WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV (92.3 The Fan) – Sunday saw a triple dose of headline makers after practice with quarterback Deshaun Watson, running back Nick Chubb and executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry speaking with reporters.
The practice itself was largely uneventful as the offense and defense worked on separate fields and on air.
Here are the top Brownie Bites from Sunday afternoon in the mountains.
Taking charge – Entering his second season with the Browns, quarterback Deshaun Watson has had a clear mind, a desire to win and is ready to take charge of his team. “I'm in a different space,” Watson said. “Feel really well, feel really good, comfortable being around the guys, the locker room, the coaching staff, the organization and just the city of Cleveland. So have an opportunity to go into the season, full offseason, locked in, focused.” Due to allegations of sexual misconduct by over two dozen women while a member of the Houston Texans, Watson settled 23 lawsuits with two more still outstanding, served an 11-game suspension, paid a $5 million fine and attended mandatory counseling. “The whole situation changed me,” Watson said. “It was a situation where I had to lock on myself, channel and really know who I'm surrounding myself with and just really who's going to be there and support me even when I'm at my lowest point. The last few years are definitely the lowest point in my life, but that's part of life and I just go from it, I learn from it, I continue to move forward and push forward and continue to show my real character, my real personality and who I am.” Watson admitted the tumultuous 2022 offseason prevented him from taking the reigns. “It was hard for the team to really attach to me and fully because they had to get ready for another quarterback in Jacoby [Brissett],” Watson said. Head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt have tweaked the playbook for Watson this year to incorporate concepts he has a history of exploiting on the field, much to his delight. “Being able to open the whole playbook and open the whole offense is definitely going to be special,” Watson said. Berry, who gave the Texans six draft picks – including three first rounders – plus a fully guaranteed $230 million contract to the quarterback, believes Watson is ready to return to form. “He’s in a really good place and I think this is going to be a big year for him professionally, personally,” Berry said.
Close the book – Berry was asked multiple questions about the release of 2022 fourth round pick Perrion Winfrey last week following allegations he threatened a woman and showed he had possession of a gun to her. Cleveland Police are investigating the alleged incident, which ultimately was the final straw for Berry, who hasn’t replaced him on the roster - yet. “Obviously it’s unfortunate we’re moving on from Perrion after a year, but he like a number of players on our roster were really competing for a role, competing for a roster spot,” Berry said. During his rookie season Winfrey established a pattern of unprofessionalism ranging from missing or being late to meetings and even lied about a car accident. Winfrey had a misdemeanor assault charge dropped in Texas after completing a diversion program but the allegations made against him in the police report were disturbing. “I would say it’s probably less to do with draft pick or non-draft pick, but the fact that you ultimately want any player that you bring into the organization to maximize their ability, maximize their time with the team,” Berry said. “Honestly, we take every situation individually and work from it from there. We thought the proper time to move on was I guess last week right before camp and I’ll leave it at that.”
Storytime – Watson was one of a few players called upon Saturday night to tell their teammates their four “H’s” - history, heroes, heartbreaks and hopes. It’s a tradition Stefanski started when he took over in 2020. “I’m just happy about just life in general,” Watson said. “I have a great support cast around me, have a great family, have a great home and an organization that’s backing me up. So with that foundation, I feel like I can get back to where I was and be even better as a person, as a player.”
High hopes – After another offseason of roster tweaking, expectations are high for Berry’s Browns, and he knows it. Still, he tried to play it straight when asked about them Sunday. “Our expectations are, they’re always going to be high and we want to be playing our best football in the later part of the season,” Berry said. “But more importantly, our focus is really on the work. We have a lot of work to do over the course of training camp to get ready for the season and that’s really our focus.” Coming off a 7-10 season that followed an 8-9 campaign after going 11-5 and coming up short in the divisional round in 2020, the sense of urgency to net big returns on the field are palatable. “We’re not really focused on the rearview mirror,” Berry said. “We’re not looking there. We’re forward focused. We like the group of players and coaches that we have here and we're looking forward to maximizing each day.”
Cooper day-to-day – Receiver Amari Cooper suffered a “minor tweak” very early in practice and went inside according to Berry, who did not give specifics regarding the injury other than to say it was unrelated to the core muscle surgery the receiver underwent in the offseason. “We’re not overly concerned,” Berry said.
Pumped up – Linebackers Sione Takitaki and Anthony Walker took part in drills Sunday. The Browns plan to ease both players back slowly so their practice availability will vary during camp. Takitaki flexed his arms when he spotted cameras pointed in his direction.
Browns linebacker Sione Takitaki flexes for the camera's Sunday morning during practice at The Greenbrier.Daryl Ruiter-92.3 The Fan
Quote of the day – “I always tell Nick, whenever that comes out, I shoot him a text. I'm like, ‘Nick, this is always my favorite social media clip of the offseason and the most anxiety producing one as well.’ So he’s a freak of nature.” – Berry on Nick Chubb’s annual video of him lifting.
Roll call – OT Dawand Jones missed Sunday’s practice due to an illness the team said. WR Anthony Schwartz (hamstring), WR Marquise Goodwin (blood clots) and G Colby Gossett (foot) worked on the side.
