BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – D’Anthony Bell never stopped believing, no matter how great the odds against him or how many roadblocks tested his football dream.
Bell’s story is what sports are made of.
Tuesday morning Bell, an undrafted free agent out of the University of West Florida – a Division II program, received the call of a lifetime while sitting at his locker from Browns EVP/GM Andrew Berry informing him he had made Cleveland’s roster.
“I believed that I had a shot from the get-go,” Bell said. “I believed in my talent and my preparation as a player. I felt like I had a good chance and clearly, I did, I guess.”
Bell is the first player in program history to make it in the NFL and he’s the first undrafted rookie Berry has kept on the first 53 in his three years as GM.
“Very proud,” Bell said. “All my thanks is to God. I just stayed down, stayed on my journey and stayed with the path. Any time there was dark moments, I felt like God showed me a little bit of light and I just always kept it and kept pushing and kept going.”
Money kept Bell from college. Then his grades kept him from major college football programs. Still, Bell persisted and found a way. He hauled boulders for his dad’s construction company and bounced around multiple schools before he found a home at the University of West Florida.
He’s now a Cleveland Brown.
“It was a hard journey, for sure,” Bell said. “But for me it just taught me the importance of football. It taught me the importance of the people that were in my corner and the people that believed in me. I think I had to go through that journey to learn that I had to go through college and I had to get those grades to be where I’m at.
“I think it made me a way better man than I was back then.
If I was younger and had gotten the opportunity, I probably would have messed it up.”
Saturday night in the Browns locker room, John Johnson III and Greg Newsome filmed Bell, who forced his second fumble of the preseason against the Bears, to celebrate his efforts.
“It's been great,” Bell said of being embraced by his teammates.
“Those guys, they've helped me a lot, they've taught me a lot, and they just went into my story and see where I came from. Them taking the time out to just look into my story and motivate me as I'm going, it's a blessing.”
No longer hamstrung – Michael Woods II started off hot in training camp but a hamstring injury almost cost him a chance to make the team, but it didn’t.
“I had confidence,” Woods said. “I did not think it was going to mess me up as a player or anything like that. Missing all of that time, it is a time to turn up the game mentally. I got a lot of time to stay in the playbook, did some studying Carolina and things like that. Just trying to find ways to maximize the time that you have.”
Woods was back on the practice field as the Browns began preparations for the season opener September 11 at Carolina.
“It was great. This is why I am here,” Woods said. “I just have a lot of fun when I am on the field. Of course, when I am out, as a competitor I hate it and hate being out. It was definitely great to get back on the field and see everybody back on the team. It was a great day.”
Cease fire – Kevin Stefanski is not one for bulletin board material, so he says, or a war of words.
A comment attributed to Baker Mayfield in which he allegedly told NFL Network sideline reporter Cynthia Frelund after she wished him good luck in Week 1 against the Browns “I’m gonna f— them up,” made headlines Tuesday. Frelund revealed Mayfield’s alleged comment on the Around the NFL podcast.
Mayfield’s marketing manager Chris Talbott has been responding on Twitter to tweeted articles about the comment being attributed to Mayfield with “False” and “More lies.”
Stefanski was asked about the remark Tuesday.
“I am not going to get involved in that type of thing,” Stefanski said. “As you know, it is Carolina week. I get how unique it is that Baker is the starting quarterback for the Panthers. We are really going to focus on putting a plan together to beat the Panthers. That is really the focus.”
FB and TE love – When Stefanski was hired in 2020 he espoused his love of fullbacks and tight ends. The first two years he had Johnny Stanton IV at fullback and plenty of tight ends to run 13 personnel.
On Tuesday, Stanton was waived and David Njoku and Harrison Bryant are the only two tight ends on the first 53.
“It does not mean I do not love those positions still,” Stefanski said. “Again, it just goes back to that 53 is a puzzle, and you are trying to put it together and be smart about how you do it. We will see how it shakes out.”
Waiver order – The Browns are 13th on the waiver wire priority claim order.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings are one spot in front of them while Jacksonville gets first dibs followed by the Lions, Texans, Jets and Giants.
Survey says – The Browns are continuing their stadium feasibility study and as part of that, a survey was sent to fans Tuesday seeking input on premium amenities such as clubs, club seating and tailgating options.
The city of Cleveland, which had to pay for $10 million in emergency repairs this year, is also conducting a stadium audit this year, which is required every five years under terms of the lease.
FirstEnergy Stadium’s last major makeover was completed in 2015 and the team has retained Dallas-based architects HKS, which most recently designed SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, to assist in their planning.
The stadium, which was fast tracked when it was built between 1996-1999, is expected to require significant structural and infrastructure repairs on top of whatever new additions the team seeks – the costs of which could top $500 million. To compare, the Bengals are working on $493 million in upgrades to their stadium.
Depending on the outcome of the proposed land bridge and lakefront development project ownership has backed, the possibility of building a new stadium elsewhere is on the table, although it is not the immediate focus of the team.
Roll call – S Ronnie Harrison, CB AJ Green, DE Chase Winovich, RT Jack Conklin, OT Chris Hubbard, RG Wyatt Teller and DE Jadeveon Clowney did not practice Tuesday.
Up next – Practice Wednesday afternoon at 3:30.