Training camp in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic is a very different experience. Aside from the lack of fans and media crowding the practice fields at the Cleveland Browns facilities in Berea, there are strict guidelines on player and coach interaction and contact in place.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski painted a picture of the odd logistics of the camp situation. He talked about the challenge of following the rules, wearing masks and teaching players in an anecdote from his Zoom press conference with reporters on Thursday.
“I should mention first of all that when I look out the window, I saw the players out there getting ready to do their conditioning and then I went back and sat down,” Stefanski said. “I am not allowed to watch them condition. That is just the strength staff. I just wanted to get the image and I wanted to see what that look like to see the Cleveland Browns on our practice field. I have not seen the guys yet physically do anything until the 4:30 p.m. walkthrough, which as you can imagine, it is a walkthrough.
It is hard to do a walkthrough, as you can imagine, with all the coaches are wearing their masks and the players are wearing their masks. The walkthroughs will really be more of a meeting on the field as we start to get going and have a real slow ramp up to this. We do not want to be doing too much too soon.”
Stefanski noted practice will begin to look more normal when the pads come on in a few weeks,
“I think once we start practicing, which is about the middle of August, practice will look very similar to how you know it.”
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