Month: August 2020

What a strange week it’s been. After a very good practice on Saturday, Sunday started with an announcement by a New Jersey testing center that 77 NFL players, front office personnel and coaching staff members tested positive for Covid. The NFL immediately shut down the league and the Browns shut down their facilities in Berea for a deep cleaning. It was later found out that thankfully all tests were false positives. This incident showed how prepared the NFL was for the occurrence of a mass outbreak. As a result, the NFL has strengthened its testing policy.

On Monday, during training camp, the Browns suffered another major injury to their defense. Second round draft pick safety Grant Delpit tore his Achilles during individual drills and was lost for the season. Also during Monday’s practice, starting cornerback Greedy Williams suffered a shoulder injury. As of this writing, the extent of Williams injury is still not known. The walking wounded in the secondary includes CBs M.J. Stewart (hamstring), Terrance Mitchell (knee) and Kevin Johnson (lacerated liver). The good news was DE Myles Garrett resumed team practices and Kevin Johnson has been released from the hospital and was back on the side lines during practice. DT Larry Ogunjobi (groin) was back on the practice field doing individual drills.

GM Andrew Berry did address the DT and LB positions with the signings of DT Ricky Walker and LB Malcolm Smith. Walker played for the Dallas Cowboys and Smith is a former Super Bowl MVP with the Seattle Seahawks. Now Berry has to search for safety and cornerback help depending on the status of Greedy Williams. While the injury to Williams is not known, head coach Kevin Stefanski did hint Williams might miss playing time while talking to the media. The most logical choice for the Browns at safety would be Logan Ryan. Unlike safety Earl Thomas, who was recently released from the Ravens, Ryan is a great locker room guy and would fit DC Joe Woods defensive scheme. Ryan can play on the line of scrimmage, both inside and outside cornerback positions and has played 22 games at safety. It all depends on his salary demands. He was seeking over $10 million per year.

On Tuesday, with the Browns defense not having their number two, three, four and five cornerbacks on the field, it was thought the passing game would shine. Nope. All three quarterback struggled. The only three offensive players who did well were running backs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt and finally wide receiver Rashard Higgins. On defense, I’m really impressed with defensive tackle Jordan Elliot, defensive end Porter Gustin, linebackers Jacob Phillips and B.J. Goodson and safeties Andrew Sendejo and Karl Joseph. The only injury from Tuesday was DE Chad Thomas. With the emergence of Gustin, Thomas made be done as a Brown. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry did end practice early and go inside the facility, however it has been reported it was just precautionary. Both WR Odell Beckham and DE Myles Garrett look ready for the season to start.

Finally, GM Andrew Berry made one other roster move, claiming DE Curtis Weaver off the waiver wire from Miami. Weaver, a 2020 fifth round draft pick, was released with an injury and Miami had hoped to stash him on injured reserve for the season. Berry beat them to it. Weaver might not play this year, however now the Browns have a replacement for Olivier Vernon next year and have draft flexibility for 2021. No need to spend an early draft pick on an edge rusher next year. Pro Football Focus rated Weaver in the top five for pass rushing college defensive linemen in 2020. Guess who was number one? Browns third round pick DT Jordan Elliot.

Hopefully as practice resumes on Thursday, the offense will start to show some signs of life and the injuries will start to slow. The Browns need to get to full strength, especially on defense, they are eighteen days away from the season opener in Baltimore. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

While some of the camera angles aren’t the greatest, there are a few items you can observe. QB Baker Mayfield’s footwork is better and the Browns have him under center more frequently. Mayfield’s accuracy isn’t the greatest early in each session, however as each practice progresses, he gets into a good flow. The Browns are obviously using zoomed in camera angles so not to show opposing teams overall formations. Rookie center Nick Harris is holding his own verses defensive tackles Larry Ogunjobi and Sheldon Richardson. Sometimes he wins the battle, sometimes he loses, but you can see why he was thought to be the best natural center in the draft. If he was a little bigger, he would have been drafted in the second round.

