CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Jadeveon Clowney is a hard guy to miss on a football field.
Same goes for his smile.
Through two days of minicamp two things about him are clear – No. 1 he looks as good as advertised as far as size and athleticism go, and second, he really loves the game and being around his teammates.
“The thing about me, I like to have fun no matter what team I go to or where I go,” Clowney said Wednesday. “I am an excited guy. I like to have fun. I know it is a job, but I try to say it is football first. I always enjoy playing football and being out there with my teammates. It is not really a job. You all have to know, we have the best job in the world. Why not put a smile on your face when you are out there running around, and they pay you for this.”
Throughout the first two practices of minicamp, Clowney has been smiling, laughing and chatting up his new teammates between reps.
It didn’t take head coach Kevin Stefanski long to notice Clowney’s infectious personality during practice.
“That became obvious to me that he does enjoy people, being around people and joking around,” Stefanski said. “He loves this game. You watch how he plays and throws his body around, you know he loves this game. It does not surprise me seeing him around his teammates, and they have obviously welcomed him into this family. I think he is excited to be a part of it. That is the fun part of getting all of those guys on the field. They are on the field together, they are on the sideline together, they are in the stretch lines together and they are constantly talking and they are building these relationships.”
Clowney, who signed a one-year contract this spring, underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in early December, but you wouldn’t know it watching him run through drills this week.
“I was feeling good coming off that knee injury,” Clowney said. “I have been training extremely hard this offseason so I kind of already have a feel of where I was coming here. I would not have come if I was not healthy.”
The potential pain he and Myles Garrett should be able to inflict this fall is exciting to think about, except if you’re among the teams that are on the Browns schedule.
“It is funny, I have not run into too many guys like that in the National Football League yet,” Clowney said of his bookend up front. “Took me eight years to get here and find another one like that on defense, anyways.
It is great. I just know he is going to go out there and do his thing. Knowing the type of guy I am looking at, I know he is going to ball and is going to do his thing so I am excited about that.”
Stretching out – Odell Beckham Jr. participated in some team drills Wednesday after being held back from them Tuesday.
“He looks really great,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “After seeing him run and really just talking to him, as well, he feels comfortable. He is still getting used to some of these cuts and certain motions, but you are talking about seven months since the surgery so it is pretty impressive how quickly he has come back.”
Beckham looks like his usual self just seven months out from ACL surgery running, cutting and jumping to catch footballs and his incredible recovery and progress has allowed Stefanski to incorporate him more during this minicamp.
“It is all just part of the rehab and part of the process,” Stefanski said. “He is coming off of that surgery. As you know, he works really, really hard. I think he is progressing nicely and then we will see where he is once training camp rolls around.”
While Stefanski declined to say if Beckham will be full go for training camp, based on the first two days of this minicamp, it’s hard to believe he won’t be.
Pump up the volume – The Browns fired up crowd noise for certain portions of team work Wednesday to work on snap counts and cadences.
With NFL stadiums returning to full capacity this season, Stefanski is getting a jump on incorporating an element that wasn’t needed last year.
4-2-5 – Forget 4-3 or 3-4 base defenses, the NFL is becoming more and more a nickel base league and Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods is hip to the times.
During Wednesday’s practice Denzel Ward and No. 26 pick Greg Newsome II worked at corner while Troy Hill served as the nickel. John Johnson III and Ronnie Harrison handled duties at safety with the first team defense. Hill also worked outside on a few reps.
Woods also plans to use a ‘big nickel’ defensive alignment where he puts a third safety on the field with two corners.
Vax rules and rate – NFL Network published the contents of a memo the league sent to teams Wednesday outlining COVID-19 health and safety protocols for training camp.
Non-vaccinated players and staff will have to abide by much stricter protocols, similar to what was in place last year, while those that are vaccinated will essentially be able to resume normal daily activities.
Stefanski declined to say how many Browns players have been vaccinated to date, but he did confirm that more than 51 of the 90-man roster has gotten shots.
“We are not 100 percent so we are going to make sure we continue to educate our guys on how this can help themselves and their families,” Stefanski said. “We have talked about how it is a competitive advantage. We want to make sure that they have a ton of information as they make their choice, but I am not going to get into the specifics of who is vaccinated and who is unvaccinated.”
Also in the memo were media access and fan guidelines for camp.
While fans will be permitted at training camp, they will be prohibited from interacting with players according to the memo.
Injury report – WR JoJo Natson, WR Rashard Higgins and S Grant Delpit joined OL Chris Hubbard, DT Malik McDowell, LB Tony Fields II and WR Anthony Schwartz on the side and worked with trainers Wednesday.