Tag: Denzel Ward

Denzel Ward unlikely to play in Week 13 vs. Titans

Coach Stefanski reiterated Ward is week-to-week

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski deflated any real hope of cornerback Denzel Ward returning in Week 13 in the first few moments of his press conference on Monday. Stefanski ripped the bandage off quickly.

“Denzel is unlikely this week,” Stefanski said after offering no real update on injured safety Ronnie Harrison. “He truly is week-to-week.”

Ward missed Sunday’s win in Jacksonville with a calf strain that he suffered in the Week 11 win over the Eagles. The team did not place Ward on injured reserve, which would rule him out for a minimum of three games, and that left some hope that the Pro Bowl corner could return for Sunday’s showdown with the Tennessee Titans.

All players and coaches are operating remotely on Monday and Tuesday as the league imposed a mandatory facilities shutdown across the NFL due to several COVID-19 outbreaks around various teams, including the Browns.

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Final Browns injury report for Week 12: Denzel Ward, Sheldrick Redwine ruled out

Final Browns injury report for Week 12: Denzel Ward, Sheldrick Redwine ruled out and 3 others questionable for game vs. Jaguars

The Cleveland Browns secondary will be depleted when the team heads to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars in Week 12. Starting cornerback Denzel Ward and safety Sheldrick Redwine have been ruled out with injury.

They are the only two Browns who were ruled out on the team’s final injury report of the week. Three other Browns are officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Right guard Wyatt Teller (calf), backup center Nick Harris (ankle) and starting safety Andrew Sendejo (groin) are all questionable.

Teller was also questionable with the same injury in Week 11 but played through it. Sendejo only practiced on Friday as a limited participant after missing the rest of the week. Harris was a fresh addition to the injury report on Friday.

The Browns held out several players as precautionary measures this week due to the COVID-19 threat. None of those players carries any injury designation, and no players tested positive on Friday.

 

Report: Denzel Ward to miss ‘a few weeks’ with calf strain

Ward is coming off a fantastic game vs. the Eagles

A report from Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network brings bad news for the Cleveland Browns. Per Garafolo, standout cornerback Denzel Ward is expected to miss “a few weeks” with a calf injury suffered in the Week 11 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ward had an MRI on Monday on the wounded calf. The team has yet to confirm the outcome of the MRI.

Ward played fantastic in the win, showing no ill effects of any calf issue. He broke up four passes, including a red zone interception that helped seal the victory. Ward also logged a QB pressure on Carson Wentz that forced a pick-six throw to LB Sione Takitaki.

The Browns have had bad luck with calf strains this season. Right guard Wyatt Teller missed four weeks with the same injury.

Denzel Ward will get an MRI on his injured calf

Browns CB Denzel Ward will get an MRI on his injured calf

Denzel Ward turned in a dominant performance on Sunday in the Browns win over the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. The Pro Bowl cornerback broke up four passes, intercepting one of those, and had a QB pressure that forced Eagles QB Carson Wentz to throw a pick-six to LB Sione Takitaki.

Ward apparently performed his heroics despite playing through a calf injury. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said during his Monday press conference that Ward will need an MRI on the injured calf to determine the severity and his availability for the Week 12 trip to Jacksonville.

Ward did not miss a single snap during the game and showed no ill effects of any injury late in the game. Calf injuries can be tricky, however; right guard Wyatt Teller missed four games with a calf strain that didn’t initially appear serious.

This is the first time this season Ward has had any notable malady. He’s missed time in each of his first two seasons with shoulder and hamstring issues.

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Stepping up in place of Myles Garrett a common theme for the Browns defenders

Olivier Vernon, Denzel Ward, Sione Takitaki and others all stepped up to cover the hole with Garrett out due to COVID-19

One of the biggest takeaways from the Browns’ 22-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles was how reverent the Cleveland players were to Myles Garrett after the game.

Garrett missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19 late in the week. The NFL’s sack leader was a leading contender for Defensive Player of the Year and a darkhorse MVP candidate.

Fortunately, several of his defensive brethren stepped up with big games. Olivier Vernon bagged three sacks. Denzel Ward picked off one pass, broke up four others and created a pick-six for LB Sione Takitaki with a superb QB hit on Carson Wentz.

They all talked about stepping up to replace Garrett and honor their missing cohort.

“We all missed Myles,” Vernon said after the game. “We wish he could have been out here playing. At the end of the day, everybody played as a team, made the stops when we had to and made the big plays when we had to.”

Takitaki, who was a captain for the game, praised the line for its outstanding game even without Garrett.

“We knew that Myles was going to be out and I feel like those guys are like, ‘Let’s get it going. We are going to make sure that we are going to hold our own.’ I feel like they went out today and proved it”, Takitaki said in his Zoom.

