The Browns are starting to feel the wear of camp, and Wednesday made that obvious.
After a 90-minute practice, Cleveland was working through one of the busiest stretches on the schedule - 10 practices in 11 days - and the roster looked thinner than it has all offseason. No major injuries have hit the team, but the accumulation of nagging absences is already putting some pressure on key battles, especially with next weekend’s preseason opener against the Chicago Bears looming.
One of the biggest developments came along the offensive line. The fifth spot in that group is still up for grabs, but both Elgton Jenkins and Parker Brailsford sat out Wednesday’s session. That opened the door for Luke Wypler, who is back after last year’s season-ending injury, to snap to Deshaun Watson with the first unit.
Wypler wasn’t really part of Cleveland’s initial starting line competition, and after an injury-filled three seasons with the Browns, he’s now fighting to stay on the roster bubble.
Jenkins remains the flexible piece in the mix, able to line up at center or guard. If Brailsford wins the center job, Jenkins would move over to guard.
The defensive line is dealing with its own thinning-out. It entered camp as one of Cleveland’s least-deep groups, and the absences are only making that more obvious. Mason Graham, Jared Verse and Alex Wright are set to anchor that room once the regular season arrives, with Maliek Collins and Mike Hall Jr. expected to handle major roles at tackle.
But Collins is still on the PUP list and has not practiced at all this offseason, which adds another layer to the concern.
That all matters because this is a big week for the Browns. Todd Monken is set to finish the installation on Thursday, giving the team a clearer look at where the roster battles stand, including the quarterback competition between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.
On Wednesday, Monken’s cadence work paid off, with both the quarterback and offensive line groups drawing the defense offside. As that quarterback battle continues, Cleveland also needs more certainty up front.
The good news is simple: none of the injuries appear serious. The bad news is that the Browns can’t afford to make a habit of having this many players watching from the side, especially with installation and competition ramping up all over the roster.
In Other News...
Taylen Green Is Suddenly Testing The Browns' Crowded QB Pecking Order
Taylen Green has given the Browns something to think about in the first week of training camp, even with limited chances to work. The sixth-round quarterback has looked comfortable enough to stand out in a room already built around Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, and his physical tools have only added to the intrigue around his early work.
Greens path still looks uphill, but camp has a way of reshuffling a pecking order when the reps start piling up and the evaluation gets more serious. If the top of the depth chart remains unsettled, a player who keeps flashing in the background can force his way into a conversation the Browns did not necessarily expect to be having this soon. [Read more 🡒]
Browns Fans Noticed One Practice Decision In The Watson Battle
Todd Monken keeps saying the two-minute drill matters in evaluating quarterbacks, so when practice ended early after Shedeur Sanders guided the first-team offense through a clean hurry-up sequence, it did not go unnoticed. The Browns had built that work into the session as another chance to separate the quarterbacks, but the drill became the kind of small practice detail fans latch onto when a competition is still very much alive.
Deshaun Watson and the second-team offense never got their turn in that same situation, which only added another layer to a battle that has been watched closely as the preseason nears. Watson answered with a strong practice the next day, keeping the race from moving in any clear direction, but the larger picture remains the same: every snap, every period and every decision around who gets work is being read as part of the evaluation. [Read more 🡒]