Grant Delpit has more missed practices (11) this training camp than snaps on the field (nine). (TheLandOnDemand)
Grant Delpit’s availability for the start of the season is becoming in doubt
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Day 12 of Browns training camp …
Time is running out for safety Grant Delpit to make an early contribution in September.
Defensive backs coach Jeff Howard didn’t put it that bluntly, but you could detect a frustration in Howard when questioned about Delpit’s inability to get on the practice field.
The 2020 second-round draft pick has missed 11 consecutive practices with a hamstring injury. And although safety Ronnie Harrison missed nine in a row, also with a hamstring, Delpit’s lost time hurts him more because he missed his entire rookie season after rupturing an Achilles tendon on the third day of the 2020 training camp.
“He hasn’t really had a whole lot of snaps for us. He was around in minicamp, but unfortunately, I think he’s had nine team reps at this point. So it’s been very few and far between for Grant,” Howard said.
Asked about Delpit’s spirits, Howard said, “That’s somewhat of a challenge because it’s frustrating. Competitors want to compete. I think he’s done a good job of staying in the present, trying to make the most of it. Team reps, preseason games … those reps are important for him and we’re hoping to get him back as soon as possible.”
Delpit and Harrison were to be joined by free agent pickup John Johnson in coordinator Joe Woods’ big “dime” look – two linebackers, three safeties and two cornerbacks. It’s the configuration that figures to be the Browns’ best chance to chase down mobile quarterbacks on their schedule, such as Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray.
The most dangerous one of all, Patrick Mahomes, awaits the Browns in their season opener in Kansas City. So being unable to practice the three safety-look has to be extremely frustrating to Woods and Howard.
“Utimately we want to have guys on the field and we want to practice,” Howard said. “I think Coach [Kevin] Stefanski has sent the clear message to the team that we value practice here. If you are unable to practice, we’re not going to ask you to be out on the field if you can’t. Since they’re not, we’re trying to make the most of those situations.
“They’re involved in every meeting and in walk-throughs we’ll trying to give them every rep possible, … so meetings, quizzes afterwards, spending time on that so that when their bodies are able they can come out and play. We also realize there’s a process to that.
“Practice is important.”
Does Delpit have time to get ready even for the first month of the season?
“We’re kind of focused on the day to day,” Howard said. “We’ll see where he is when he comes back. Ultimately, who we are as football players is what we put on tape.”
That’s life, er, business
Right guard Wyatt Teller has the right mindset when it comes to the prospect of free agency after the 2021 season.
With other higher-profile contract extensions on the docket of GM Andrew Berry (e.g. Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward), Teller knows this could be his last year in Cleveland, even though he loves it and isn’t anxious to leave behind a burgeoning AFC power.
“Obviously, your dream is to get drafted to a city and stay your entire career and be a household name,” Teller said. “That’s already over for me. I wasn’t drafted here, so I’ve already experienced the business aspect of the NFL. I know as much as you guys know. They work with my agent. He kind of leaves me out of it. Right now, the best I can do is focus on football.”
Teller knows that the only thing he can control is his own game. He was a breakout player last year.
“I still need to work on so much to improve even more and make that [next contract] payday even more realistic,” he said.
That big payday might have to come from another team. Even with Teller on his rookie contract, the Browns are No. 2 in the NFL in spending on the offensive line, per spotract.com.
“To have the same team over and over is so rare,” Teller said. “We have such a good team, all the money can’t go all around. It’s just impossible.”
The Van Ryan Express
Offensive line coach Bill Callahan used a baseball analogy to explain what it’s like for his starting tackles to go up against ends Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney every day in practice.
“They’re both different types of rushers, but they’re capable of hitting all the various moves,” Callahan said. “They both have speed, both have great change of direction, have very good hands, they can both go from speed to power in a heartbeat. I think that’s probably the most challenging for a pass protector, when they go against the high-caliber pass rushers, that ability to transition and make the right decision, fronting out or getting more squared up.
“These guys are like Nolan Ryan every day. Come at you with the fastball and then a changeup or a slider and you’ve got to be able to hit.”
Brownie bits
Stefanski said Baker Mayfield will not play in the first preseason game Saturday in Jacksonville. The coach said he’d disclose more play time plans on Thursday. I expect less than half the starters on offense or defense to play …
A morning rainstorm drenched the outdoor fields and forced the Browns to practice indoors. It magnified the need for a full, 100-yard indoor field. The present fieldhouse is about 60 yards, and one end zone has been taken up as a temporary weight room because Covid protocols required more space for that.
With 90 players trying to practice on about 45 yards of field, it’s quite a challenge. But Stefanski predicted the players would be amped up, and he was right. It was a pretty intense day of working on red zone and goal-line situations in full pads. Tight end Austin Hooper continued to be targeted a lot and he was excellent in the end zone with several catches of quick, hard throws from Mayfield ...
Tight end David Njoku returned to practice. The “out” list was 10 players long, including notables Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward. Six players are out with hamstring injuries, including Delpit and Harrison.