Ward focused more on the team mentality that carried the Browns to the win, but he too missed Garrett.

“Definitely looking forward to getting Myles back whenever we can. He is obviously a big addition to our team. Guys stepped up today and made plays.”

Then there’s Baker Mayfield. The quarterback offered his own flavor on the situation, dropping his weekly hip-hop quote in the process.

“Yeah, obviously that is not a one-man job to fill those shoes. I know that is probably the most cliché thing, but it is just the truth. We had a ton of guys step up. When they knew that Myles was out, they knew they had to get funky on the field, and just like an old batch of collard greens, they just played well together,” Mayfield said.

Garrett could return in Week 12 if he can clear COVID-19 protocols in time.

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Tracking the crazy end results of the Browns-Eagles ‘Carson Wentz’ trade

The 2016 draft-day trade between the Browns and Eagles that resulted in Carson Wentz has taken many twists and turns for Cleveland

Sunday’s meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles will see Carson Wentz make his debut at quarterback in FirstEnergy Stadium. That’s four years later than many wanted it to be at the time, back when the Browns had the opportunity to draft Wentz in 2016.

Instead of selecting the North Dakota State QB, the Browns traded the pick to the Eagles. The full initial trade:

The Browns sent the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft along with the No. 139 pick in the 2017 Draft to the Eagles for Nos. 8, 77, and 100 picks in the 2016 draft, the No. 12 pick in the 2017 draft, and a second-round pick in 2018.

Wentz has been a rollercoaster for the Eagles. There are the highs of leading them to an 11-2 mark in 2017, a year that culminated with the Eagles winning the Super Bowl — albeit with Nick Foles replacing an injured Wentz for the playoff run.

Outside of that magical season, Wentz has a losing record (24-27-1) as a starter. He currently leads the NFL in interceptions and times being sacked, and Wentz’s completion percentage and yards per attempt have both steadily fallen from his Pro Bowl 2017 campaign. His QB Rating of 73.1 in 2020 ranks 31st, several spots below Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield (90.0).

The Browns end of the trade evolved several tentacles. The initial deals resulted in this menagerie of moves:

Cleveland Traded No. 8, 176 to Tennessee for No. 15, 76, and 2017 Second Round Pick (No. 52)
Cleveland Traded No. 77, 141 to Carolina for No. 93, 129, 168
Cleveland Traded No. 100 to Oakland for No. 114, 154

All the picks from those trades resulted in the following haul in 2016:

No. 15 – Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor
No. 76 – Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn
No. 93 – Cody Kessler, QB, USC
No. 114 – Ricardo Louis, WR, Auburn
No. 129 – Derrick Kindred, S, TCU
No. 154 – Jordan Payton, WR, UCLA
No. 168 – Spencer Drango, OG, Baylor

In 2017, the Browns traded the first-round pick from the Eagles in the deal too.

Cleveland traded the No. 12 pick to Houston for No. 25 and a 2018 first-round pick.

Houston used the pick to select QB Deshaun Watson. Despite Houston’s 2-7 record and last weekend’s loss in Cleveland, the Texans are still elated with the deal.

The Browns got these picks from the Wentz-to-Watson deal.

No. 25 – Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan
No. 52 – DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame

Cleveland used the 2018 first-round pick acquired from Houston with the strand of the Wentz trade on CB Denzel Ward with the No. 4 overall pick.

The final pick, Philadelphia’s 2018 second-rounder, was (of course) traded by the Browns during that draft weekend. The Browns dealt the No. 64 overall pick in that 2018 draft to the Colts, who selected DE Tyquan Lewis. The Browns picked up Miami DE Chad Thomas with the No. 67 pick. This is where it gets really complicated…

Unpacking the further trade tentacles

From the initial trade, the Browns eventually traded Shon Coleman for a 2019 seventh-round pick to San Francisco. The Browns traded that pick and WR Josh Gordon to the Patriots for a 2019 fifth-round pick that Cleveland used on Oklahoma kicker Austin Seibert.

The Browns also received the Colts’ sixth-round pick in that Chad Thomas deal. Cleveland packaged that pick (No. 178 overall) as part of another trade during the 2018 draft weekend. Along with its own fourth-round pick (No. 114 overall), the Browns sent that acquired pick to the Patriots for a fourth-round pick (No. 105 overall). That pick became Florida WR Antonio Callaway.

Back to the 2017 trade of the Wentz bounty to Houston. The Browns traded Jabrill Peppers to the Giants as a primary part of the package to acquire WR Odell Beckham Jr. in 2019. The Giants also got two other picks from the Browns in that deal, with which they selected DT Dexter Lawrence and DE Oshane Ximines.

