Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (7.29.22)
Opening statement:
“Injury update: Schwartzy (WR Anthony Schwartz) is day to day with a knee strain. We will see how that goes over the next couple of days. I think he will be OK certainly long term.”
On if the Browns ‘dodged a bullet’ with Schwartz’s non-contact injury, based on the medical team’s feedback:
“They did not say that. It happened right in front of me so you are always nervous when it is no-contact. Did not use those terms but certainly hopeful long term.”
On if Schwartz is expected to be ready for the start of the season:
“He will be ready for the season, yes. Day to day.”
On what the Browns are looking to see and do during the first couple of practices without pads:
“I think you can get a lot done when you have shells on. When you have helmets on, you have to be real careful – without the shells on – you have to be real careful about guys banging shoulders. Until you get those shells on, I think you have got to be careful, but I think there is so much you can do from a technique standpoint in terms of proper posture, proper hand placement and those type of things. We have spent a lot of time, believe it or not, talking about how to do walkthroughs correctly because I think you can lighten the physical load and accelerate the mental load. What we have tried to do in those walkthroughs is make sure that they are organized, that they are efficient and that guys are taking their proper steps so when you are not going ‘live’, you can really work on your alignment, you can work on your assignment and can still work on your technique, but those techniques are really being driven home in their individual periods.”
On if the Browns could look to add help at WR following Schwartz’s injury or if it is too early for that to be necessary:
“I would say it is too early for that.”
On the performance of young Browns WRs, including WR Michael Woods II:
“I think they are all doing a good job. You mentioned Michael Woods, he was out for a good portion of the offseason program so it is good to see him out there finally. We got to see him late in the offseason program so he is somebody who I am excited to see what he has over the course of these next few weeks. I think that all of the young guys are learning a lot. They are working very hard. You will see today we will have two 7-on-7 periods so we will really be pass-game heavy in that regard. You will see some competitive periods with the offense and the defense.”
On how he would characterize LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as a person:
“Jeremiah is very thoughtful, very intelligent, very enthusiastic and energetic about his teammates and about life and a deep thinker. Enjoy being around him. I think he obviously has a bright future in this league, but I think he is just a great person to spend your days with.”
On Owusu-Koramoah acknowledging earlier in the day that some mistakes turned into highlights and if ‘he would be OK with those again’:
“As long as you make them 100 miles an hour, right? He has done a nice job. He is a player who plays sometimes at a frenetic pace, and I think with (linebackers) Coach (Jason) Tarver, (run game coordinator) Coach (Ben) Bloom, Woodsy (defensive coordinator Joe Woods) that we have tried to make him understand that you can make plays within the framework of the defense, and every once in a while, he will make those extraordinary plays.”
On if he and Owusu-Koramoah have spent time talking about balancing life and football, given Owusu-Koramoah have both individually commented about the importance of it:
“Jeremiah and I? A little bit. We have talked about the trips that he takes. He has a lot of interest outside of football. That does not mean he does not love football. He loves football. He just loves some other things, too, and that is OK. I think we can all do that. With his trips to Africa, those are really important to him. Those are really important to who he is so I encourage him in that regard.
On if Browns players will wear guardian caps during joint practices with the Eagles:
“Yes.”
On Woods’ remarks about the youth and development at DT and how valuable reps are for the unit:
“Yeah, we do have a young room there in the interior but guys who we are excited about. We talked about (DT) Jordan Elliott yesterday as a guy who I think going into his third year it really seems to be clicking for him just with how he has handled this offseason. There are a bunch of young guys who I am excited to get some reps. It is all new so they are going to make some mistakes, like we talked about earlier, but it is about not making the same mistake twice.”
On WR Donovan Peoples-Jones’ performance and indications Peoples-Jones can take the next step in development this season:
“It is a broken record when you are talking about Donovan. He makes plays when the ball comes his way. He is very dependable. You could see him taking strides from his rookie year to his second year. I still think you see those strides. I think he still works very hard on the physical aspect of this. He is diligent about his body. As we all know, he is very intelligent. Then it becomes a rapport between him and the quarterbacks, and I think they are doing a nice job in that regard, as well.”
On T Chris Hubbard and Hubbard having bad luck with sustaining tough injuries in recent seasons:
“I do not know about the luck part, but I will tell you, he has a great attitude – an unbelievable attitude. He is somebody who when he is in the building, he lifts everybody up. I know he has had some injuries that are disappointing to him and to us, but it is not keeping him down. He is coming back, and he is ready to roll.”
