BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns are officially on summer vacation.
“Really pleased with sending these guys into this break with a really, really good work week and it's an extension of what the guys that have been here have done since April,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “So I'm super appreciative of all the guys that really never missed the day, came in, got their work done and I think they all got better because of it. So pleased with that, and then we'll take a little break here.”
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from the final day of minicamp.
Eye on 95 – Myles Garrett stressed the importance of health for the Browns to achieve their goals this coming season Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning Garrett appeared to suffer a minor injury on the final practice of minicamp and the offseason program. Garrett spent the bulk of the final session watching on the sidelines after tweaking his left hamstring during a drill, but it does not appear to be serious. “He will be fine,” Stefanski said. Garrett did not have his leg wrapped and he spent the time using a resistance band on his upper body and chatting with teammates and team personnel, including Dee Haslam. The Browns will convene for training camp in six weeks, which is plenty of time for Garrett to rest and heal up.
Watching Watson – For the second time in three days Watson threw without limitations, including during 7-on-7. “He's right where he needs to be, and I'm pleased with how hard he's worked,” Stefanski said. Although it fell incomplete, Watson let a deep ball rip to Elijah Moore that traveled nearly 50 yards in the air, another positive sign. “I've been able to see him throw,” Stefanski said. “Now, that's the first time this week in seven-on-seven settings. But what we've been able to put him through as part of his rehab, I've seen him let it go, so to speak. So that was not surprising to see him do that.” It is unclear if Watson will be full go when training camp opens in late July but the quarterback revealed earlier this week he will invite teammates to join him for some workouts prior to training camp. “He's got a good plan,” Stefanski said. “Like all of our guys, we talked about it today, establishing a routine, making sure that they're staying healthy, that they're getting their work done, that they're still in their free time. If they want to do some summer reading, they can crack open that playbook if they want to, of course. But, yeah, he's got a good plan of attack and how he's going to get his body ready.”
Trash talk – Defenders, led by safety Juan Thornhill, were very vocal and letting their offensive teammates know who was winning the day with every incompletion, especially late in the practice during red zone 7-on-7 work that saw them deny Watson and the offense a touchdown. “It's outstanding. Yeah, we love it,” Stefanski said. “I saw the guys competing like crazy and listen, we whistle while we work. We want to have fun out here. So when it's coming from both sides, and to me it just elevates the level of competition. And when you do that, it's the old iron sharpens iron and that's what it is. When you go good versus good, you're trying to make each other better. And if you got to talk a little trash along the way, that's fine too.”
1-2-3 Cancun! – The Browns finished off minicamp and the offseason program with a series of up-down sprints. Stefanski gathered the team for a few minutes before players headed for the locker room to clean up and catch flights out of town for the summer.
Going, going gone – The lone remaining house on the corner of Lou Groza Blvd. and Pearl St. is coming down. Crews have abated any hazardous building materials and demolition began Thursday. In all, the Browns through subsidiary companies, acquired and cleared out 16 acres of land next to their training and administration complex, to be home to a $200-plus million mixed use development to be built with mostly private funds. A University Hospitals sports medicine center, dorms for Baldwin Wallace University, a hotel, Haslam Sports Group headquarters, rec center and community field for Berea as well as a parking deck could be on the way starting this fall or early next year. The city of Berea applied for $15 million in state funding for the rec center and field.
Roll Call – Aside from Cooper’s continued absence, all players were accounted for Thursday. Jerry Jeudy, James Proche II, Nyheim Hines, Nick Chubb, Cameron Mitchell, D’Anthony Bell, Jedrick Wills Jr., Joel Bitonio and Jack Conklin continued work on the side. Bitonio took a few limited install reps, but without a helmet, early in practice.
