Terrance Mitchell back at Browns practice, Greedy Williams and M.J. Stewart still out

The Browns secondary remains loaded with injuries but did get Terrance Mitchell back on Thursday

Thursday’s practice session in Berea saw one member of the Browns injury-ravaged secondary get back on the field. Cornerback Terrance Mitchell made his return to the active practice session after missing time nursing a knee injury.

It was a welcome boost to the defensive back depth chart. Greedy Williams and M.J. Stewart both remained sidelined for the afternoon practice. Williams is still out with a shoulder injury suffered in Monday’s practice, while Stewart is resting a hamstring issue that also appeared to first materialize on Monday.

Kevin Johnson, who was having an excellent training camp, is week-to-week with a lacerated liver suffered last week. Stewart had been getting Johnson’s first-team reps as the slot cornerback before going down himself. Johnson has returned to being on the sidelines but is not yet cleared for practice.

Donovan Olumba and Donnie Lewis Jr. have been the primary beneficiaries of increased reps while the players above them sit out.

Two other players who missed Wednesday’s practice, TE David Njoku and LB Tae Davis, were back and actively practicing on Thursday.

Browns secondary suffers a brutal Monday practice session

Cleveland Browns secondary got ravaged by the injury bug in Monday’s practice w/ Grant Delpit, Greedy Williams and M.J. Stewart all injured

Monday was a terrible day on the injury front for the Cleveland Browns secondary. Already missing top slot CB Kevin Johnson with his liver injury, three other prominent players left Monday’s practice session in Berea with injuries.

The most prominent is a potentially huge blow to the defense with rookie safety Grant Delpit suffering what appeared to be an Achilles injury. Delpit went to the ground just before team drills and was clutching at the back of his calf in obvious agony.

Delpit was the most serious of the injuries, but he wasn’t alone. Starting cornerback Greedy Williams also left the practice field before the session ended. He left under his own power but Williams was assisted by trainers back into the facility.

Recent arrival M.J. Stewart also caught the injury bug on Monday. Stewart was spotted with his leg heavily wrapped in ice before practice ended. He had been replacing Johnson’s role in the lineup.

Terrance Mitchell sat out Monday’s session for undisclosed reasons. That left Denzel Ward, Donovan Olumba, Tavierre Thomas, Robert Jackson, A.J. Green and Donnie Lewis Jr. as the cornerbacks to finish practice.

We’ll keep you updated on the injury status of all the Browns’ walking wounded as they become available.

Denzel Ward on the new-look Browns secondary: ‘I feel like we could be special’

Ward believes in the potential of himself, Greedy Williams, Grant Delpit and crew

Denzel Ward has been the best player in the Cleveland Browns secondary almost from the minute the cornerback walked to the podium as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Despite some big changes around him entering 2020, Ward is pretty confident the new-look secondary is going to be a good one.

Ward is coming off a good-not-great second season after making the Pro Bowl in his rookie year. He gave an honest answer when asked about his 2019 campaign during a Zoom teleconference with reporters on Tuesday.

“I feel that I had a decent season, not the season that I have in my mind when I set my goals and everything that I want to accomplish throughout the year, but I feel that I definitely produced throughout the season and did my job when I was out there on the field, made plays and helped my team,” Ward said.

After talking up fellow starting CB Greedy Williams, Ward turned his attention to the safeties. Cleveland will have three new safeties this year, including second-round pick Grant Delpit. No. 21 is clearly a fan of Delpit, noting,

“He is a tough player. He is going to bring that toughness here.”

Ward understands the high-end potential of the group and he’s ready to show it.

“I feel like we could be special,” Ward said of the secondary. “We just have to play within the defense, play within ourselves, make plays and do what we are supposed to do, and everything else will take care of itself.”

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The Browns are taking on a distinct LSU flavor

The Browns are taking on a distinct LSU flavor with five Tigers now on the roster

The cities of Cleveland and Baton Rouge don’t have a lot in common, but they might unify to root on the football front.

Drafting safety Grant Delpit and linebacker Jacob Phillips on the second night of the 2020 NFL Draft gave the Browns a new college identity. The two Tigers added to an already distinct LSU flavor to the Cleveland locker room.

Delpit and Phillips join wideouts Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. and cornerback Greedy Williams, the team’s second-round pick a year ago, to give the Browns five LSU alums on the roster. All five should play significant roles in 2020, with both rookies capable of earning starting spots to join their brethren in the primary Browns lineup.

Now LSU is tied with Miami for the most players on the Browns roster. However, only Olivier Vernon and David Njoku are safely projected onto the team in the fall. Safety Sheldrick Redwine, linebacker Jermaine Grace and EDGE Chad Thomas are all products of the old regime that also included Hurricanes Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith in the front office.

The shift makes sense. LSU is coming off a national championship and has consistently been one of the top college programs for the last decade, while Miami has struggled to recapture the greatness of prior generations. Adding significant pieces with such a winning pedigree is a smart move for a Browns organization that has made the postseason just once in 20 years.

Browns vs. Dolphins: Week 12 game news and notes

The Cleveland Browns went into their matchup with the Miami Dolphins expecting to win and they won. There is something to be said for a team being able to take care of business when they are supposed to win, the Denver Broncos notwithstanding. The Browns were able to dominate early. In the first half of the game, the Browns were able to gain long chunk plays and score easily.

