BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns packed themselves like sardines into the Casey Coleman Field House Wednesday for practice due to inclement weather.
It wasn’t the first time, and unfortunately it won’t be the last. There are high schools in the state of Ohio with full size indoor facilities, but not the Browns.
The team’s indoor facility covers 70 yards of playing field but 20 yards of that are dedicated to the weight room because the actual weight room is still the auxiliary locker room to comply with COVID protocols.
That’s 90 players and just 50 yards of field to work with to run a 2-hour practice.
“We can get our work done in there,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said prior to practice. “It is going to be a lot of bodies. It is going to be hot and humid, but we can get our work done.”
To Stefanski’s credit, he offered no complaints about the situation and continues to make the most of less-than-ideal conditions.
“The good news is we are working red zone today and we are working goal line today so those are smaller area drills, if you will,” Stefanski said. “We have been in there before with the full team. We will space out as much as we can. The intensity ramps up when you are inside, there is shorter area and you are not running from one field to the other.”
While this is the second year the Browns have dealt with this, the current indoor facility just isn’t sufficient. What was once state of the art in the early 1990’s when it opened has now become obsolete and outgrown, even with a new field installed in 2020 along with a fresh coat of white paint.
The Haslam Sports Group, which owns and operates the Browns, has been acquiring property around the facility for future expansion and it stands to reason the field house is on their ‘to do’ list, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Plays of the day – Defensive end Porter Gustin, subbing for Myles Garrett, who is resting a sore hamstring, forced Baker Mayfield, who rolled to his right, to throw the ball away on the first play of team goal line work.
Late in practice Mayfield connected with Kareem Hunt for a 6-yard touchdown.
Case Keenum found a wide-open Harrison Bryant for a score on his first goal line snap of 11-on-11.
Safety John Johnson III broke up a would-be touchdown from Mayfield to tight end Austin Hooper in 7-on-7. Hooper has bounced back from the three drops Sunday these last two practices.
Running back D’Ernest Johnson, who is competing for the third RB job behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, made a beautiful diving touchdown catch in 7-on-7.
Show me the money – Right guard Wyatt Teller, who is also eligible for a contract extension, fielded questions about his current situation before practice.
Teller was candid in explaining the harsh lesson he learned from his trade from the Bills to the Browns two years ago about separating the business of football from his personal feelings.
He's also realistic enough to understand that there may not be enough money to go around but his chances of getting his cut improve with the team's success.
Watch his comments in the video above.
Delpit down – It doesn’t sound like there’s much optimism that safety Grant Delpit will be ready Week 1.
Delpit, who is returning after missing his rookie year with a torn Achilles, is dealing with a hamstring injury this camp that has kept him out over the last week which in turn affects the coaching staff’s ability to evaluate or pencil him into the lineup.
“He has not really had a whole lot of snaps for us, but he was around at minicamp and he has been around,” Browns pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach Jeff Howard said. “Unfortunately, I think he has had like nine team reps up to this point, so it has been very few and far between for Grant.”
Howard sidestepped a question about Delpit’s ability to contribute early this season. The 2020 second-round pick was expected to be part of a three-man rotation at safety along with Johnson and Ronnie Harrison, who has also been out with a hamstring injury.
“I am trying to keep [away from] projections,” Howard said. “We are not really focused on that. Kind of focused on the day to day. We will see what he is when he gets back. Ultimately, we talk about in our room that who we are as football players is what we put on tape. We are going to make assessments off of that, not any sort of projections.”
The Ryan express – Right tackle jack Conklin and left tackle Jedrick Wills are getting a workout each time they have to go against Myles Garrett or Jadeveon Clowney in practice.
“They are both different and they are different types of rushers, but they are capable of hitting all of the various moves,” offensive line coach Bill Callahan said. “What I mean by that is they both have speed, they both have great change of direction, they have very good hands and they can go from speed to power in a heartbeat. That is probably the most challenging aspect for a pass protector when they go up against the high-caliber pass rushers in the league is that ability to transition, and or a protector, make the right decision in terms of fronting out or getting more squared up on the pass rusher because they really try to get you off of your grass, and they really try to get you to turn and make yourself vulnerable.”
For the most part during camp, it has not gone well for Conklin or Wills with Garrett and Clowney getting the best of them and Callahan getting plenty of teaching points from the reps.
“These guys are like Nolan Ryan every day – they come at you with a fastball and then here comes a changeup or here comes a slider, and you have to be able to hit it,” Callahan said. “Especially Myles and the great range he has and the redirection he has, this will make us better players on our side of the ball. It has been great for work, not only for Jed but for Jack Conklin and for our young rookie player there in James Hudson (III). We are benefitting from seeing a variety of moves.”
Status quo – As if there was any doubt, Stefanski will once again handle calling plays for the offense this season.
“We do have a year under our belt. We know how we want to be better,” Stefanski said. “We know how we can communicate better. Just talking about play calling, it does give me the opportunity to mention, we do it very collaboratively. I am very, very fortunate to have coaches on my staff who have called plays before and guys who are outstanding on game day in particular in making sure that I have all of the information that I need.”
Njoku and Hance return – Tight end David Njoku and offensive guard Blake hance both returned to practice Wednesday.
Njoku, who missed a few days with a shoulder injury, was limited to individual drills.
Injury report – S Grant Delpit (hamstring), Tony Fields II (foot), DE Myles Garrett (hamstring), S Ronnie Harrison Jr. (hamstring), WR Alexander Hollins (hamstring), DT Malik McDowell (rib), LB Montrel Meander (hamstring), S Sheldrick Redwine (ankle), WR Anthony Schwartz (hamstring), CB Denzel Ward (soreness) did not practice due to injury.
Up next – Practice Thursday afternoon at 2:25.