Category: offseason activities

John Johnson knows Browns defense must put the work in to achieve sky-high potential

Johnson is ready to be a leader on the Browns defense

John Johnson knows a good defense when he sees one. The new Browns safety comes to Cleveland after four years with the Los Angeles Rams, who have consistently ranked at or near the top in defense in recent seasons.

Johnson sees the potential for that level of accomplishment in Cleveland. Speaking to the media after an OTA session in Berea this week, Johnson stressed the need for everyone to work hard to make it come to fruition. It’s why he was at the voluntary OTAs and was glad to see so many defensive teammates there, too.

“It’s really just going out there, practicing, becoming great at what we do and being technicians,” Johnson said. “I’ve seen some things ranking and projecting that we will be a great defense, but we are going to put the work in and keep building. I think the sky’s the limit for us.”

As for his early impression of his new team? Johnson likes what he sees. And despite being a newcomer, he’s not going to hold his tongue.

“It’s coming around,’’ he said. “The first day, I kind of was surveying, scanning and just feeling guys out. I feel more comfortable now just talking and making my presence felt. It will come as we move along. It’s just natural and my personality. I love talking, talking trash and competing. I’m just out there having fun, and it has paid off.”

[lawrence-related id=62043]

Watch: Breaking down OTAs and press conferences with Sports 4 CLE

Watch: Breaking down OTAs and press conferences with Sports 4 CLE and Browns Wire’s Jeff Risdon

Browns Wire’s Jeff Risdon joined the Sports 4 CLE program at cleveland.com on Wednesday to discuss a variety of Browns issues.

Among the topics:

  • John Johnson’s press conference and his importance to the team as a prominent safety addition
  • Greedy Williams and Grant Delpit both back on the field and pushing one another to thrive
  • Odell Beckham Jr. looks good cutting in his workouts wth Baker Mayfield in Texas
  • The Browns are a hot ticket and why that’s the price of having a good team

The show streams daily at 4 p.m. ET and is available for watching on YouTube afterward.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZRCKPqsg-Q

Grant Delpit, Greedy Williams ‘both on pace’ in injury rehab progress, participating in OTAs

Delpit and Williams are working back from injuries suffered on the same day last summer

Grant Delpit and Greedy Williams each suffered what would prove to be season-ending injuries in the same training camp practice last summer. The duo was expected to play significant roles in the Cleveland Browns secondary, and they were sorely missed.

Both were back on the practice field on Wednesday in the OTA session open to the media. According to head coach Kevin Stefanski, they’re progressing just fine and should be ready to roll when the regular season starts.

“They’re working through it. I think they’re both on pace. They’re doing a great job,” Stefanski said of the DBs. “We’re going to be smart about it as we ramp them up through the next couple of weeks. And into training camp, we’re going to be smart about it. They’re hitting all of their benchmarks.”

Williams weighed in on Delpit, his former LSU teammate, after Wednesday’s practice.

“(Delpit) looked good. He looks like he’s ready to go,” Williams said via Zoom. “He has gotten bigger, faster. I ask him every day how his leg is feeling. How’s the injury feeling? He’s giving me positive feedback, which I want to hear.”

Delpit projects as one of the team’s starting safeties. He was on track to start right away as a rookie before tearing his Achilles in August. Williams started as a rookie in 2019 but never saw the field in 2020 with a nerve injury in his shoulder. He will compete with first-rounder Greg Newsome and free agent Troy Hill for playing time opposite Pro Bowler Denzel Ward.

[lawrence-related id=62005]

Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, other offensive players join Baker Mayfield in Texas

Baker Mayfield is holding a get-together with many of his offensive weapons including Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry in Austin, Texas.

While the Cleveland Browns organized team activities in Berea this week, Baker Mayfield will be busy leading many of the offensive stars down in Austin, Texas.

As we shared yesterday, Mayfield was planning to host teammates for a passing camp to get on the same page before mandatory minicamp. It wasn’t known, at that time, who would be joining their starting quarterback.

Names are starting to roll in.

David Njoku hinted at his presence with this tweet last night:

 

Njoku was more involved in the Browns offense as the season went on last year and could be an important cog in unlocking the team’s full potential.

Today came multiple reports that Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, and Donovan Peoples-Jones are also in attendance. First reported by Brad Stainbrook.

We will continue to monitor for more names joining Mayfield’s get-together.