The Browns also dealt the net of the first Eagles’ pick in 2017, Corey Coleman. This one gets wacky. The Browns shipped Coleman to Buffalo in 2018 for a 2020 seventh-round pick. That pick got traded, then traded again, and eventually wound up being part of another trade that landed 2020 third-round pick Jordan Elliott into Cleveland.

End result

In 2020, the Browns have Denzel Ward, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jordan Elliott to effectively show for Wentz, via a convoluted path with many twists and turns.

WATCH: Cleveland’s Denzel Ward make and unbelievably athletic move to make tackle

Denzel Ward makes a play against the Cincinnati Bengals you have to see to believe. It’s just a Buckeye being a Buckeye.

Denzel Ward has been making plays for the Cleveland Browns since being drafted fourth overall in the 2018 NFL draft. Ward has consistently been a shutdown corner usually drawing the opposing teams No. 1 receiver.

On Sunday, Ward made an unbelievably athletic play to blow up a bubble screen before it had a chance to develop. Seeing wide receiver, Jonah Williams in front to set the screen, Ward slid under the impending block to make the tackle.

It’s one you’ll have to see to believe. Trust us on this. Check it out below on The Checkdown Twitter feed and get ready to marvel at what you see.

Ward replied to another Twitter feed saying “Added a new wrinkle to my game with the slide”. Impressive young man… Impressive.

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Snap count notes and observations from the Browns’ Week 4 win over the Cowboys

The Browns had 8 ironmen playing every available snap

There are some tired bodies in the Cleveland Browns training room after Sunday’s 49-38 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The snap counts and playing times for the Browns in the Week 4 win show a lot of reps for many players on both sides of the ball.

The Browns had 75 snaps on offense and 82 total on defense. That’s the most snaps the offense has played through four weeks and the second-most the defense has played, behind the 92 in the Week 2 win over Cincinnati.

Five Browns played all the offensive snaps, while three went all the way on defense. On offense, it was QB Baker Mayfield and four of the five starting offensive linemen. Right tackle Jack Conklin sat out four plays, replaced by Chris Hubbard.

Defensively, safety Andrew Sendejo and corners Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell were on the field for every rep. That’s an impressive showing from Ward, who was questionable for the game with a groin injury.

Olivier Vernon was also questionable and had missed two weeks in a row, but the veteran DE played 65 snaps. That’s more than fellow DE Myles Garrett (60) and Vernon’s replacement during his absence, Porter Gustin (41).

Rookie linebacker Jacob Phillips saw 17 snaps in his return to action, 10 less than Mack Wilson. B.J. Goodson (64 snaps) was the only LB on the field for more than half the game.

On offense, running back D’Ernest Johnson only played 17 reps but saw the ball on 13 of those. He played in place of Nick Chubb, who left the game after just 14 snaps with his knee injury. Kareem Hunt led the RB group with only 26, while Dontrell Hilliard chipped in 15 in a true RB-by-committee game.

Rookie tight end Harrison Bryant continues to grow, as reflected by his 52 snaps. With Austin Hooper playing 63, that’s a lot of two-TE sets. Fellow rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones made his WR debut with 33 reps, behind Odell Beckham Jr. (58) and Jarvis Landry (57).

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Watch: Browns highlights from the Week 4 offensive explosion in Dallas

Check out the top Brown highlights from the win over Dallas

As you might expect from a game where the Browns picked up 33 first downs and scored 49 points, there are plenty of highlights. The Browns, clad in the brown color rush jerseys, walloped the Cowboys, 49-38 in Dallas.

The Cowboys had quite a few highlight-reel plays of their own in rallying to close a 41-14 deficit to within three points in the fourth quarter, but that’s when the Browns tacked on a couple more to seal the deal.

Here are some of the big highlights from the Browns in Sunday’s big win over Dallas, a win that improves the team to 3-1 for the first time since the 2001 season:

Buckeyes in the NFL: Browns’ Denzel Ward seals game against Cowboys with INT

With the Dallas Cowboys making a furious rally in the 4th quarter, Browns’ DB Denzel Ward intercepted a Dak Prescott pass to seal the win.

The Cleveland Browns got a huge victory against “America’s Team” on Sunday. They seem to be getting things together and now stand at 3-1 on the young season.

The offense was popping and the Browns got out to a big lead, but then Dallas began to reel things back in as the 4th quarter moved on. It looked like things were going to be a nip and tuck affair, one that Cleveland has found a way to lose in the past, but former Ohio State defensive back Denzel Ward wasn’t having it.

The Cowboys still would have needed another score, but they were on the doorstep at the 8-yard line about to score when Ward stepped in front of a Dak Prescott pass for a game-clinching interception with just 1:36 left in the game and the Browns up by 11. It sealed what could be a season-turning 49-38 victory in Big D.

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Thanks to the Cleveland Browns Twitter account, you can watch Ward’s clutch play by watching the below video.

 

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