Get ready to see a lot of rookie all-purpose back and receiver Demetric Felton in the preseason. (TheLandOnDemand)
Keep your Browns rosters handy to see who’s playing in preseason Game 1
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Day 13 of Browns training camp …
All the Browns’ Ivy League-educated coaches, administrators and analytics gurus did not have a chance to showcase their smarts in how they manage play time in preseason last year because the pandemic canceled all exhibition games.
So now we’ll see what they’ve come up with.
And it boils down to this: They will take a conservative approach -- no different from most teams.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said the Browns will open the preseason in Jacksonville Saturday night with “a majority of starters” not playing.
He would not itemize who’s in and who’s out, but expect quarterback Baker Mayfield, previously identified as a DNP by Stefanski, to be joined on the sideline by all the big names of the star-studded roster.
“I look at it as a great opportunity for young -- and old players -- to go out there and compete against a different color jersey,” Stefanski said. “It is always fun to see the guys out there, making plays and seeing their teammates get excited about it. Looking forward to the experience of that first preseason game and seeing the guys out there. It is all part of a teaching progression and a learning progression. We will learn from the good and the bad that occurs. Also, it is all part of the evaluation process.”
Stefanski said veteran Case Keenum would start at quarterback and No. 3 Kyle Lauletta will finish. The coach wouldn’t say how much Keenum would play, but he hinted it would be more than a quick look-see.
“He did not play a ton – I know he has played a ton in his career – last year,” Stefanski said. “I think it is important for him to get back out there and perform under the lights, so to speak.”
More than likely, Keenum will operate behind the No. 2 offensive line and receivers and backs.
Stefanski said healthy rookies and second-year players will play.
“A lot of those guys who did not have a preseason [last year]. To get them some game reps is just as exciting,” he said.
Among players in that category expected to play are: receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, tight end Harrison Bryant, receiver/running back Demetric Felton; offensive linemen James Hudson, Greg Senat, Nick Harris, and Michael Dunn; cornerbacks Greg Newsome and Greedy Williams; linebackers Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Mack Wilson and Jacob Phillips; and defensive linemen Jordan Elliott, Curtis Weaver, Cameron Malveaux, Joe Jackson, Tommy Togiai and Marvin Wilson.
Stefanski wouldn’t divulge his play-time plans for the other two preseason games home against the Giants and in Atlanta against the Falcons.
“We are just trying to do what we think is right for each one of our individualized players,” he said. “The important part for us is ‘What does that player need to get ready for the season?’ The answer to that varies by player.”
He’s everywhere
Felton has been an all-purpose offensive player in his first training camp, getting reps at receiver, running back and kick returner. He has been spending more time at receiver recently because of a bigger shortage there and figures to make his NFL preseason debut at that position.
Felton, 5-8 ½ and 189 pounds, also was used at all three positions in high school and at UCLA.
“I really don’t have a preference,” said the sixth-round pick. “My only preference is putting the ball in my hands and letting me make plays. I feel I can be very successful at either position and I feel real comfortable at either one.
Felton cited Darren Sproles and Christian McCaffery as his football idols.
“Those were guys I always watched growing up, people I just idolized,” he said. “They did a little of everything. I feel that’s what a true football player is -- somebody who can move around and do whatever his team needs him to do.”
Hammy time
The hamstring epidemic reached seven players with defensive back M.J. Stewart being the latest to miss work because of the soft tissue injury.
Stewart has been the top nickel back behind Troy Hill but lately has also filled in at safety. With regular safeties Ronnie Harrison (hamstring), Grant Delpit (hamstring), and Sheldrick Redwine (ankle) also out, the Browns will be down to three safeties in Jacksonville – Jovante Moffatt, rookie Richard LeCounte and Elijah Benton. That is, unless John Johnson is tapped as one of the few mainstay starters to play in Jacksonville.
Others who are out with hamstring injuries: Defensive end Myles Garrett, receiver Anthony Schwartz, receiver Alexander Hollins and linebacker Montrel Meander.
Center JC Tretter, the NFLPA president, has been outspoken about reducing soft-tissue injuries by having a longer acclimation period before padded practices. He said soft-tissue injuries were down last year because of reduced work in camp and the elimination of preseason games.
Stefanski’s take on the rash of hamstring injuries: ““Soft-tissue injuries are prevalent across the league in the first weeks of training camp. That is what the data suggests. Obviously, we do not want anybody to get injured, and we try to prevent as many as we can. There is something about playing football, though, where you react and you burst, which is different than training.
“You can train quite a bit and be in great shape, but then all of the sudden, the ball is in the air and you have to burst for it. That is oftentimes what happens with soft-tissue injuries. It is something that we spend a lot of time on trying to prevent.
“I would love to tell you that we could prevent all of them. I do not think that is realistic. It is the normal course of training camp, and you have to practice football in order to get ready to play football. I do not think that we are different than most that we are dealing with some of it right now, but I am hopeful over the course of the next few days that guys start to come off of that group.”
Brownie bits
The kicking duel will extend into Jacksonville in a virtual dead heat. Cody Parkey went 4-for-5 with a miss wide right from 45 yards. Challenger Chase McLaughlin was 4-for-5 with a miss wide right from 36. Stefanski said kickers will alternate every kick against the Jaguars, rather than alternating by game …
Stefanski moved up practice to 1:30 p.m. to beat forecasts of possible inclement weather. Fans not only showed up on time but braved perhaps the steamiest day of camp, with the heat index peaking at 103. For the team, it was a suitable precursor for conditions expected in Jacksonville. After the practice – without full pads – Stefanski talked to his team and players waved and thanked the fans for coming …
All players will travel to Jacksonville, Stefanski said, and those idle for the game will do work “to make sure they just do not lose three days, so to speak.”
