Second-year receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones' acrobatic catch over two defenders was the play of Day 1 of Browns training camp. (Cleveland Browns)
Browns’ vaccine rate trending up as training camp kicks off on positive note
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Day 1 of Browns training camp …
The last vestiges of the Covid-19 pandemic were evident, but for the most part, the first day of Browns training camp looked closer to normal.
Media were allowed to creep a little closer to the practice fields than a year ago, and interviews were conducted in person rather than on Zoom. In fact, it was coach Kevin Stefanski’s first in-person press conference since the 2020 NFL Combine.
Covid protocols are still in effect, however, and unvaccinated players are forced to work with the restrictions everyone faced last year. Jarvis Landry wore a face covering under his chin in his media interview and Odell Beckham Jr. entered the field with a mask. Rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah remained out after being placed on the Covid-reserve list. If unvaccinated, JOK can’t rejoin his teammates for 10 days.
Stefanski declined to divulge what percentage of his team has been vaccinated.
“I’m not going to get into specifics, but we’re trending in the right direction,” he said. “[We] just continue to educate everybody that we have a safe and effective vaccine. Want to keep our players safe, their families safe, the staff, etc.”
Stefanski has deftly straddled the line between encouraging players to get the vaccine without pressuring them to do so.
“The guys know how I feel,” he said. “I respect everybody’s decision. It is a decision they get to make. We’re just going to continue to do our part to educate for guys that maybe want some more information.”
One player not shy about talking about the vaccine is Myles Garrett, whose bout with Covid last year was worsened by an asthma condition.
“I got sick and I don’t want to get sick again,” Garrett said.
“I went through it and I’m hoping nobody on our team or anyone does it again. I’m really hoping for everyone to follow the protocols, do the best they can to keep themselves healthy, their families healthy.
“As far as the vaccine, that’s your choice. You have those liberties, those freedoms. Just do the best you can for your family. Whatever feels right for you and for the people around you, go ahead and do that. I know we all want to win, but they’re not going to force anything upon you that you don’t want because it’s your body.”
A healthy start
Usually, training camp opens with a few rehabbing players pedaling on stationary bikes off to the side of the fields. Not this year.
Only three players were non-participants – Owusu-Koramoah (Covid reserve), rookie linebacker Tony Fields (foot injury) and running back D’Ernest Johnson (excused, personal).
All the players who weren’t able to finish the season last year were active, including receiver Odell Beckham Jr., safety Grant Delpit, cornerback Greedy Williams and offensive tackle Chris Hubbard, along with new defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney and Takk McKinley. Rookie receiver Anthony Schwartz, who missed minicamp with a leg injury, was full-go while wearing an elastic wrap on his left leg.
Williams walked off the field with a trainer with about 20 minutes to go. The Browns later termed it “heat-related,” and indicated Williams will be OK.
As for JOK, Stefanski would not confirm he’ll be out 10 days – which would be the case if he’s unvaccinated – and said the Browns are keeping him up to speed with daily Zoom meetings to go over what he missed.
“Not ideal, obviously,” Stefanski said. “That’s the nature of this [Covid] thing and we’ll just bring him along as quickly as we can.”
Forget last year
How does Stefanski deal with the external hype about his contending team after a breakout year in 2020?
“It’s the same [message] since the first day he got here – work!” said Landry. “That is the same thing he has been telling us in every team meeting, all around the building and every sign that we see, that is one of the words that is on there.”
Stefanski said, “Every year starts on its own merit. I think the guys understand they got a ton of work to do. We’re starting on that path.”
“On paper we look great, but it’s on paper,” Garrett said. “We got to go out there and put the work in. We gotta grind. We gotta make sure that chemistry’s there for when we about to [play games]. It all looks good, but we got to work out here day by day.”
Stefanski would not deny that he talked about getting to the Super Bowl in his first full team meeting of camp on Tuesday night.
“We talk about a lot of things. I promise you all 32 clubs talk about the Super Bowl,” he said. “It’s really easy to talk about it. It’s hard to do. So we’re just going to focus on the work.”
Garrett was one of the players who experienced the crash-and-burn of unmet expectations in the 2019 season.
“We got expectations like everybody else,” he said. “Everybody goes into the season wanting to win in every game they play. That’s everybody’s expectations. What you do day by day from training camp to the last day of the regular season is what defines you. We’re just going to work every day as if it’s our last and let the chips fall where they may.”
Brownie bits
Donovan Peoples-Jones made the play of the day, soaring above and between defensive backs M.J. Stewart and Richard LeCount to make an acrobatic catch and holding on after his fall to the ground. It was a nice start for the second-year receiver who is locked in a competition with Rashard Higgins and KhaDarel Hodge to be the first receiver in when Stefanski puts three on the field …
Williams and rookie Greg Newsome alternated throughout the practice as the starting cornerback opposite Denzel Ward. Williams was beat on a go route by rookie Anthony Schwartz, but he also had a nice deflection of a pass for Higgins …
It was good to see Chris Hubbard back on the field after tearing multiple ligaments in his right knee in the Giants game in December and also suffering a dislocated kneecap. Hubbard was the right tackle on the second unit. Rookie James Hudson was the left tackle. Those two are competing for the spot as the line’s sixth man. A tip-off of Hudson’s chances will be if he also gets reps at guard throughout camp …
Friday is the first day fans can attend, and Stefanski is excited about their arrival. Fans were not allowed at Stefanski’s first camp because of Covid protocols. “It will be louder with the fans out here. I have heard all about it so I am excited to experience it,” he said. Stefanski said Tuesday will be the first practice in pads …
Callie Brownson, Stefanski’s chief of staff, was back at work. She was suspended by the team in June after being charged with operating a vehicle under the influence in Brunswick …
Newsome said the best advice he’s gotten in his first training camp came from veteran nickelback Troy Hill. “He is a guy that I am looking forward to [playing with] that I am talking to all the time. He just tells me to have fun, watch a lot of film and study because at the end of the day when you are comfortable out there, that is when you are going to be able to play your loosest and that is when you are going to be able to play your fastest,” Newsome said. Hill’s a good mentor because Newsome might be cross-trained to play inside in his rookie camp. As things stand, Hill and Stewart are the top two inside corners. Ward and Williams have no experience moving inside.
