The Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings were mostly well-behaved in their competitive but controlled joint practice on Wednesday.
If you came for a bunch of offensive highlights, you were at the wrong practice. Good defense — specifically what looked like a relentless pass rush from both sides — certainly played a part in that. Touchdowns were few, though Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold did launch a deep one that all-world wide receiver Justin Jefferson caught despite two Browns cornerbacks, Martin Emerson Jr. and Kahlef Hailassie, having what appeared to be good coverage.
Battling it out against the Browns.#Skol pic.twitter.com/2yko5NugVm
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 14, 2024
On the play before the Jefferson bomb, Darnold rolled out to escape pressure and telegraphed a throw that Hailassie picked off along the sideline. The Browns’ defensive unit on the second practice field was loud all afternoon but was especially loud in celebrating that play. Minnesota’s defensive side got loud late in practice after linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. laid a big hit on Cleveland running back Pierre Strong Jr. — probably a bigger hit than the practice guidelines called for. At one point late in practice, it looked like Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell walked over to Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to talk about some extra physicality shown by some of Cleveland’s defenders.
At different times throughout practice, young Browns cornerbacks Cameron Mitchell, Hailassie and Myles Harden all made impressive pass breakups, with Harden and Hailassie recording interceptions. Right now, the Browns’ defense is shorthanded but has been consistently disruptive. The offense has had a few moments but has a long way to go.
The Browns thrive on creating pressure, and they did it consistently on Wednesday. On the other practice field, it seemed like quarterback Deshaun Watson was under constant pressure as the Browns’ offense had another unremarkable day. The teams add more situational work — including red zone and something in the neighborhood of a 90-second drill — on the second (and final) day of joint practices on Thursday. We’ll see if the offensive scripts are adjusted to account for the issues each team’s pass rush caused Wednesday.
Watching Watson
As has been the case throughout camp, Watson started with mostly short throws. Though his first downfield attempt missed badly, he rebounded with an impressive throw over the middle to David Njoku off a play-action fake for a gain of around 20, then hit Njoku again on the next play following a different fake. Njoku has been the offensive standout at camp and continues to look like he’ll be a focal point of the offense.
Another Watson sideline route to Cedric Tillman would have been negated by an illegal formation call. The teams didn’t have a full officiating crew on each field, but each team had plays derailed by penalty. The Browns’ offense was sloppy — at least somewhat understandably — and had multiple plays ended by would-be sacks or penalties.
Though the Browns are rotating backups James Hudson III and Germain Ifedi at left tackle, and that’s clearly not ideal, a lot of the rush Wednesday seemed to come up the middle. With no full tackling and no one allowed to touch the quarterbacks, it was often hard to discern if Watson might have been able to extend a play, or if he’d have taken a sack he never saw coming.
“We need to be way better offensively from an operations standpoint,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “That was not good. Some of it was the cadence, some penalties … (some) weren’t false starts, some of them were that the tackles were aligned too deep at times. So those are all things that are correctable and we will correct them.
“Not a great day for our (pass) protections, but more from a miscommunication standpoint.”
Watson and Jameis Winston took all the reps in competitive situations. Stefanski said the plan for the two joint practices was to focus on significant reps for the starters and main backups, then play some of the second-teamers and all of the third-teamers in Saturday’s preseason game. So, that’s when it looks like we’ll get our next gauge of where things stand in the battle between Tyler Huntley and Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the No. 3 quarterback job.
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No comment
Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was arrested on misdemeanor domestic violence charges Tuesday morning, but he was back in the facility and participated in practice on Wednesday.
Stefanski told reporters that he couldn’t offer much on Hall’s situation for legal reasons. When asked what went into the decision to let Hall practice, Stefanski said, “I can’t get into all the details. I’ll just tell you, we’re going to let the illegal proceedings play out.”
Hall played on the second defensive line before suffering an injury in the middle part of practice. Hall was down on the field for a couple of minutes before members of the team’s medical staff sat him up and eventually walked him off the field without his helmet. Stefanski also declined to discuss anything about Hall’s injury.
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Injury report
The Browns have been dealing with injuries throughout training camp. All seven players who started camp with various injury designations remain on those lists. That list includes running backs Nick Chubb and Nyheim Hines, offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin, cornerback Greg Newsome II, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and safety D’Anthony Bell. Stefanski said Wills is “getting close” to a return.
New to the inactive list Wednesday were Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward (concussion protocol), defensive end Isaiah McGuire (illness) and wide receiver/kick returner Jaelon Darden (undisclosed). Though Ward was spotted on the field before practice playing catch, his concussion history, which includes at least four previous concussions over six NFL seasons, is a concern.
The linebacker spot has been hit hard by injuries. Veteran Jordan Hicks (undisclosed) is out for at least another week, and Tony Fields II (foot) has been out for almost two weeks. Rookie Nathaniel Watson (quad) has been out since suffering an injury in last weekend’s preseason opener. When the Browns went to their nickel package Wednesday, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Mohamoud Diabate were the first linebackers up. Owusu-Koramoah finalized an agreement on a three-year extension that includes $25 million in guarantees on Wednesday. That deal was always just a matter of timing; the Browns view Owusu-Koramoah as a core player going forward.
JOK is here to stay!@j_owuu | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/UZbYU9ot32
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 14, 2024
Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (undisclosed) was a full practice participant Wednesday for just the second time in camp. So Wednesday marked the first time that Watson has had his full complement of pass catchers in the same competitive practice. Though Cleveland rotates its offensive skill players frequently during camp, Amari Cooper is always with the No. 1 offense and then some grouping of Tillman, Jeudy and Elijah Moore follow. Jordan Akins is the top backup tight end behind Njoku, and backup tight end Giovanni Ricci lined up at fullback in some of the Browns’ offensive sets on Wednesday. Wide receiver David Bell, who’s probably on the roster bubble but delivered in a couple of big moments last season, is out at least a week with a quad injury.
Browns running back D’Onta Foreman was taken to a hospital during the first week of camp after taking a direct blow to the head, but Foreman did not have a concussion and returned to practice on a limited basis earlier this week. Foreman was back to return kicks in a semi-live special teams period Wednesday, a sign that he has been cleared to return. The Browns cut running back John Kelly Jr. earlier in the week and probably would have kept Kelly if Foreman was still limited. Kelly landed with the Baltimore Ravens, who have injury issues in their backfield.
Teams don’t have to list a specific injury report during training camp. Browns veteran offensive lineman Michael Dunn has been out of practice for more than a week, but he was on the sideline watching his teammates Wednesday. The Browns got veteran defensive lineman Shelby Harris back to practice earlier this week, but veteran edge rusher Za’Darius Smith remains out after suffering a knee contusion last week.
(Photo of Justin Jefferson and Martin Emerson Jr.: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)
