The coach of the Browns will supervise a most unusual quarterback competition in his sixth season with the team. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
At the conclusion of Phase 2 of the Browns’ offseason program, coach Kevin Stefanski spent about 40 minutes on The Really Big Show on 850 ESPN Cleveland on Friday as he looked forward to OTAs and Phase 3 after Memorial Day weekend. Here are a few highlights of his appearance:
* On dividing reps among the four quarterbacks
Stefanski will add extra 7-on-7 and team periods, as he did at rookie minicamp, to give the quarterbacks needed reps. He said the veterans, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, will be paired together, and the rookies, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, will be paired together.
But the reps will not be divided equally – 25% to each.
“It’s not going to be that way,” he said. “The big thing for us is making sure we give the guys enough reps that they need, making sure they have enough for both learning the system and developing, and for us to evaluate them.”
It sounded as if, eventually, the rookies would give way in reps to the veterans, and the rookies could make up for that by using virtual reality technology and the Browns’ new virtual walk-through room on the floor above the new weight room.
Jayden Daniels’ rapid development in his rookie season with Washington has been partially attributed to his use of virtual reality, both with Washington and Florida State before that, to train his mind to process defenses faster. Browns coordinator Tommy Rees said that used VR in his stints at Notre Dame and Alabama.
“VR can be a big tool, especially for young players,” Stefanski said. “It’s really dependent on the player, how they like it. That’s something we’ll definitely be working with the next three weeks.
“We have these beautiful walk-through rooms with a huge, 25-yard screen and turf field, where you can then put the angle that is closest to the players and mimic the rep that way. And then there’s VR. So if you’re not getting the actual rep, I do believe there are ways to try to get that rep in a variety of ways.”
* On whether all four quarterbacks are competing for the starting job
That narrative seems to be losing steam.
“We’re not even there yet,” Stefanski said. “We’re worried about OTA 1, 2 and 3. If you’re on our roster, you’re competing for a role. We don’t have to set a depth chart till late August. I would hope every player on the team is competing for a role.”
* On the timeline for picking his starting quarterback
The Browns will practice one day with the Carolina Panthers prior to preseason Game 1 on August 8, and will practice two days with the Philadelphia Eagles prior to preseason Game 2 on August 15.
This is the first time Stefanski has scheduled joint practices with two teams and he admitted off the air that the first week is too early to go full-bore for two days. Historically under Stefanski, the two-day joint practice sessions are the most decisive practices of training camp and have resulted in depth chart changes.
“We’ll have a plan in training camp but that plan will be formed by the next month or so,” he said. “I think when we get into training camp we’ll have a better idea of what that will look like.”
* On Shedeur Sanders’ amazing popularity and how he’s fitting in
The fifth-round pick leads all NFL rookies in jersey sales and social media followers, but is not letting his fame get in the way of his early training.
“Shedeur’s a great kid,” Stefanski said. “He’s done a great job of interacting with fans. He’s in there early. He’s getting his work done. He is a great, great kid. He’s working like crazy. I like everything there is about Shedeur.”
* On whether Flacco has a built-in advantage because of his 2023 experience in Stefanski’s offense
“It’s hard for me to say what advantage anybody has,” Stefanski said. “Obviously Joe’s 40 years old, has played in this system, has played well, has seen a lot of football, won a super Bowl. I think Joe’s advantage is the fact he’s experienced. But I don’t want to say there’s any advantage for anybody.”
* On whether the offense will return to Stefanski’s bread-and-butter of running the ball to set up play-action passing with a lot of two-tight end sets
“Certainly there are things we believe in … things we’re going to do in the run game and pass game and how we operate … Things we’ll hang our hat on,” he said. “There are some things we want to continue that we’ve had success with, but if you’re not evolving in this league, it’ll go right by you. You have to constantly be updating what you’re doing. That’s the fun part for me in having Tommy Rees, in his second year with us, was in college, [offensive line coach] Mike Bloomgren, was in college the last few years. We have a lot of new faces that can bring great perspective as you put an offensive system together.”
* On the suspect receiving corps and what he’s seen so far of recently added Diontae Johson
“We certainly can win with our group. I like our group,” he said. “It starts with Jerry [Jeudy], who proved to everybody what type of player he is. I feel Jerry in Year 2 with us he can take another step. Excited about Ced Tillman. I know his season didn’t go exactly how he wanted it to go because of injuries .… he’s healthy and ready to roll. [There are] a lot of guys that are unproven, but guys that we liked. We have roles for these guys.
“Diontae’s a veteran that’s played at a high level. We’ll see as he gets involved more. These OTAs will be really good for him because this system is new for him. But [I’m] excited about the skillset and he’s got to obviously prove it to us and he’s excited to do that.”
* On the daunting early schedule
The first four games are home v. Cincinnati, at Baltimore, home v. Green Bay and at Detroit. Then comes the London trip to play Minnesota with no bye afterwards and then the game at Pittsburgh.
The Browns don’t reach their bye week until Week 10 in November. Stefanski said he would have welcomed a bye after the London trip, but was pleased with the short trips to Detroit and Pittsburgh sandwiched around the international game.
“We have Detroit before, so we’ll be bussing to Detroit, get on an airplane to London, and then be bussing to Pittsburgh. So it’s not like we’ll be flying three weeks in a row,” he said. “They don’t automatically give you the bye. We were open to the idea of the bye [after London] or a close game.”