Browns GM Andrew Berry said he's lost sleep over how the organization's vetting process failed in the drafting of running back Quinshon Judkins. (Nick Carlucci/ESPN Cleveland)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
As the facts of the Quinshon Judkins’ domestic battery case filter out, the second-round running back’s future with the Browns is “to be determined,” GM Andrew Berry said.
It was an ominous choice of words.
Berry said the organization is still gathering facts on the incident on July 7 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, that resulted in charges of domestic violence and battery. The charges were made on July 12.
In his first public statements about Judkins, Berry said he’s lost “a ton of sleep on it” because of the nature of the allegations but also because of all the time and energy the Browns spent vetting Judkins’ background before they made the former Mississippi and Ohio State running back the 36th overall pick in the April draft.
Judkins was slated to be the heir to Nick Chubb as the tough feature back, as coach Kevin Stefanski renews a commitment to reinvigorate the team’s running game.
Judkins is unsigned and, thus, unable to practice. He most likely faces a future NFL suspension. When asked if cutting ties with Judkins is on the table, Berry said, “We’ll deal with the day-to-day. You end up using a lot of mental energy in terms of hypotheticals and things of that nature. We’ll focus on getting the information and then making the right decisions.”
A few hours later, an incident report released by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department stated the alleged victim said there had been prior incidents of domestic violence from Judkins but not to the extent of what happened on July 7.
According to the original incident report, Judkins allegedly punched the victim in the chin and lip area with a closed fist while driving from the Fort Lauderdale airport and later struck her in the left arm and thigh.
Judkins is the third Browns player to face charges of domestic violence in the last year. The others were defensive tackle Michael Hall and linebacker Devin Bush.
Berry defended the team’s diligence in vetting potential draft picks on character issues.
“[We do] pretty extensive legal checks, pretty extensive background checks, whether that’s with the compliance office on campus. We actually employ a third-party company that does all of our security and background,” he said.
Berry wouldn’t answer directly when asked if he was satisfied with the vetting of Judkins.
“Like any process, you always look to refine it, you always look to improve it,” he said.
As for Shedeur’s excessive speeding violations
Earlier this month, rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders was ticketed for driving 91 mph in a 65 mph zone and then for driving 101 mph in a 60 mph zone a few days later.
“Not smart, just not smart,” Berry said. “It’s something that we’ve addressed with him. He understands the implications. He understands the consequences.
“I think the thing is – it’s not just about yourself. It’s not just about having a joyride. It’s not just about driving a car really fast. It’s about the fact that you can endanger other people. It’s about the fact that if a deer or someone cuts out in front of you, your reaction time, it’s just dangerous. It’s not something that we want our guys to be doing. It’s not something that they should be doing.”
On to football
Unfortunately, when the Browns turned the page to football, the results weren’t positive, either.
In steam bath-like conditions, with temperatures hovering 94 degrees and a heat index of 101 at the start of practice, the Browns’ offense melted faster than an ice cube in the desert.
Coach Kevin Stefanski tried to mitigate the oppressive conditions with extra and longer water breaks and cooling fans on the sidelines. But the 75 minutes on the field were an exercise in mistake after mistake by the offense.
At the end of the practice, quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders failed to score a touchdown in 13 reps in an 11-and-11 red zone period.
Through no fault of his own, Sanders wasn’t even able to attempt a pass in four reps. Working with the last vestiges of the offensive roster, Sanders’ reps went this way: 1. a bad snap from center Brady Latham resulted in an aborted play; 2. a false start whistled off the play and Sanders sauntered out of bounds on a keeper, 3. Sanders was ambushed as badly as he ever was at Colorado and suffered a virtual sack, and 4. a high snap caused a mis-timed handoff to a back.
And that was that.
For the record, overall …
Joe Flacco took first reps on the first team period and proceeded to go 4 for 10 on the day.
Kenny Pickett was a deceiving 9 for 11. He fumbled a snap from center, was virtually sacked and tossed the first interception of camp, made by safety Grant Delpit stepping in front of tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
For the second day in a row, Dillon Gabriel looked the best, going 6 for 8. Gabriel continued to squeeze completions through tight passing lanes and also displayed some nice play-action.
Sanders was the odd man out in the initial 11-on-11 period, but was 4 for 4 in the two-spot period (veteran QBs on one field, rookies on the other).
At the end of the desultory proceedings, Sanders and Gabriel were the quarterbacks in a 7-minute “opportunity period,” which gave players deep on the 90-man roster extra reps.
Brownie bits
Berry affirmed the possibility exists for the Browns to keep all four quarterbacks through the 53 roster cut. “I think with the roster flexibility nowadays, especially with the elevations that you’re able to have on the practice squad, there’s just more flexibility in terms of how to build your 48-man game-day roster where it’s maybe not as quite as restrictive in the past,” Berry said. “So, if there are four that are 53-man worthy, we think it makes the most sense for us to keep them.” …
I asked Berry if he would personally attend the Texas-Ohio State game in Columbus on August 30. It is the highly-anticipated 2025 debut of Texas QB Arch Manning, considered potentially the best of a rich QB draft in 2026: “I can’t tell you all my secrets,” Berry replied with a laugh …
Tight end David Njoku was back after being excused for Day 1 to tend to his late father's wake. Linebacker Jordan Hicks remained excused for personal reasons. Running back Jerome Ford was out a second day with an undisclosed minor injury. “He’ll be OK,” Stefanski said. Also, receiver Michael Woods missed with a hand injury ...
Fourth-round rookie running back Dylan Sampson will benefit from extra reps because of Judkins’ and Ford’s absence. Stefanski said: “I’ve been really impressed with just … he picks things up very quickly. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He fits in well. He works really hard, got a great personality. He’s going to push himself out here, which I see him doing. And then … we have to find out what he’s capable of. We have to see what he can do in this offense and then if he earns that role, can we expand that role?” …
Friday is the first practice open to fans who’ve applied for free tickets. Capacity at this Browns training camp is severely restricted due to pending construction on District 46, the mixed-use developmental project adjacent to Browns headquarters.