HC Kevin Stefanski (8.2.21)
On RB Nick Chubb signing a three-year contract extension:
“Excited for Nick. He is certainly deserving. I mentioned it in the press release, he is a team guy all of the way. Excited for him.”
On if anyone embodies his desired work ethos more than Chubb:
“He is a pretty good one. He does not say much. I think that sometimes seems like he is not a leader in that regard, and that could not further from the truth – he is a leader in his actions.”
On if Chubb ever shows more emotion than what is seen publicly:
“Yes. Nick has a personality. Certainly, out here on the practice field and in the meeting rooms with his teammates, the guys enjoy being around him. I just think his play style certainly is one that is understated.”
On if re-signing a player like Chubb sends the right message to Browns players that if they do the right things, they will be rewarded:
“I think so. I think so much of this the guys know. It is a business so you can’t keep everybody. As I have always said, I want to keep everybody. Certainly in moments like this when you reward a guy like Nick, I think it probably does send a good message.”
On if today is considered the end of the training camp acclimation period:
“The acclimation period ended last week. Day off (Sunday) and now really it starts in earnest, although you can’t have the pads on until tomorrow.”
On if the pace will continue to pick up when pads come on during the next few days:
“I think with the pads coming on, yes, to answer that question, but it is not like every practice gets harder and harder and you are out here for three hours every single day. We are still smart about the rhythm of our camp if you will.”
On if the Browns can share specifically when LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will return:
“I do not know exactly. I know it is getting closer.”
On if there are restrictions on padded practices:
“There is a restriction on the number of days that you can be in pads. There is definitely a restriction on when they can occur and those type of things. For instance, you can’t be in pads today across the league – that is not just for us. We will just make sure that we use them when we can.”
On if Sunday’s practice at FirstEnergy Stadium is considered a ‘scrimmage’:
“I would say it is more of a… Any time you are under the lights or you are in the stadium, certainly, you say ‘scrimmage,’ but it is going to be more of a practice. We will have some teams drills against each other, but it will not be your typical scrimmage like a spring game type of thing.”
On the Browns’ decision to make LB Anthony Walker the defensive play caller:
“I would say most teams use the MIKE linebacker as their green dot. I know (S) John Johnson (III) is an example of a guy who is not. It depends on who your MIKE is. It depends is that a young player or is that a veteran player. It is something that we are comfortable with, but I will tell you, multiple guys will wear the green dot. They can’t be on the field together with that, but if Anthony is not out there, (LB) Jacob Phillips is somebody who has done it before. It is not like we are just going to have one guy who is always ready for it. We will have multiple guys be ready for that.”
On DE Takk McKinley leaving practice early on Saturday and McKinley’s status:
“I think we will get him back soon, but maybe not today.”
On S Ronnie Harrison Jr.’s injury status:
“Ronnie we are going to have to wait and see. He will be out for an undisclosed number of days here, but we will see.”
On watching John Johnson’s film from practice and what Johnson brings to the Browns defense:
“He is doing a really nice job. He is an excellent communicator back there. There is so much that has to be conveyed from the back end to the front and vice versa. He has a really good feel and a strong base of understanding what we are trying to do. The guy is around the ball. I know it is early and we have many more days to go here, including when the pads come on, but he has really done a nice job for us.”
On if it is accurate to call ‘CBs Greedy Williams and Greg Newsome II’ a competition for the starting CB spot:
“I think everything is a competition. The guys know that every spot is up for grabs. I know you start with the starting lineup and you put out a depth chart at some point here, but everything is always a competition. The guys understand that.”
On how sharp CB Troy Hill is on the outside, given he played mostly in the slot with the LA Rams:
“I think he has tremendous versatility in that regard. He certainly played a good bit in the slot there but has played outside. He is a good football player. He is really quick. Another guy who is around the ball quite a bit. I have been impressed with Troy.”
On how many CBs the Browns need over the course of a year:
“A lot of them. (Vikings Head) Coach (Mike) Zimmer in Minnesota said you can never have enough good corners.”
On if he has been impressed by Walker’s ability to quickly pick up the Browns defense and get guys on the same page:
“No, only because that is who he is, and we knew that. He is the son of a coach. He was the kid hanging around with the water bottle when he was five, six and seven years old at practice. He is a gym rat so no, I am not surprised.”
On if any of the young Browns players have stood out to him most through the first few days of practice:
“I would not single anybody out. They are doing a nice job. They are doing everything we are asking them. They are meeting extra with their coaches. They are taking in a lot. You have to remember, they were here three days ahead of everybody else. There is a lot going on both out here on the grass and in the meeting rooms with them, and I think they are doing a nice job.”
On how CB A.J. Green has performed in training camp:
“A.J. has had some nice moments. A big athletic corner. We want to see how he continues to grow over the next few weeks here but he is doing a nice job.
On if WR Donovan Peoples-Jones has a similar personality and work ethic as Chubb:
“Donovan, just thinking about it, he came up big for us in moments last year. He came up big in spots. When we called his number, he was available. Excited about him moving forward. Just personality-wise, I think he is doing a really nice job. He is covering punts, he is catching punts and he is playing receiver. He is all over the field right now.”
On special teams coordinator Mike Priefer rotating players in the return game:
“It is such a big deal when you are talking about keeping 53 guys is the more you can do. Specifically to the return game, we are going to rep a lot of guys. We are going to rep them out here in practice, we are going to rep them in these games and give guys opportunities. We have to see what we have with a bunch of these guys.”
On the team missed most by having no preseason games from an evaluation standpoint:
“If you are doing it right, you should be evaluating every drill – every team drill but even individual. That is a huge piece of it. Obviously without the games last year, you miss some of the competitive nature – tackling and everything being live, if you will. We will supplement it. We supplemented it last year with some more team drills. Having those games is great for us because you have to really go through all of the particulars of getting ready for the game, coming out of the game and those kinds of things. The guys understand that those are the important parts of the evaluation, but we evaluate them in the meetings rooms, how they are doing taking notes and we evaluate them in the weight room. All of those things go into it. I hope an all-encompassing evaluation.”
On if there was a team moment today to congratulate Chubb’s contract extension:
“We did not. As you can imagine, we are back to work.”
On if there was a party for Chubb:
“I was not invited if there was one (laughter).”
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