draft and finally they trimmed the pre season games from four to two. So now teams will play games two and three of the pre season. This means the Browns will play at Green Bay on Aug. 22 and host the Vikings on Aug. 30. This allows teams to have a 25 day acclimation period for players. By these moves the NFL is acknowledging the seriousness of the pandemic.

Finally, the week ended with noted Mayfield hater Colin Cowherd’s top ten list of AFC quarterbacks. Surprisingly Baker Mayfield made the top ten at number seven. This set off a day long analysis of Mayfield on ESPN and NFL Network on Thursday. Freaking Drew Lock of Denver was at number ten. Lock played in 5 games for the Broncos attempting 156 passes, completing 100 and all the networks can talk about is how to fix Baker Mayfield. Really?

As I write this, Adam Schefter is reporting that Browns TE David Njoku is asking for trade. I guess he thought the Browns signing of TE Austin Hopper and the drafting of TE Harrison Bryant would take away his targets. If he could catch the ball that might really be a concern. I’ll be writing an article about this on http://www.CLEsportsTalk.com this weekend. Browns drama in July, well 2020 is starting feel normal, until the aliens invade or the asteroid hits.

So as we hopefully inch closer to watching pro football, everyone stay safe, please for god’s sake wear a mask and Go Browns.