On Sunday, Za'Darius Smith talked of his love for practicing every day. On Monday, Smith had to leave practice with a knee contusion. He may be out a few days. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Browns training camp Day 9 …
The Browns don’t hit hard in their practices and never have tackled to the ground under coach Kevin Stefanski. They have a state-of-the-art sports science department and utilize analytics to identify best practices in preventative maintenance of their players.
And their injury list is a mile long a week before playing their first preseason game.
The latest to join those ranks are defensive end Za’Darius Smith and defensive tackle Sam Kamara.
Smith left practice with about 30 minutes to go when he suffered a knee injury. He sat in the passenger seat of the injury cart and was driven into the fieldhouse.
The Browns later described the injury as a knee contusion and said he would be re-evaluated Tuesday morning.
Prior to Smith, defesnsive lineman Sam Kamara, who has been impressing coordinator Jim Schwartz after a move inside to tackle, walked off the field with a trainer with an undisclosed injury.
Other players currently not practicing, but not on an official injury list, are:
Defensive tackle Shelby Harris, linebacker Jordan Hicks, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and linebacker Tony Fields.
Then there are the players on injury lists and not cleared to practice. These players brought injuries to camp without participating in a single practice. They are:
Running back Nick Chubb, running back Nyheim Hines, cornerback Greg Newsome, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, safety D’Anthony Bell, offensive tackle Jedrick Wills, and offensive tackle Jack Conklin.
That comes to 13 players injured before playing a single preseason game.
Dorsey OK, kind of, with not calling plays
When I asked offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey if he was disappointed with not having play-calling duties on game days, he didn’t say no.
“I think at the end of the day, this was a great opportunity to come to a great organization, work with Kevin [Stefanski], which I’ve absolutely loved,” Dorsey said. “And this is something that, again, I think with that open communication and knowing from the start what he’s thinking and everything, that’s what you appreciate as an employee in an organization. And I thought at the end of the day, he decided to make that decision. I’m 100 percent behind him and we’re ready to roll.”
He went on, “It’s a new role for me, to be perfectly honest, to be the coordinator with the head coach calling it. I’ve always worked for defensive guys.
“So, there will be that feeling out process kind of as we go, which is great to have these preseason games to get that feel and get that rhythm, but it allows me to definitely be as involved as humanly as possible with the game planning and putting the plan together for us. And then at the same time, also really be able to focus on our quarterback room and being prepared for meetings and being prepared for when they step out on the field in practice and on gameday.”
Actually, Dorsey held the title of offensive coordinator previously only 1 ½ seasons with the Buffalo Bills and called offensive plays for defensive-minded coach Sean McDermott. Dorsey was fired by McDermott after a 5-5 start in 2023 and with quarterback Josh Allen leading the NFL in interceptions.
With Buffalo, Dorsey called plays from the coach’s booth adjacent to the press box. He said he’ll start his Browns’ career on the sideline during games but may experiment upstairs during preseason, too.
On the first day of training camp at The Greenbrier Resort, Stefanski announced he would be the offensive play-caller, as he did four years with Alex Van Pelt as his offensive coordinator.
What exactly will Dorsey do, then, on game days? It’s a question often asked of Van Pelt.
“He’ll have a huge influence, particularly on game day with me and the offense in terms of what we’re calling, how we’re calling it, when we’re calling it, and then the ability to sit and talk to the quarterbacks face-to-face if he’s down,” Stefanski said. “But have great face time with those guys and then interact with all the coaches throughout the times that our defense is up. I think he can do a really nice job there as well.”
Kickers kick, and Browns believe others should not
The Browns have decided they want Dustin Hopkins to continue to handle kickoffs and will not train a defensive player to double as a kickoff specialist and extra defender on kickoffs.
The new kickoff format can potentially expose the kicker to more tackling opportunities. But special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone places a priority on his kicker positioning the kickoff to specific areas based on opponent, weather, and other variables.
“Kickers kick and position players play their position,” Ventrone said. “There’s a lot more stress and strain on your body that kicking presents than a non-kicking player kicking.
“Like, last year, we end up playing when Dustin gets nicked up, Corey (Bojorquez) comes in. He doesn’t normally kick off and, you know, his quad tightened up. So, if you don’t kick all the time, it’s a foreign movement to your body that you’re not used to. It’ll be like going out saying like – say you have to bench press. If you haven’t bench pressed in five years, and you got to bench press, you’re gonna be sore.”
I countered that if the Browns would devote time to training a capable defensive player to do it, his injury risk would be reduced.
“Yeah, [but] at the end of the day, they’re not professional kickers,” he said. “That’d be my biggest arguing point. I wouldn’t want to risk, you know, like, [safety] D’Anthony Bell kicking off because I need him to play. That’s my personal opinion, and, yeah, I’ll probably just stop talking.”
By the way, the Kansas City Chiefs have talked of using safety Justin Reid as a kickoff specialist to gain the edge of an extra defender on kickoffs. Reid actually has filled in for kicker Harrison Butker in the past.
Reid, however, has been on the Chiefs’ non-football injury list since camp started with a quadriceps injury. He has yet to practice this summer.
Brownie bits
The Browns had their worst practice of camp. Dog days, and all. The offense was pathetic much of the practice, especially so in a four-play red zone team period in which Deshaun Watson had to keep the ball on one play, suffered a “touch” sack by Quinton Jefferson on another, and had a pass for David Njoku in the end zone broken up by safety Juan Thornhill …
There were only five able-bodied linebackers available for Monday’s practice. One of them, Devin Bush, intercepted a Watson pass …
One period of practice may have tipped off Stefanski’s quarterback plans for the Green Bay preseason lid-lifter. Called “Six Plays,” in which neither the offense nor defense could substitute, it appeared to be a script of plays intended for the Packers’ game. Jameis Winston conducted the first set, Tyler Huntley the second and Dorian Thompson-Robinson the third. Watson did not participate …
Stefanski scheduled Tuesday’s practice at 4:25 p.m. to acclimate his players for a 4:25 kickoff for the preseason opener Saturday against the Packers. The Browns’ season-opener against the Cowboys also is a 4:25 p.m. kickoff.