BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns are down the top three receivers on their roster after Amari Cooper went down Monday with an ankle injury late in practice.
Cooper did not practice Tuesday, the first full workout of camp in pads.
“He will be back pretty soon,” Stefanski said prior to Tuesday’s practice. “He will be OK.”
Receiver David Bell remains on active/PUP with a foot injury suffered during minicamp in June and Anthony Schwartz is sidelined with a knee strain suffered last week when he pulled up on a route he was running on air.
Despite being down three players at the position, Stefanski remains unconcerned about their depth.
“Amari will be back soon,” Stefanski said. “We will deal with David and Anthony appropriately.”
The glass half full side of the injuries is additional reps for young receivers like sixth-round pick Michael Woods II, who seems to make a play every day in practice.
Tuesday he caught a quick pass from Deshaun Watson and spun away from a defender to get down field for a big gain.
“I have been real impressed with a lot of those young guys,” Stefanski said. “I think they work really, really hard. When you play for [pass game coordinator/wide receivers] coach [Chad] O’Shea, you better work hard. We also got a head start with them bringing them in a few days early. I would not single any guy out other than to say it is an impressive young group.”
More reps for Brissett – Jacoby Brissett appeared to get a similar amount of reps that he had been getting during 11-on-11 work Tuesday and Stefanski didn’t sound like he’s altered his original plan for reps in camp just yet following Monday’s ruling from Sue L. Robinson.
“I think we are still kind of in that place where we will wait for more information,” Stefanski said. “We will stick to the plan that we have, which again we will deal with that day to day.”
Heating up – Thing almost got heated Tuesday afternoon during 11-on-11 when Donovan Peoples-Jones didn’t appreciate getting shoved out of bounds by Martin Emerson.
Peoples-Jones shoved Emerson as the two exchanged words before teammates quickly stepped in to keep things from escalating further.
“It is Browns versus Browns so we have to get our work in and it is a physical game – you can’t shy away from that – but now is not the time to take a ‘cheap shot’ at your own teammate,” Stefanski said before practice.
“The pads should not change that. Your technique, whether you have pads on, shells on or helmets on, should not change. You should have great posture, you should be using your hands, keeping your head out of it and all of those type of things.”
Notable quotable – “That’s just not my business. I feel like that’s Deshaun’s stuff to take care of. Got to let the legal process handle itself and I didn’t want to put myself in that situation. It’s football here for us and he handles it the way he needs to handle it.” Linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. on why he did not read Robinson’s report.
Puppy pound counter – Three puppies were adopted Tuesday bringing the camp total to 19 over three practices. Since the program’s launch in 2015, 644 puppies from the Northeast Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) have been adopted by Browns fans at training camp practices.
Roll call – WR David Bell (foot), P Corey Bojorquez (right foot), WR Amari Cooper (ankle), DT Sheldon Day (back), CB Reggie Robinson II (core muscle). WR Anthony Schwartz (knee), LB Anthony Walker Jr. (groin), CB Denzel Ward (foot) and WR Javon Wims (illness) did not practice Tuesday due to injury.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and right tackle Jack Conklin also did not practice and worked on the side. Both players were given the day to rest.
Up next – Practice Wednesday afternoon at 2.