Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (9.10.21)
Opening statement:
“A good week of preparations. We have tomorrow some meetings, walkthrough and we will get on the airplane. Looking forward to a great challenge playing a really football team on the road.”
On how DE Jadeveon Clowney looked at practice today:
“He obviously was sick so good getting him back in here. It was nice seeing him out there at practice.”
On if there are any other details on WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s status for Sunday beyond being listed as questionable:
“Not really.”
On what the decision comes down to if Beckham will play or not:
“I think he was limited today so we will use the next 48 hours with all of these guys and determine who is playing and who is not. We will let you know 90 minutes before the game.”
On if the decision for Beckham’s status will come down to watching warmups on Sunday morning:
“I think for all of these guys that were limited at practice, we will make sure that we huddle up over the next 48 hours and make decisions.”
On confirming Beckham has not taken any full contact to the ground or taken a hit to the knee yet:
“Correct.”
On if Beckham has met the benchmarks the team has laid out for him to be ready for Week 1:
“All of the guys who are rehabbing from any injury, we make sure that we follow the medical advice and go through the rehab process like that so he is no different.”
On if Beckham has sustained a setback with rehab that resulted in a questionable status for Sunday:
“No.”
On if the Browns believe in setting snap counts for a player or if they are expected to be available for the entire game if active:
“For every single player who comes into the game, they have to be ready to play the whole game, but we as coaches and as a medical staff make sure that we have guys who are ready to do whatever they are capable to do. To answer your question, yes, there are a bunch of guys that you look at and say, ‘Alright, he can go this many plays based on this.’”
On if it was quick for DE Takk McKinley to get back to what was wanted physically:
“He has done a nice job out there, just how attentive he is at the walkthroughs, in the meeting room and coming out here on the practice field and playing really fast. He has done a nice job.”
On the weather being expected to be 93 degrees at kickoff on Sunday and hydration being a key focus for the team this week:
“Yeah, it is one of those other things that we do not control. We do not control the crowd noise and we do not control the heat, but we have to deal with it. We have to have a plan. We have made sure that the guys are understanding what they need to do really throughout the week to make sure that they are ready to go on Sunday.”
On if the Browns will name captains for the season or on a game-by-game basis:
“We are going to do the same thing that we did last year. We will do game captains.”
On if he knows the game captain(s) for Sunday:
“I do, but I am not going to disclose.”
On if the cheer at practice was for the announcement of this game’s captains:
“It was. Should have looked a little bit closer (laughter).”
On the philosophy behind selecting captains on game-by-game basis rather than for the full year:
“It is just how we do it. It does not mean it is the right way to do it. I just feel like you do not need that C on the chest to be a leader. I feel like each game highlighting one guy and what he means to the team and having him be the captain works better for us.”
On how excited he is to finally start the regular season:
“I think a lot of the guys are excited about the opportunity to go compete. It is a great team we are playing and a great coaching staff so they understand the challenge and the task at hand. That is the exciting part for these guys is to go watch them compete.”
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