Some offensive players who stood out, tight ends Austin Hooper and Harrison Bryant, wide receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones, KhaDarel Hodge and Taywan Taylor and running back Kareem Hunt. Austin Hooper is going to be a great security blanket for Mayfield and I don’t think Harrison Bryant has dropped a pass all training camp. Peoples-Jones is pushing WR Rashard Higgins for the third wide receiver spot and both Hodge and Taylor, who are both valuable special teams players, could force the often injured Damion Ratley off the roster. Kareem Hunt is already at game speed. Can’t wait to see how he is used in this offense. Last, FB Andy Janovich looks like he can lift a house.

On defense, rookies safety Grant Delpit and linebacker Jacob Phillips have been very impressive. LBs B.J. Goodson, Tae Davis, Montrel Meander and Willie Harvey, DE Porter Gustin and CBs Terrance Mitchell, Donovan Olumba and A.J. Green have so far stood out. Tae Davis and Willie Harvey are special teams players and Montrel Meander is a converted safety who could help with the loss of Mack Wilson. UDFA A.J. Green, who along with Terrance Mitchell, give the Browns excellent cornerback depth. Olumba is best known a special teams player, but at 6-2, 205 lbs., I could see why DC Joe Woods would like him. Porter Gustin is moving up the depth chart and could be the solution at left DE behind Olivier Vernon.

The Browns did workout eight players this week, four of them kickers. Kickers Nick Folk, Cody Parker, Kai Forbath and Matthew McCrane. linebackers Dewayne Hendrix and Sharif Finch and defensive linemen Ricky Walker and Robert Landers. Working out four kickers is interesting, however I don’s think Austin Seibert has anything to worry about. It never hurts to have film on guys you might need due to injuries during the season.

Speaking of injuries. RB Nick Chubb suffered a concussion on a hit from LB Mack Wilson and is expected back next week. Mack Wilson suffered a knee injury and is seeing “doctor doom” James Andrews for a second opinion. If you go see Dr. Andrews, you’re going to have surgery, so Wilson is probably done for the season. On Wednesday promising free agent signing CB Kevin Johnson suffered a lacerated liver at the end of practice. He’ll spend 24 hours in the hospital and there’s no time table on his return. Johnson was having a great camp so far. DE Myles Garrett is still nursing a hamstring injury, but is expected to start practicing soon, possibly today. Finally, DT Larry Ogunjobi sat out the last couple of days with a groin injury and Punter Jamie Gilliam missed yesterday with an unknown illness.

Finally, the practices have been well organized, quick and smooth. You don’t see players just standing around, a testament to the Browns new coaching staff. Unfortunately, since practicing in pads, the injuries are starting to pile up. This just means the younger players will have to step up and will get valuable practice reps. The Browns are off on Friday, so a day of rest will be welcome. Everyone enjoy the live practices and keep your fingers crossed for no more injuries. Stay safe and Go Browns.

Now that we are on the eve of actual Browns practice, the Browns made some news this week by signing two offensive guards for depth and are hosting another on Wednesday with hopes of a signing him. The Browns signed veteran free agents Michael Dunn and Jovahn Fair and hosted free agent Ronald Leary. If Leary signs, that will bring the number of offensive linemen on the roster to fourteen. To make room on the roster, the team cut CB Jameson Houston and TE Nate Wieting. The Browns also resigned DL George Obinna, releasing DT Jeff Whatley, and claimed CB M.L. Stewart off waivers from Tampa. Also, the Browns activated WR Jarvis Landry, S Karl Joseph and TE Pharaoh Brown from the PUP list. So the roster is set at 80 for Phase Two of practice. Live practices on the official website start tomorrow at 1:00 pm central. I can’t wait.