Offense

QB, Baker Mayfield, 24-34-327-3-1

RB, Nick Chubb, rushing 21-106-1, receiving 3-58-0 (4 targets)

RB, Kareem Hunt, rushing 8-37-1, receiving 2-9-0 (3 targets)

WR, Jarvis Landry, 10-148-2 (13 targets)

WR, Odell Beckham, 6-84-1 (8 targets)

TE, Demetrius Harris, 2-20-0 (2 targets)

It was nice to see Kareem Hunt score a touchdown and for the Browns to give plenty of opportunities to both running backs. The story of the game should be the continued progression of Baker Mayfield. Since the bye week, Mayfield has looked sharper with his decisions and his ability to get the ball out on time. His lone interception of the day came on a target to Odell Beckham.

Beckham was running a slant over the middle and Mayfield threw the ball behind Beckham. Beckham’s forward momentum was carrying him away from the ball and created an almost impossible catch. Mayfield almost had a second interception on the afternoon on a target to Demetrius Harris. Mayfield put a little too much juice on the pass and it went through the hands of Harris hitting him in the helmet. Fortunately, there was a Miami penalty on the play and the interception was erased.

There will undoubtedly be talk about how good Jarvis Landry is looking and how he is the best wide receiver on the team. While I agree he has the best production, the more appropriate line of thinking is that both Beckham and Landry are playing well off each other. Both wide receivers are exceptional at what they do, and Beckham is drawing attention from Landry the same way Landry draws attention from Beckham.

Defensive Notes

There are two main storylines to pay attention to on the defense. One is how well Joe Schobert has been playing recently. In Week 12, Schobert was able to add another 10 tackles and 2 interceptions to his amazing run in 2019. The second storyline to watch is the progression of Greedy Williams. Again, in Week 12, opposing offenses were singling him out in coverage. DeVante Parker, as a bigger-bodied receiver, was able to be more physical than Williams and push him around at the line of scrimmage.

Remembering to Week 11 against the Steelers, Mason Rudolph and Co. were also targeting Williams frequently and caused crucial pass interference penalties. Fortunately for the Browns, there were a couple flags not thrown on obvious pass interference.

Penalties (9 penalties, 7 accepted penalties)

Wyatt Teller – 5-yards (ineligible downfield pass)

Wyatt Teller – 10-yards (holding)

Jarvis Landry – Penalty Declined (illegal shirt)

J.C. Tretter – 10-yards (holding)

Mack Wilson – 15-yards (unnecessary roughness)

Greg Robinson – Penalty Declined (ineligible downfield pass)

Greedy Williams – 15-yards (defensive pass interference)

Bryan Cox – 10-yards (illegal block above the waste)

Greedy Williams – 5-yards (illegal use of hands)

Final Thoughts

Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins came at a perfect time for the Browns. They had an opportunity to play a team with significantly less talent, learn to create pressure without Myles Garrett, and develop chemistry on the offensive side of the ball. The pass rush still leaves a lot of questions on the table, but I don’t believe the Browns were putting their defensive game plan for creating pressure on film against the Dolphins.

Overall, there are plenty of positives to take away from Week 12 against the Dolphins. It will be important for the Browns to keep their composure and remember the lessons of this game as they move on to the Steelers.

Final Score: 24-41 (Cleveland Browns Victory)

Time of Possession: 36:06 (+12:12)

Record: 5-6 (third in the AFC North)

Current Draft Position: 15 (information via Tankathon)

Next Opponent: at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)

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Studs and duds from the Browns’ 41-24 victory over the Dolphins

Jarvis Landry stood out as the biggest stud, while a familiar face once again was an obvious dud

The Cleveland Browns completely dismantled the Miami Dolphins and are now in the thick of the playoff hunt at 5-6. The 2019 season has largely been a disappointment for Cleveland, but they have now strung together three wins in a row and have looked extremely impressive the last couple weeks as the offense has come together.

Miami is one of the lesser teams in the league, but the Browns still exceeded expectations during their showing. Below are just a few players that set themselves apart.

Stud: Jarvis Landry

I will never understand how Landry goes underappreciated and borderline hated week after week after week by a huge chunk of fans, because all this guy does is compete and make plays for Cleveland. Landry just embarrassed a Dolphins defensive backfield with 10 receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns. It should surprise no one that one of his best performances of the year was against his former team.

Dud: Chris Hubbard

It feels like Landry is on this list almost weekly, but it also feels like Hubbard is as well and not for good reasons. Even against a terrible Miami team, Hubbard looked atrocious and is practically guaranteed not to be the 2020 starter at right tackle. The offensive line is not as bad as some would lead you to believe, but with the right tackle getting destroyed on almost every down it definitely does not instill confidence.

Stud: Kareem Hunt

Hunt has had a confusing and controversial journey to get to his hometown team, but despite his past off the field, Hunt deserves a ton of credit for transforming this offense and found the end-zone for the very first time as a Brown on Sunday. The Toledo product did not have the most statistically pleasing game with only 37 rushing yards and nine receiving yards, but he still averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

Dud: Greedy Williams

Williams looked like a future All-Pro and potential Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate early in the season, but the last few games have been rough for the former LSU Tiger. Opposing offenses appear to be picking on the young rookie and he has struggled some. Williams has shown that he will give up the inside and a better offense will focus on that.

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