7:45 p.m.-BROWNS RECEIVERS STEP UP IN SUNDAY'S PRACTICE
BEREA, Ohio -- Development at the wide receiver position has been a point of emphasis for the Cleveland Browns during the first week of training camp, especially with Pro Bowl-caliber talent Josh Gordon missing the practices while tending to personal matters and Ricardo Louis recovering from season-ending neck surgery.
Since the full pads went on Saturday, third-year wide receiver Rashard Higgins has made some plays and caught the attention of the coaching staff.
“Made plays,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said.
“That is what receivers have to do. They have to make the plays when the ball is thrown. Whether it is under-thrown, over-thrown or whatever that is, you have to make the play. That is what Rashard is starting to do. You are starting to see him show up every day, which is good to see.”
PHOTOS: Day Four of Cleveland Browns Training Camp
In his first two seasons with the Browns, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound Higgins caught 33 passes for 389 yards with two touchdowns, including a 56-yard score in a season-ending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on December 31, 2017.
Waived after training camp and signed to the practice squad last summer, only to be elevated back to the 53-man roster the next week, Higgins set single-season career highs for catches, yards and touchdowns after getting a second chance with the Browns.
To Jackson, that series of transactions gave Higgins motivation throughout the offseason workouts, as well as the early part of training camp.
“His rookie year, he was a young player learning his way,” Jackson said. “Last year, we started the season, and he was released and brought back. I think he made a commitment to himself that would never happen to him again.
“He had a good season last year, made plays for us throughout the year, and now, here he is. I think that he looks around and says, ‘Hey, look! I want to be one of the guys that is left standing in the room.’ He is working his tail off.”
And Higgins has not been the only receiver making plays in training camp, as Sunday was a more consistent day for third-year receiver Corey Coleman, who was limited to just 19 games over his first two years in the NFL because of injuries.
“I will say this about Corey, today was the day because of his soft-tissue situation that he was supposed to be down,” Jackson said. “He said, ‘No, Coach. I want to practice.’ That was really good to see him step up. That is what you want to see. Go out there, compete and make plays.”
RECEIVERS PUT IN EXTRA WORK
Despite a solid day of work from Higgins and more consistency out of Coleman, Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley put the receivers through post-practice route-running exercises in an effort to improve timing with the quarterbacks in camp, Tyrod Taylor, Baker Mayfield, Drew Stanton and Brogan Roback.
“Todd likes to do that every day,” Jackson said. “In fact, now more so, I just want to make sure that the guys’ legs are good.
“There are certain routes that we have to continue to get better at. Just a little extra at the end for the quarterbacks. It is timing and getting that chemistry together. For them, it is going to take some time. We just have to keep working at it.”
SHON COLEMAN GETS A TALKING TO
Although the position coach and teammates spoke highly of left tackle Shon Coleman prior to Sunday’s practice, Jackson felt the need to pull himself aside after a drill and deliver a message to the third-year blocker, who is in competition to fill the void left by Joe Thomas’ retirement back in March.
“It is Year Three of him being around me, and he knows what I expect,” Jackson said. “It is just that simple. With our guys, there is a way to do everything. He has to meet that standard. That is all it is.”
NJOKU STRUGGLES THROUGH PRACTICE
Much like his first training camp last summer, tight end David Njoku has struggled to catch the ball consistently, and Sunday’s practice was full of passes hitting the ground or getting knocked out of his hands by the defense.
“We keep working,” Jackson said. “He is a young player. He made some plays but did drop some. He has to catch the ball better than he did today. That is obvious. He will. It is Day Four. He has some work to do. It is that simple.”
EARNING THEIR STRIPES
During the early stages of the offseason program, the Browns instituted an “Earn Your Stripes” campaign where players started the workouts with a plain orange helmet and no stripe down the center, and that has continued during training camp.
The “Earn Your Stripes” program is a way for the organization to hold players accountable after the struggles of the recent past, which include a 1-31 record over the last two season and an 0-16 slate through 2017.
