His absence for a practice doesn’t register considering the loss he and the Browns organization are feeling following the tragic death of Smith’s girlfriend in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
“That was a real punch in the gut,” left guard Joel Bitonio said.
26-year old Petara Cordero was killed when an oncoming car struck her following a spinout, the result of a blown-out tire, on Interstate 90 near West 140th street just west of downtown Cleveland. Toxicology tests are pending but Cleveland Police say the 47-year old driver that hit Cordero admitted to drinking at the time of the accident.
“We’re supporting Chris every way possible,” Browns head coach Kitchens said. “It was really kind of an emotional time, it still kind of is from the standpoint of Chris missed the preseason game because the birth of his daughter he just had. Chris is a great dude, good in the locker room. We’re going to support him. Our hearts and our prayers go out to him, his family, her family. Really sad.”
Smith and Cordero were initially unharmed after Smith’s Lamborghini spun out and hit the median wall, but the couple got out of the car and were standing on the shoulder awaiting assistance when tragedy struck.
“Chris is one of those guys – his smile is infectious; his personality is infectious. He’s just overall well liked,” Kitchens said. “Of course, everybody in that locker room’s hurting for him.”
Cordero gave birth to their daughter, Haven Harris Smith, last month making the news even more difficult to bear.
“It's a tragedy,” defensive lineman Devaroe Lawrence said. “It's not going to help [much] because it ain't going to replace her at the end of the day. There's no replacements, ain't no way to make it easy, you've just got to let time take its course because that's going to be his best healer.”
Lost in the high-stakes competitive world of professional sports are the everyday challenges that life brings, and it does not discriminate just because they are multimillionaire coaches, players and executives.
“A funny thing happens when you start playing this game of football. You think you’re just playing, you’re coaching, everything’s fine until life hits. Then when life hits, it’s kind of a reality check,” Kitchens said. “We like to talk about balance, we think balance affects all areas. If you’re unbalanced in one area of your life, you’re not going to be balanced in the other areas of your life. I feel like Chris had great balance. But whenever you do have balance, which is the most rewarding way to go about life, something happens to one part of that, of course it’s affected in other areas, too.
“Chris is on my mind right now. His family’s on my mind, her family’s on my mind. The four-week old baby is on my mind,” Kitchens said. “It’s a difficult time, but we’re going to get through it, there’s never going to be an excuse. We’re going to get through it, I promise you that, but we’re going to get through it together.”
Many players gathered in Berea on their off day Wednesday morning when they were told the news. Afterwords a steady stream of them made their way to his home.
“We’re all praying for him, his family, our family and right now we’ve just got to pull together for him,” receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “I’m going to be here for him, I’m always going to be here for him.”
Behind the transactions, coaching decisions and statistics are human beings, and the news that circulated the building Wednesday morning was heartbreaking. Cordero’s death was a harsh reminder of just how cruel life can be and how fragile it is.
“Unfathomable,” Bitonio said. “I can’t put it into words. It’s hard for me to truly accept and understand what’s going on for him. I just know how tough it would be for me to be in that situation right now. I’m just really, really praying for him.”
For those closest to Smith, it was crushing.
“Devastating news to hear about Chris going through an accident and losing his girlfriend,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “That is one of our brothers. Very unfortunate. All we can do is support him and be there for him.”
Since taking over as head coach in January, Kitchens has tried to instill a culture of accountability as well as family.
“You want to be around guys that want to be on the journey with you. To do that, you have to care about each other,” Kitchens said. “If you want to get the most out of your team, at some point you have to start caring about each other. When you do that, that builds relationships.”
Kitchens hopes as a family, the Browns will be able to help one of their own mourn the loss of a loved one, pick up the pieces and somehow return to some semblance of normalcy.
“I know this, when you go through bad things in life, you want people around you that care about you. And that care about you for the right reasons,” Kitchens said. “That has nothing to do with playing a 5-technique. It has nothing to do with taking on a tight end. It has to do with wanting your best interests in mind.”
For Smith, football can wait.
“Everybody grieves differently and Chris, he's a very happy guy, happy-go-lucky guy, for the most part, when you see him day-in and day-out,” linebacker Joe Schobert said. “You've just got to give him his space now and when he comes, if he needs something, be there for him and I think everybody's bought into that.”
It seems vulgar to even think about football at a time like this, but such is life for the Browns who continue to prepare for Monday’s game in New York against the Jets with heavy hearts.
“This one definitely is for Chris,” safety Damarious Randall said.