BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns find themselves in good health entering Week 1.
Following a training camp full of rehabbing players or injuries, everyone was on the field Wednesday.
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from Wednesday.
Full strength – The entirety of the Browns active 53-man roster practiced on Wednesday, including left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. “Jed has worked very, very, very hard throughout this entire rehab,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He wants to be out there, you just have to make sure that you're taking every day and taking in the information and how he's feeling and those types of things. But he's working very hard and wants to be out there and we'll be out there today.” Stefanski added that there is a possibility Wills, who is coming off MCL surgery, plays Sunday against Dallas but Wills isn’t expecting to be on the field for the opening snap. “I'm not starting this week,” Wills said. “I'm just going out there for individual [drills]. Just seeing how it feels and get back into things.” Wills revealed he was expected to just rehab and surgery initially wasn’t the plan. Then the knee scope revealed additional damaged that got cleaned up. “It was pretty frustrating, but I mean, I'm doing all right mentally,” Will said. “It was pretty tough, but s*** gets tough and you got to push through it.” On the team’s unofficial depth chart Wills was listed as the starter at left tackle and Jack Conklin at right tackle. Conklin, who has recovered from surgery that repaired his ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus, returned to practice last Tuesday. “He's worked very, very hard and I know I've said that, but I've seen him in this building at all hours through every month here, getting his body back ready,” Stefanski said. “I think he looks good, but we'll worry about today and see how he gets at it today.” It still looks as if Conklin will start in place of Wills. “You know, it's different, but I did it in college,” Conklin said. “It's definitely just getting the mentality of mostly just verbiage. The thought of everything one way and it's just flipping it in your head. So again, maybe it's just a little second more thought when I hear the play just to make sure I'm thinking of it as out the left side compared to the right.”
Hands-on – Tight end David Njoku, coming off his first Pro Bowl season, appears poised for an even bigger year in 2024. Njoku has worked closely with senior coaching consultant Mike Vrabel and the impact that could have on opposing linebackers and safeties could be bad for them. “[I might be] a bit more physical,” Njoku said. “[Vrabel's] physicality is second to none. He's a very hands-on coach, so it was awesome working with him throughout summer and we just got to take it all to the season.” Njoku has appreciated the unique physicality Vrabel brings to coaching him. “He's not afraid, but he should be afraid sometimes, but he's not afraid,” Njoku said.
Birthday bash – Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith hopes to celebrate his 32nd birthday in style Sunday with a sack or two of Dak Prescott. “Dak man, great quarterback man, strong can move around in their pocket,” Smith said. “I played him a couple times, but out of my three or out of four times I’d have sacked him, so hopefully we can get some more this weekend for sure. Be a nice birthday gift.” The 4:25 national window is the perfect for the party too. “I'm already amped up man,” Smith said. “I'm getting the chills already just talking about it, but it's going to be big man. It's going to be the only game that's going to be on at the time, so the world is going to be watching, so you got to show up and show out for sure.”
Big test – Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott threw 36 touchdowns in 2023 and finished third with over 4,500 yards passing. “He's a special quarterback,” cornerback Denzel Ward said. “[He’s] able to stretch the ball down the field, accurate quarterback on the move, got targets that he is able to get the ball to and they helped make him make a play out there. So a talented quarterback and he's going to bring a challenge that I think we're up for.” Ward will be tasked with reading Prescott and trying to slow Prescott’s top target CeeDee Lamb. “He is a receiver that could play in the slot or play outside,” Ward said. “They move him around a lot. Great hands, good route runner and we know the ball's going to be going to him. Dak's going to get him the ball, so he gets targeted a lot out there. But yeah, he's a great receiver.”
Pros pro – Stefanski doesn’t expect receiver Amari Cooper to be affected by reports last month that he was included in a proposed trade to San Francisco for receiver Brandon Aiyuk. “We've talked about Amari over the years and over the months, I mean, he's about his business,” Stefanski said. Cooper, who saw his contract restructured to fully guarantee the $20 million for this season remaining on it plus bonus incentives added on, is coming off back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons to become the first Browns receiver in team history to accomplish the feat. Aiyuk just received a four-year extension worth up to $120 million from the 49ers.
Injury report – LIMITED: WR David Bell (quadriceps), OT Jack Conklin (knee), LB Jordan Hicks (calf), DT Maurice Hurst (hamstring), DT Quinton Jefferson (achilles), DT Dalvin Tomlinson (knee), LB Nathaniel Watson (quadriceps), LT Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee); FULL: WR Jerry Jeudy (knee), LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (hand), DE Alex Wright (elbow)