“I think that it is a team thing,” Jackson said of how the stripes will be awarded. “I think it is going to be the entire team at once. We are close to getting some candidates. Not where we want to be, but I think I can see a couple of guys bubble up to the top. That is what you want to see.”
3:20 p.m.-BROWNS OL COACH NOT FAN OF MOVING BITONIO TO LT
BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie is not a fan of the idea moving Pro Bowl-caliber left guard Joel Bitonio one spot over to play left tackle as a replacement to 10-time NFL All-Star Joe Thomas, who retired in the offseason.
While the move has been mentioned in questions to Coach Hue Jackson and Bitonio himself, Wylie wants to keep that option as the “last resort.”
“If you’re going to go A down, that would be Z,” Wylie said. “That would be Z.”
The reason Bitonio is “Option Z” for Wylie is not talent-related.
Rather, Wylie likes the interior combination of Bitonio, center JC Tretter and right guard Kevin Zeitler and believes that trio can help the new left tackle, as well as right tackle Chris Hubbard, who is in his first year with the Browns after starting his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Whoever it is, like I said earlier, whoever that guy is, we’ll make a decision and we’ll work with that guy,” Wylie said. “Then, if we need to do something to help it with formations, protections, the backs, all that stuff, we’ll do that. We want to try to keep the four together as long as we can.”
Currently, the Browns have two contenders for the left tackle spot, Greg Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick of the St. Louis Rams in the 2014 NFL Draft, and Desmond Harrison dealing with injuries. Robinson suffered a concussion on the first day of practice and Harrison reported with a foot issue.
Those injuries have forced rookie blocker Austin Corbett to move over to tackle from left guard to compete against Shon Coleman, who has been working on the transition from right tackle since the start of spring workouts back in April.
“The state of the left tackle…that’s the State of the Union,” Wylie said. “Shon’s fighting, and he’s doing well at the spot.
“We keep working with Desmond every day with the mental part of the game. You see him, in back of the huddle, taking reps. You see one of the coaches like (offensive quality control coach) Brian (Braswell) stays with him and goes over the assignments with him to make sure he’s on page, so we’re waiting for him to get back on the field.”
Regardless of how the left tackle situation shakes out, Wylie feels the offensive line could be a special group of players by season’s end.
“As good as they want to be, it's up to them,” Wylie said. “Like I tell them, ‘I’m not playing. You guys are playing. How good do you want to be? It's up to you guys. What's your identity?’
“They have that talent. It's just they’ve got to get it done. They've got to do it. The room is a good room to be in. The character in the room is good.”
11:45 a.m.-DAY FOUR OF CAMP GETS UNDERWAY
BEREA, Ohio -- The march to the 2018 regular season continues for the Cleveland Browns, as they hold their fourth practice of training camp at team headquarters in Berea today.
And just like Saturday afternoon’s session, when the Browns take the field today, they will do so in full pads to better acclimate themselves to game-like conditions.
“We will not have pads every day, but we will have them on (Sunday),” Browns coach Hue Jackson said following Saturday’s practice. “We play in pads. We have to get used to carrying our pads, running in our pads, blocking, tackling and doing all of those things. We will have them on for sure.”
In addition to wearing full pads, the Browns are getting used to referencing video in practice, another game-like scenario. But instead of having Microsoft Surface pads like they do on the sidelines during games, the Browns are utilizing a giant video board that gets towed around the practice field.
“Isn’t it beautiful? That is pretty isn’t it?” Jackson asked. “Big TV where you can see everything. You guys get better information now (laughter). There you go.
“It is very beneficial because now when the play is happening, the people who are getting the mental reps who are not doing it can turn back and really see what is really going on, understand the defense, where the offense might have broken down or why we executed pretty well. I think it is a really good thing to have for both offense and defense. Defensive players can see themselves as it is happening. I think it has benefited us pretty well.”
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