The Browns roster is now set. I don’t expect any more free agent signings. GM Andrew Berry is addressing the guard depth and has three NFL veterans to back up the defensive line. If an injury does happen, I’m confident Berry will make a move. When listening to interviews of both Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, they appear to always have a plan. That’s not the Kool Aid talking, that’s just my personal opinion. Browns fans will find out as practice continues and as the games begin.

Speaking of practice. I’m hoping for some good camera angles tomorrow from the Browns. They been hyping these live practices for two weeks and I hope they don’t disappoint. An overhead camera would be perfect. Hopefully the Cleveland media will have their cell phones fully charged. The Browns have been showing some clips on twitter that I’ve really enjoyed the last few days, but more is defiantly better.

As the team gets closer to games, I’ll be moving my blog to Mondays or Tuesdays after games. You know the drill, Monday if the Browns win and Tuesday if they lose. I need at least 48 hours to decompress after a loss. Mainly it’s a lot of muttering profanities under my breath (or mask) for two days. Last year Freddie Kitchen’s name was mentioned the most. Last but not least, don’t forget the new episode of “Building The Browns” will air on YouTube on Sunday at 10:30 am central. It’s going to be an all access Browns weekend. Everyone stay safe and Go Browns.

As the deadline for NFL players to opt out for the 2020 season passed on Thursday, the Browns took a major hit to their offensive line depth. In total five players opted out for the season, guards Malcolm Pridgeon, Drew Forbes, Colby Gossett, tackle Drake Dorbeck and defensive tackle Andrew Billings. Right now the Browns have eleven offensive linemen on the roster. Ideally a team would like to keep thirteen to fifteen linemen on the roster and the practice squad. Right now the Browns have three true guards on their roster, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and Willie Wright. So depth is a major issue and GM Andrew Berry will have to address this issue.

The biggest shock was DT Andrew Billings opting out. He was a surprise signing by the Browns, only because it was a shock that the Bengals released Billings. That leaves the Browns with DT’s Sheldon Richardson, Larry Ogunjobi and third round draft pick Jordan Elliot as starters. The backups are Daniel Ekuale, Jeffery Whatley and Eli Ankou. Pretty scary, right? My article this week for http://www.CLEsportstalk.com will address the state of the Browns post opt out and I’ll look at some possible roster additions.

As for the revolving door that is the Reserve/Covid-19 list, all players who ended up on the list have been activated, P Jamie Gilliam, QB Garrett Gilbert, WR Ja’Marcus Bradley, RB Dontrell Hilliard and S Jovante Moffatt. The current roster stands at 79. Like I said, Andrew Berry will have to add a couple of guards and a backup defensive tackle. The first guard that comes to mind is former Viking Josh Kline who is still unsigned. As for backup DT, don’t expect a big name, the Browns just need depth. The Browns currently have $40.4 million in cap space.

Now for the good news. TE David Njoku dropped his trade request. All it took was a conversation with GM Andrew Berry. So the tight end room is back to very talented. Speaking of tight ends, Austin Hooper revealed in a zoom meeting with the media, he spent two to three weeks at Baker Mayfield’s home working on timing and reps. Hooper said he and Mayfield got to know each other and he caught about a hundred passes from the Browns quarterback. Finally, head coach Kevin Stefanski in a meeting with the press on Thursday, said he visited Mayfield in Texas back in February. Stefanski said he sees a very committed football player and Mayfield is demonstrating all that’s necessary to be a good teammate. I’m still felling really good about the Browns coaching staff and the front office, how about you?

Finally, starting Friday August 14th, the Browns will be streaming practices on their official website http://www.clevelandbrowns.com. Time to watch some practice. And as a bonus, on Sunday August 16, a new episode of “Building The Browns” will be airing on YouTube at 11:30 am eastern and 10:30 am central. Looks like it’s going to be a 2020 Browns viewing weekend. I’m so tired of watching old games. So everyone enjoy and stay safe. Go Browns.