Amari Cooper is back on the field and so are the Browns. But how long will they stay together. Cooper wants to stay, but his restructured deal expires after 2024. (TheLandOnDemand)
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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.
WHITE SUPHUR SPRINGS, WV
Takeaways from Browns training camp Day 1 …
The Browns could head into the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys without two starting defensive players.
Coach Kevin Stefanski disclosed that cornerback Greg Newsome needed surgery on a severe hamstring injury he suffered while working out a week ago, and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson will have arthroscopic surgery Friday on a knee.
Stefanski is hopeful both players will be back for Game 1, but that seems more realistic with Tomlinson than Newsome. Stefanski admitted Newsome’s availability won’t be known until much closer to the opener on September 8.
Tomlinson’s scope was recommended after having an MRI upon reporting to camp on Tuesday.
“The timing of this, obviously, no timing is good but, [we] felt like this is something we can get out of the way,” Stefanski said.
Newsome’s main role as the slot cornerback would be filled by second-year cornerback Cameron Mitchell, who actually didn’t practice on Thursday with a minor injury.
Tomlinson was slated to play more as a nose tackle in this second season of coordinator Jim Schwartz’s defense. His absence should give extra reps to second-year tackle Siaki Ika.
Stefanski’s bombshell
Before he could even be asked, Stefanski ended the mystery of who will call plays on offense by announcing it would be him.
It was a bit of a surprise because all signs were pointing to new coordinator Ken Dorsey as the play-caller.
“I know everybody’s interested and any decision I make for our football team, I take a lot of information in,” Stefanski said. “I try to listen to a lot of people and make decisions and ultimately what I feel really confident in is our offensive staff. I feel really strongly about coach Dorsey and the entire offensive staff. So, we’ll continue to be an operation that works together. It’s never been a one man show.”
Dorsey was hired to replace fired coordinator Alex Van Pelt because of his experience with dual-threat QBs Cam Newton and Josh Allen and the organization’s desire to tailor the offense to Deshaun Watson’s skill set. The day Dorsey was introduced, Stefanski said Dorsey would “lead the charge” to “putting this offense together again.” And just two weeks ago, Watson praised Dorsey for his willingness to “let me be me.”
Besides Dorsey, the Browns added five other new coaches on offense in a surprising overhaul of an offensive staff that produced 11 wins while having to play four different starting quarterbacks.
“I feel really, really strongly about our entire offensive staff,” Stefanski said. “Ken Dorsey is going to be a huge, huge help to me, not just on game day, throughout the week. He has a huge influence on what we do offensively already; the things that we’re implementing, things that he’s putting together, the way he works with our offensive staff. So those are things I don’t take lightly.”
The bigger surprise than the ultimate decision was Stefanski making the announcement on the first day of camp.
“Because I was tired of you asking the question,” Stefanski said with a chuckle.
Cooper wants to stay
Amari Cooper said holding out from training camp “was never in the cards,” but in order for his contract dispute to end he needed new guarantees written into the final year of his deal.
The Browns averted a Cooper holdout by guaranteeing about $19 million of his scheduled base salary of $20 million and writing in an additional $5 million in incentives.
“It wasn’t really about money,” Cooper said. “It was more so in the language of the contract. I signed a five-year deal with the Cowboys. Only two years were guaranteed. This is the last year of that deal but it isn’t guaranteed until the week of the first game. So I was really trying to mitigate the time at which I’d be out here practicing and risking injury. It was more so about the guarantees. Because you never want to get injured without any guarantees. And the language of the contract, I could get cut. So it was more so about that.”
The restructuring did not add new years, however, so this technically could be Cooper’s last year with the Browns. He said he would like stay, which means further negotiation would have to take place with the Browns.
“I’m really the type of guy who takes heed to old sayings: ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,’” he said. “I’m not really trying to go somewhere else. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I’d rather stay.”
Cooper played 3 ½ seasons with the Raiders, 3 ½ with the Cowboys, and is entering his third season with the Browns.
“I don’t really like change,” he said. “If change happens, you have to adjust and adapt. So I’m very adaptable, but I don’t like to change. So, yeah, I’d like to be here.”
Brownie bits
A new rule requires all players to wear the Guardian caps covering their helmets during training camp for better protection against concussions in practice. In the past, only certain position groups had to wear them. Count Cooper and cornerback Denzel Ward among those who found them uncomfortable. Players will have the option this year of wearing the caps in real games …
Deshaun Watson looked good throwing the ball on air (no defenders) in about 50 minutes of practice. Stefanski said Watson won’t be limited to throwing every other day, as he was in OTAs, but “we’ll just be smart about it.” It was the first time since Watson’s surgery that he and Cooper practiced together in a team setting. Cooper’s take on Watson’s throwing: “Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.” …
Stefanski declined to say whether it was important for Watson to appear in a preseason game before taking on the Cowboys in the season opener. “We’ll see,” he said. “I mean, it’s certainly something that I will talk to our staff about, talk to Deshaun about that. We’ll make that decision when appropriate. I thought about it, but I don’t have an answer right now.” …
Denzel Ward paused a moment to give his take on being named the No. 2 cornerback in a recent ESPN poll of NFL coaches, executives and scouts. “That’s a good question,” he said. “I feel that I’m a No. 1 corner. I try to be that for this team and I feel I’m a No. 1 cornerback in the NFL. There’s a lot of No. 1 cornerbacks out there. I definitely consider myself one of those.” …
Running back Jerome Ford did not make the trip with the team and was excused for personal reasons. Stefanski said he should be back soon …
Other than players on injury lists, those who didn’t practice much were Mitchell, receiver Jerry Jeudy, defensive end Myles Garrett, tight end David Njoku and safety D’Anthony Bell. Running back Nick Chubb worked on the side with the active players who didn’t practice.