Going back to his days with the Giants, Beckham has generally spent most of his offseasons training out in Los Angeles. As he recovers from his season-ending ACL injury, it is a good sign that he was willing to travel to work with Mayfield and the group.

Many of the noted players will be traveling up to the Cleveland area this weekend for Landry’s charity softball event on Saturday. Mandatory minicamp kicks off next week where players would be fined if they were to miss.

While some may want the players all together in Berea, it is good that Mayfield was at least able to gather them himself. While the coaches may have loved to have a full allotment of their starters at OTAs, fewer players allows them to focus more on those who are there especially the defense.

The defense, full of a lot of new players, are mostly together in Berea getting to know each other and getting detailed coaching from the staff. The Browns offensive skill players will be mostly together in Texas with Baker Mayfield leading the way. Now we know that this group includes Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.

Report: Browns to hold first OTA practice today in Berea

The Cleveland Browns, at least some of them, will be back in town for OTAs today according to a report. Will the stars show up?

The Cleveland Browns got a look at a few of their players during rookie minicamp but there has been some uncertainty around when veterans would show up for organized team activities.

The players and team had been discussing what OTAs would look like after the NFLPA encouraged players to avoid them this year. For now, all team activities are considered voluntary so skipping them would not be disciplined. Many players have chosen to skip OTAs in the past including Odell Beckham Jr. but this would have been the first year a majority of the players skipped if they followed the NFLPA recommendations.

So far, we have a report that OBJ will be in attendance and a social media message from Myles Garrett to “Tell Stefanski we on the way.”

We now have more information about the start of OTAs as it looks like we will have players in Berea today with media access tomorrow:

 

Garrett’s social media post may be the only star player confirmed to be there this week. It will be interesting if Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Beckham, and the rest of the stars join Garrett this week.

It will also be interesting to see if J.C. Tretter, starting center and president of the NFLPA, shows up or if he holds the NFLPA line related to staying away from OTAs this offseason.

For now, Browns fans can get excited about some of their team getting on the field together. With high expectations and quite a few new players, the Browns can benefit from as much time together as possible.

Coming off a winning season and getting a second year within the systems put in place last year, the Browns get a chance to build on something as OTAs open up.

Browns players, team working on OTA resolution

Cleveland Browns players and the team are working towards a deal on attending OTAs

The first week of Cleveland Browns post-draft organized team activities, or OTAs, took place virtually. No players attended the team facilities in Berea at the behest of the NFLPA, which has recommended that players not participate due to long-term injury concerns.

It’s a tricky issue for both the players and the team. Cleveland could have as many as nine new starters on defense, with a mix of free agent veterans and rookies who haven’t even met yet. But the union’s advice keeps them from working out together under the watchful eye of the team. Even though it would be heavily restricted in terms of contact and activity level, it’s still done together and with coaches and trainers present.

The situation takes extra imperative with the Browns because center JC Tretter is the NFLPA president and one of the most outspoken advocates for veterans not participating in the OTAs. But the Browns players are still getting work in and some are doing it together on their own.

Witness a tidbit from Albert Breer’s latest edition of the Monday Morning Quarterback at Sports Illustrated,

The Browns’ players were working toward a deal with their coaches over the weekend after staying away—and part of the reason they were O.K. with being absent until now is that quarterback Baker Mayfield had held a passing camp in Austin already.

Many groups of players around the league are convening to work out together this offseason. And it is nice to see the Browns players and the team are trying to work out a deal to possibly get the full team together before training camp begins in late July.

Browns find value in small group rookie minicamp; Long term option?

The Cleveland Browns found a lot of value from having a small group of guys in during rookie minicamp. Could this new normal stick around?

The Cleveland Browns usually have players all over the field during their first rookie minicamp. From drafted players, undrafted players, and tryout players, minicamp can get quite crowded in Berea.

“Usually.”

This year, the Browns only had 18 players in for camp:

Drafted players: Greg Newsome II, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Anthony Schwartz, James Hudson, Tommy Togiai, Tony Fields II, Richard LeCounte III, and Demetric Felton

Undrafted players: Marvin Wilson, Romeo McKnight, Kondre Thomas, Emmanuel Rugamba, and Tre Harbison

Tryout players: Johnny Dizon, Josh Love, and Riley Neal

Already on roster players: Malik McDowell and Kyle Markway (since released and replaced by Connor Davis)

With such a small group of guys, the Browns had to get creative at times. As seen on Building the Browns, anyone available to take a snap was used at times including defensive coordinator Joe Woods playing quarterback.

