Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (7.24.25)
Jerome Ford, is he back today?
“He will not practice today, but he’s progressing well.”
Did that happen in the conditioning?
“No, this was something over the last couple of weeks maybe, but he’ll be okay.”
What about David (Njoku) and Jordan Hicks?
“David will be out there today. Jordan won’t be out there today. But no update. I will update you guys when appropriate.”
Kevin, could you expound on the importance of the play action passing game for the Browns offense?
“How much time do I have? I think it’s important probably to most offenses and the things that we do in our play action game are going to be different than other teams. And I think there’s so much – that’s the fun part for me, as a coach. A lot of teams run the same plays, including the same play actions, but there’s so much nuance to those play actions and what you’re asking the line to do on those plays, what you’re asking your receivers and tight ends to do, how you read it as a quarterback, what steps you take with the quarterback. So, play action really gets lumped into, you know, a big wide swath of the game. There’s some sort of play fake from the quarterback to another player. Sometimes it’s not just the running back and you can be under center, you can be in the gun, you can pull a guard, you can do it off of all sorts of different actions. So, we want to have a varied scheme in general and certainly play action is a part of that and only because we feel like it is hard on a defense. I think a good play action play, a good play action scheme, a team that’s good at play action, that’s hard on a defense. And I know, speaking to defenders, being a former defender myself, I know it’s hard when something looks like one thing and it ends up being the other.”
Have your rookies done much of the play action or anything?
“Quarterbacks? Yeah, both guys have done some.”
I mean, before they got here?
“Yep. Some have done some in college. The game in some ways is the same. In some ways it’s so different. So, they’re very fortunate to have Coach (Bill) Musgrave giving them all the ins and outs of ball handling and footwork, whether it applies to play action or anything. Coach Musgrave is a stickler for all the mechanics that go with playing the position.”
Can you explain why you got away from that philosophy last year worked so well for you in the past?
“Yeah, honestly, Jeff (Schudel), I’m not so focused on anything in the past. Really just focused on what we’re doing right now. And again, your offensive scheme is dependent on who your guys are, what they’re comfortable with, what they’re good at. You know, what’s your offensive line look like? And then obviously big influence from Coach (Tommy) Rees, Coach (Mike) Bloomgren, that type of thing.”
Do you embrace this kind of sweltering heat for your guys? What’s your message to them? Do you worry about people having issues?
“Well, certainly we worry about it. I mean, we’re gonna make sure we’re safe out here. That’ll never change. So, we don’t want to put our guys in anything that’s ever not safe. So having said that, there is part of acclimating to the heat and doing it in a very smart way. So, we’ll be out here for a shorter amount of time. As we ramp up into training camp, per the rules. We’ll get our work done. We’ll take a couple breaks to make sure everybody’s getting hydrated. Our dietitians are doing a great job inside making sure everybody’s getting everything they need from a hydration standpoint. You guys need to hydrate, okay? I don’t want to be losing anybody out here.”
Will Diontae (Johnson) be out there? It looked like he was dinged up.
“Yeah, he’ll be out there.”
Kevin, after Shedeur (Sanders) had the speeding tickets, did you talk to him personally? What’s your message?
“I did. Obviously, I’ll keep that message between Shedeur and myself, but I will tell you, he knows this, and all of our rookies know this. They need to make sure that they’re being safe, and that can be whether behind the wheel of a car or they’re in and around town. They need to make really good decisions so that they’re safe.”
Kevin, with the quarterbacks, is there any worry or discussion at all about not letting the competition interfere with their day-to-day?
“I’ve talked to our guys. You know, competing for a starting role is not new to football, not new to the quarterback position. That’s just part of what we’re doing. And that’s not the only position where guys are competing for a job. I know that with the number of guys, I know that’s the part that’s unique. But they’re all wired the right way. They know to keep the main thing, the main thing.”
It looked like (Carson) Schwesinger yesterday was doing the signal calling. How does a raw rookie earn the trust from the coaches to do that? It’s very unusual.
“Yeah, it’s a good question. I think Carson’s uniquely situated. If we need him to do that, he’s capable of doing that. I think what you’re trying to find out from Carson and all of our rookies is what they’re capable of. We’re trying to find out about them. What are they capable of? You know, can you call a defense? Can you – and not just Carson, can you line up on the edge and rush the passer? Can you line up in the backfield and catch a ball if you’re a wide receiver? We’re trying to put those guys in different spots to find out what they are capable of. That’s our job right now in training camp as we formulate this roster, as we get this team ready. I don’t know that we know the football team in July like you do when you get to September.”
Kevin, you guys added a lot of wide receivers this offseason. I understand a component of that had to do with how you wanted to manage these quarterbacks, but outside of Jerry (Jeudy) and Cedric (Tillman), what are you hoping to see in this camp from the rest of that position group to give you the confidence that no matter who you put on the field, they’re going to be able to go out there and make a play when he asks you to?
“I think it’s a really good group, Daryl. I think there’s different skill sets throughout that group. Obviously, there’s size with some guys, there’s a little bit quicker, faster with other guys. Guys that are better inside, guys that are better outside. So that’s our job to identify the traits and then design an offense to utilize those traits. So I really like that group.”
Kevin, what do you think with (Quinshon) Judkins out for quite a while, obviously (Dylan) Sampson obviously just moves up. What about him as a player? How do you see him fitting?
“Yeah, a lot of things about Dylan, Terry. I think he’s proven to be really, really intelligent, which we knew that. You do so much homework on these guys, and you put them through the process prior to the draft. So, I knew that he could handle a lot. But 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 kind of to Tony’s question earlier, we got 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?”
Joe (Flacco) mentioned that the intensity factor of training camp is really a mental thing. It’s about wanting to win and being focused on winning. As a coach, is there a tangible way to like maybe help install that mindset that you guys are looking for to get the most out of camp in that regard?
“Yeah, I think certainly you have to be right mentally to play this game. And so much of this, our game is about winning and losing and is about getting ready for September. But there’s all the little dirty work, the little things in this building that no one notices that have to get you ready for that. So, I think at least mentality wise for our football team, we recognize that the season’s coming in September, but man, we got so much work to do. A lot of physical work, some mental work, but we’re just going to keep our head down and focus on that work.”
When we talked to Duce (Staley), I think it was minicamp. He talked about Dylan being used a lot in the slot. Has there been a shift given the situation running back right now, if he’s more in the backfield maybe than he had been in the offseason?
“We can ask Duce (joking). I think more than anything that’s a product of finding like seeing what these guys can do. So, it’s, I wouldn’t say it’s we’re carving out those roles just yet. It’s more we want to see what a guy’s capable of because in this day and age, as you know, versatility is really important. So, if that’s something he can do. But I think we’re still in wait and see mode on Dylan in that regard, but also for a bunch of these guys.”
Kevin, what have you thought of Mason Graham? He did a couple past rushing camps and worked with Maliek Collins since then.
“Yeah, he’s worked very, very hard going back to the day he got on campus here with our coaches. You know, he worked very hard when he was away from the building before getting those guys back. But that’s another young player who I think is going to get better every day because he’s attacking it. He’s not a finished product. He wants to work at it and that’s the right attitude for a young man like that.”
How has Dawand (Jones) looked since he’s gotten back?
“I mean, we’re only one practice in, but he’s doing a nice job, obviously he is working really well with his new coaches. Understanding there’s some different nuance to what we’re doing. There’s different terminology, those type of things, so working very hard.”
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