WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV, (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns took a short 40-minute flight from Cleveland to West Virginia Saturday morning to begin a nine-day stay at the outset of training camp.
“I’m very, very appreciative of all of our men and women here with the Cleveland Browns that did this for us,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said.
The entire football operation had to be relocated and Stefanski took time at the outset of his first press conference at camp to thank everyone from ownership down to the equipment staff for their hard work pulling the trip off.
The idea is that this trip away from the friendly confines of CrossCountry Mortgage Campus will allow – or force this talented roster to come together as a team.
“We’re landlocked here, we’re in the middle of nowhere by design,” Stefanski said. “So it forces you to be around your teammates.”
Good vibes for Marquise – It goes without saying everyone within the organization was shaken to learn that veteran receiver Marquise Goodwin had blood clots in his lungs and legs. The blood thinners he is on require him to be extremely careful and have put his football career on hold. Unfortunately, there’s no clear timetable, and the reality is blood clots have ended careers – Chris Bosh comes to mind. “It’s an unknown,” Stefanski said. “First of all, it’s very scary, so right away you worry about Marquise and just his health, period. So all of it remains to be seen from a health standpoint and when he’s ready to go and in the meantime we’re just supporting him and he’s listening to doctors.” Goodwin made the trip with the team and will take practice in from the sidelines. “Once I found out kind of what he’s going through, you just pray for him,” receiver Amari Cooper, who appreciates Goodwin staying with them, said. “It’s very inspirational. I mean, that’s the thing about most football players, we’re so used to adversity. We’re so used to ebbs and flows, ups and downs, that it creates this toughness about us to where we can deal with anything to where we can not know we’re dealing with something that’s really extreme, and we feel like we could just overcome it. I’m hoping for the best.” Unfortunately the business of football plays a role now too because the Browns are tasked with replacing Goodwin’s speed and explosiveness. How remains to be seen. “That’s why we practice, why we play these games,” Stefanski said. “We work through all those things, see how the guys come along, see how Marquise comes along over that time. I think those are all types of things that will work themselves out.”
Talent ain’t everything – The Browns have learned the last two seasons talent only takes you so far. That’s why cornerback Denzel Ward is not taking this road trip for granted. “We definitely got the guys and definitely got the talent,” Ward said. “But there’s a lot of talent around the league. We just got to all put it together. I mean that’s what we’re doing, bringing all the guys here to Greenbrier and just focusing on what we got to focus on, taking a day at a time and building upon it.” Ward likes the fire new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is bringing to his side of the football. “He’s just a fiery guy, a guy that’s going to tell you what it is,” Ward said. “That’s what we need around here.” It’s not just the edge either. Ward is excited Schwartz not only will let, but demand, he play man-to-man. “He’s got a great defensive playbook, like his coaching style,” Ward said. “He’s going to be hard on us, and that’s what we need. We need someone to tell what we’re doing good and what we’re doing bad or what we need to fix and focus on and he’s right there in our ear letting us know.”
Easing in – Saturday’s walk through lasted about an hour and Sunday’s first full practice will be a tad longer than that, but players will be in helmets, shirts and shorts as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement. Pads won’t go on until later in the week. The session saw the offense and defense split up on separate fields – there are two grass fields side by side and a third turf field down the hill for the specialists to work on. There was and is no conditioning test this year – the CBA limits them now – but at the end of the walk-through players ran sprints. Stefanski seemed pleased with the shape his players came to camp in. The Browns have not had to place anyone on the PUP list to start camp but for players coming back from severe injuries last season, they will be watched closely and their reps managed to ease them back into action.
Moving on – Stefanski didn’t have much to say following the release earlier this week of Perrion Winfrey other than to call the situation “disappointing” and say “I wish the kid well.”
New guy – With Goodwin’s situation combined with three other receivers working on the side, the Browns officially signed receiver Austin Watkins Jr. Saturday. Watkins, wearing No. 80, was on hand for the walk through.
Numbers game – Cornerback Greg Newsome II dropped the 2 in 20 and is now 0 and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah traded in 28 for 6.
Roll call – LB Anthony Walker Jr., WR Anthony Schwartz, WR Michael Woods, WR Marquise Goodwin, WR Jakeem Grant Sr., LB Sione Takitaki, and G Colby Gossett worked on the side with trainers during the latter portion of the walk through. LB Tony Fields II was not spotted on the field.