While that doesn’t seem like a positive, the small numbers were mentioned as positive multiple times. From head coach Kevin Stefanski, Woods, Hudson, Newsome, and others have all noted the benefit of having one on one time with the coaches.

Hudson, in particular, is able to benefit from a lot of time with Bill Callahan and Scott Peters. The “Master Class” details shown in this week’s Building the Browns episode included keeping his ankle outside of his knee as he is kicking out and how to explode into an oncoming player.

As everyone is noting the positives of the smaller class, will the Browns go back to a larger group next year as, hopefully, the pandemic will no longer have a large impact or will this become the new normal?

The team will likely weigh the benefits of their drafted and undrafted players getting one on one time versus getting a chance to see a lot of tryout guys and field full-team drills. There are benefits to both but the amount of time spent lauding the amount of coaching that was able to happen could mean the Browns move in this direction in the future.

J.C. Tretter defends players skipping voluntary offseason activities

J.C. Tretter wrote on the NFLPA’s website today defending players who decide to skip OTAs. Some have put the NFLPA under scrutiny for it.

J.C. Tretter holds two roles in the NFL: Starting offensive lineman and NFL Players Association president. For the Cleveland Browns, those roles rarely overlap but current issues around offseason activities could cause some conflict.

The NFLPA has begun to push for less and less offseason activities following the COVID-19 adjusted offseason of 2020.

The Browns just completed their rookie minicamp and, according to the team’s website, Phase 2 opening up today through the 21st with limited on-field practice activities. Phase 3 includes up to 10 offseason training activities and mandatory veteran minicamp.

As the Browns site noted, at one point Browns players were unlikely to participate:

In a statement released last week through the NFL Players Association, Browns players, like many others across the league, indicated they would not participate in any of this year’s voluntary, in-person workouts.

Tretter came out strong via the NFLPA’s site attempting to give the players’ side:

Meanwhile, the intensity of OTAs has continued to be ratcheted up. What used to be seen as a time for teaching has turned into full-speed, non-padded practices that are injuring players unnecessarily. There is no reason a player should get injured, beat up or have a concussion during the offseason. The offseason should be a time of recovery and individual preparation so that players can show up for training camp physically and mentally eager to get to work with their teammates.

Tretter also noted the media’s role in how players are viewed who do not attend these voluntary activities:

For the small number of players who choose not to volunteer their time, the media write articles questioning whether they are a team player or some kind of locker room problem. It’s easy to see why many players feel like they have no choice but to attend.

The NFLPA’s stance and push for players to skip these voluntary activities came under scrutiny when two Denver Broncos players were hurt while working out outside of the team’s facilities. Ja’Wuan James was cut, losing out on millions of dollars, while DaeSean Hamilton will likely miss the entire season and could also be waived by the team.

Tretter has made his stance, and the stance of the NFLPA, very clear today.

The Browns Wire Podcast: Nathan Atkins breaks down Owusu-Koramoah

Sports Illustrated’s Irish Breakdown contributor, Nathan Atkins joins to breakdown Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

It’s time for the latest episode of the Browns Wire Podcast.

Josh Keatley (@JoshKeatley16) & Donovan James (@DonJamesSports) are joined by Notre Dame expert and writer for Sports Illustrated, Nathan Atkins (@nateatkins0). He is going to provide a breakdown of new Cleveland Browns addition, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Give the Browns Wire Podcast a like on Facebook and follow along with us on Twitter. It’s also available on all of your favorite podcast apps, including iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher and Spotify. Thanks for listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvANqYaWExQ

Rookie minicamp kicks off this week for the Browns

The Browns offseason workout and minicamp schedule is now released

The Cleveland Browns rookie draft class and undrafted free agents will get their first taste of the Kevin Stefanski coaching experience next weekend. The team’s rookie minicamp kicks off on Friday, May 14 and runs through Sunday the 16th.

It’s the first stage of the offseason workout program for the newcomers, which includes first-round cornerback Greg Newsome.

The NFL also set the dates for the other portions of the Browns offseason program through training camp, which will begin in late July.

OTA Offseason Workouts: May 25-27, June 1-3, June 7-10
Mandatory Minicamp: June 15-17
Rookie Minicamp: May 14-16

However, the NFLPA is pushing for players to not report for OTAs. The Browns were one of several NFL teams whose players did not participate in the voluntary workouts in April at the behest of the NFLPA, which is led by Brown center JC Tretter.