CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Another day, another injury.
Defensive end Chad Thomas left Tuesday’s practice early after suffering a neck injury according to the team.
Welcome to training camp for the Browns in 2020 where “next man up” has become their rallying cry with the team reeling – especially the defense – from injuries.
“I don't worry about the mentality of our team,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday after practice.
As many as 11 players, including four cornerbacks – Greedy Williams (shoulder), Kevin Johnson (liver), Terrance Mitchell (knee) and MJ Stewart (hamstring), didn’t practice due to injury.
An hour before practice the team announced rookie safety Grant Delpit was done for the year after rupturing his Achilles during non-contact individual drills Monday.
Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo manned the safety spots with the ones Tuesday.
Linebacker Mack Wilson is out for the foreseeable future with a hyperextended knee meaning Tae Davis – out Tuesday due to an illness, Sionne Takitaki and rookie Jacob Phillips are being counted on to pick up the slack.
“It's tough to do. I feel like Mack was coming on,” defensive coordinator Joe Woods said. “You felt like he was coming into his own. He really felt like a veteran on the field.”
Regardless of the growing body count, Stefanski is keeping his team focused.
“I think we have a resilient bunch,” Stefanski said. “I think that they have all been on teams throughout their lives where injuries occur. It does not make us like it. I feel awful for guys that have long-term injuries. Then other guys, you are going to get nicked up, you push through it, you get your treatment and you are back out there.”
Big day – Joseph, who has been rotating days on and off as he returns from offseason foot surgery, gave the depleted secondary a much-needed boost Tuesday morning.
Joseph continues to work with the first team defense when he is on the field. He intercepted a pair of passes during practice.
“Karl was a high draft pick, and I think the thing for him right now, he has a chip on his shoulder,” Woods said. “When you are a first-round draft pick, you expect to be on that team for probably two contracts. With him, it is really kind of the work ethic, the veteran leadership because he has seen a lot in terms of football. So the relationship he has with the other guys has been really good and he is a very determined young man, and he is going to give us everything he has.”
Ending on a high note – The offense did not appear to have a great day Tuesday, but Baker Mayfield ended the day with a bang. Mayfield found receiver Rashard Higgins for a touchdown on the final play of the day during a two-minute drill.
Opting in – In July, Odell Beckham Jr. sounded like a player preparing himself to opt out of the season, but Beckham reported for camp on time and hasn’t missed a practice.
Beckham didn’t want to talk about his feelings about playing during the pandemic Tuesday.
“To be honest it doesn't really matter,” Beckham said. “I'm here now. I am only focused on football and being where my feet are. That is just really where I am at.”
Nothing to see here – Jarvis Landry left the field early during Tuesday’s practice, but the five-time Pro bowl receiver is fine according to Stefanski.
“Jarvis is getting his work in,” Stefanski said. “When he goes off, he's still getting his work in with our group inside.”
The Browns have been careful managing Landry’s workload and reps during practice with him coming off hip surgery in February.
Defer on Earl – The loss of Delpit has raised the question if the Browns might have interest in former Ravens safety and problem child Earl Thomas. Stefanski couldn’t get his tap dance shoes on fast enough when asked Tuesday.
“I would leave that in Andrew's court,” Stefanski said referring to executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry.
“I would not speculate necessarily. I would just tell you with Andrew and his staff, we talk about a lot of players. It is a case-by-case basis on every position player that we discuss.”
Plan B – While Stefanski won’t say how many coaches, staff and players from the Browns were affected by the false positive tests over the weekend, it does appear they were the team affected most by them.
Woods ran Sunday’s practice in place of Stefanski, who was among those to receive a false positive result along with over a dozen players.
We learned two more coaches also were also out Sunday when Woods was asked about running practice.
“I don't know what his succession plan was because (Bill) Callahan was out, (Mike) Priefer was out,” Woods said.
Back at it – Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi returned to practice after missing a week with a groin injury.
Puppy pound counter – 65 puppies have been adopted through the first 10 practices of training camp from the northeast Ohio SPCA brining the total since 2015 to 650 adoptions.
Injury report – LB Adrian Clayborn (groin), LB Tae Davis (illness), S Grant Delpit (Achilles), WR KhaDarel Hodge (personal), CB Kevin Johnson (liver), CB Terrance Mitchell (knee), TE David Njoku (wrist), WR Damion Ratley (groin), CB M.J. Stewart Jr. (hamstring), C JC Tretter (knee), CB Greedy Williams (shoulder) and LB Mack Wilson (knee) did not practice Tuesday.