BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Andrew Berry locked up another young player Wednesday morning prior to the start of joint practices with the Vikings.
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from day 13 of camp.
New deal – Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was entering the final year of his rookie contract and coming off his first Pro Bowl season, will be sticking around through the 2027 season. “Yeah, been a while negotiating, but man, it feels good. Feels like I'm loved, right,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “I believed. But you never really know how the NFL operates. There's so many different things that can be thrown at you. So you have to be appreciative when you could be drafted to a team and then the team extends you more years. So there's always a sense of honor there.” Owusu-Koramoah, who joins Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit in receiving contract extensions on the defensive side of the ball, gets three more years added on for $39 million with $25 million guaranteed. “I'm not quite at those guys levels,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “I may be on one of the hills around here in Cleveland. They're up there, but as time goes on, I look to be where they're at. I look to transcend the mountain and continue to work to be the best player and teammate that I can.” Owusu-Koramoah was a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. He has started 33 of the 41 games he has appeared in where he has totaled 5.0 sacks, 10 QB hits, 30 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and 14 batted passes over the last three seasons. “I saw that they traded up, so obviously there's some type of value that they see in me,” Owusu-Koramoah said. “Of course, I see that they're extending me, so obviously there's some type of value there that they hold for me. So I honor that. Again, I appreciate that, and it's again, my duty and my responsibility to answer to those calls or that specialness that's been bestowed upon me.”
Hall pass – Rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was on the practice field a day after being arrested and released on $10,000 bond due to a domestic violence charge as the result of a Monday night incident at his Avon home. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked seven questions about allowing him on the field and he had essentially the same answer for every one of them. “I understand the question. I would tell you we really just have to respect the process,” Stefanski said. According to a police report detailing the alleged incident involving his fiancé, her mother and two young children, Hall is accused of dragging his fiancé, choking her and threatening to kill her while pointing one of his two guns that he owns at her. Hall suffered an undisclosed injury late in the practice and walked off with trainers.
Protection problems – While the Browns defense spent most of the practice cheering on the other field, the Browns offensive line had one of their worst practices in a long time against the Vikings. “We need to be way better offensively from an operation standpoint,” Stefanski said. “That was not good and some of it was the cadence, some of it was the, they weren't false starts – some of them where the tackles were aligned too deep at times. So those are all things that are correctable and we will correct it.” We counted at least seven flags and three virtual sacks of Deshaun Watson during 11-on-11 work. “I think they have good rushers. I think credit to them. I also think that front gives us way more variation than we've seen, so we need that work,” Stefanski said. “We need to talk through it as an offensive line, tight end group, running back quarterback, just get on the same page there. Those are all valuable conversations that we definitely need to have.”
Close call – During a 1-on-1 drill, Browns cornerback Justin Hardee, working against Vikings receiver Ty James, almost took out Jimmy Haslam, who stood his ground and just directed Hardee to his left without even moving.
Quote of the day – “When we drafted Jeremiah in 2021, we thought he was a unique player who embodied the skill sets needed to defend at LB in the modern-day NFL,” executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry said. “Three years later he has shown himself to be among the best at the position. He’s a player that lives behind the LOS because he’s a heat-seeking missile with rare, shape-shifting movement skills that would even make Neo, Trinity and Morpheus blush.”
Roll Call – RB Nyheim Hines (NFI-knee), CB Greg Newsome II (NFI-hamstring), S D’Anthony Bell (PUP-shin), RB Nick Chubb (PUP-knee), T Jack Conklin (PUP-knee), DT Dalvin Tomlinson (PUP-knee), T Jedrick Wills Jr. (PUP-knee), LB Jordan Hicks (undisclosed), OG Michael Dunn (undisclosed), S Ronnie Hickman (back), WR David Bell (quadriceps), LB Nathaniel Watson (quadriceps), C Luke Wypler (broken ankle-will require surgery), WR Jaelon Dardon (undisclosed), LB Tony Fields II (undisclosed), and CB Denzel Ward (concussion protocol)