On the amount of time it has taken for the NFL process to reach a conclusion regarding a potential suspension for QB Deshaun Watson and preparation for when that decision occurs, including conversations with Watson:
“With all of that, you control the controllables. Really as you know, I control what goes on on this field so I continue to do that. All of my discussions with Deshaun or any of the guys on the team, we will keep internal. It is important for me and for all of us to make sure we control what we can control.”
On if waiting for and ultimately reaching resolution on a potential suspension of Watson warrants additional conversations and preparation for the day it occurs:
“I am pretty comfortable with how we are handling that right now.”
On if anything so far in training camp would be different if a decision had been made about a potential suspension of Watson, including practice reps:
“I think the details would be important. Of whatever the decision is, details of potential length of absence would matter the most to us in terms of how we are putting our plan together.”
On defensive coordinator Joe Woods and Browns defensive players talking about the Alpha Dog competition, including that some individuals are being somewhat secretive about it:
“I am going to be secretive, as well because I do not want to get fined by those guys (laughter). I think what you are trying to do is training camp is long and it is competitive, but you are always looking for ways to motivate the guys on a day-to-day basis. Each position group does it in their own way, and certainly, Joe with the unit is taking it to a unique place.”
On how the Browns are progressing through the ramp-up period of training camp and how it is different to past years:
“It is interesting because I go back to 2020, we did not have preseason games so we truly did have a ramp up. We are trying to within the framework of the rules think about the right way to do this to get the football team ready to play and to try to minimize injury the best that you can. As we all know, injuries can happen at a moment’s notice, but what is the safe way to ramp up to get ready to play football? We have a Jacksonville game that is coming around the corner so you do have to accelerate that to a certain extent to get the team ready to play but trying to be real smart about how you begin camp because we know it is a long camp, and it is a long season – it got longer by a game last year. Taking all of that into account as we start to prepare for the season.”
On if training camp practice will feel different tomorrow, given it is the first session open to fans:
“It always does [feel different with the fans at the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus]. It does. The players love playing in front of the fans. We are excited to have [the fans]. It will be my first training camp where it is a true open camp and you have both sides of the field with fans. I think it was a little bit more muted with just one side and that type of thing. I am looking forward to that. I am looking forward to that energy that it brings because it does ramp up the energy that the players then have.”
On Browns players talking about the difference of the vibe around the team this year compared to last year and how the vibe feels different to him:
“That is so hard for me to describe. Whoever said it, that is their opinion. I am not real big on vibes.”
On if he has noticed anything different about the start of this year’s training camp:
“I notice the guys are working, [but] the one thing I would say is I think having a spring and having a nine-week program where the guys were in the building physically together and taking trips together, that is the type of thing that you can do to grow as a team that we were not able to previously. In terms of vibes – today is July 29 – I do not think it is time yet to say that there is a different vibe.”
On if the Browns will adjust playing time for this year’s preseason games:
“We are going to have those type of discussions the next couple of weeks. We are always having those. I do not think there are any hard, fast rules in the NFL in terms of who plays who and how often you play. It is really going to be dependent on this team and what we think this team needs to get ready. We will discuss that as it gets closer. I would tell you that is something that you discuss every year, and every year stands on its own merit.”
On how much RB Demetric Felton Jr.’s skillset plays into the mindset that it is too early to need additional help at WR:
“You guys have heard me talk about Demetric. He is a very versatile football player. He is a football player first and foremost. There is an opportunity right now for him to get some receiver reps. We can bounce him back into that running back room at any point. Really, he is smart enough where he can do both within a given practice so when you do have injuries at either position, he is a bonus player who can go into either room, if you will.”
On if RB Kareem Hunt could receive additional reps at WR due to player availability:
“Yeah, I think Kareem does a nice job outside of the backfield in a lot of things that we have done over the course of the last couple of years. That is definitely a role that he can play, as well.”
On if WR Jakeem Grant Sr. could serve a role on offense, given former Browns WR JoJo Natson sustained injuries on offense:
“A different player with Jakeem and JoJo. He is an electric player. He is fast. Certainly, somebody who we would love to use as we get into the regular season.”
On if the Browns have opportunities to feature RB D’Ernest Johnson more, given Johnson’s production last season:
“How I feel about D’Ernest – I think everybody knows – he is a great teammate No. 1, and then when he gets in there, he produces. He is definitely somebody who we want to touch the rock as good things happen when he does, but at the end of the day, we have a bunch of good options in that room and on the offense just in general. D’Ernest, as you can imagine, he will do whatever we ask him to do.”
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