The Cleveland Browns held their first practice session following this first preseason game against the Detroit Lions. It was probably one of the most pleasant days of camp you could ask for weather-wise, but up and down the depth chart, all fans could see during practice were backups, backups, and more backups. The injuries have been piling up lately for the Browns, and 15 players sat out of practice. The full training camp report is after the jump.
TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 17 (8/12/12)
- 15 Players Miss Practice: Usually, I save the second-to-last bullet point to talk about players who missed practice. Because there were so many people out on Sunday, I need to bring it up first in order to segue into the rest of the bullet points appropriately. The players who missed practice included:
RB Trent Richardson, FB Eddie Williams
WR Mohamed Massaquoi, WR Travis Benjamin
TE Jordan Cameron, TE Benjamin Watson
DE Frostee Rucker, DT Scott Paxson, DE Marcus Benard, DT Phil Taylor
LB Scott Fujita, LB Chris Gocong, LB D'Qwell Jackson
CB Dimitri Patterson, S Usama Young
The surprising names on the list include Benjamin and Cameron, two players who had explosive games last Friday. After practice, head coach Pat Shurmur said they were just sore from the game and were being rested. Players practiced in shells and shorts (it was originally scheduled to be full pads), perhaps to reduce the risk of more injuries.
- Fort Steps in With First-Stringers: We saw second-year man Benjamin Jacobs get the start at middle linebacker against the Lions. With D'Qwell Jackson still out, undrafted free agent L.J. Fort played with the first-team defense at middle linebacker, giving a boost to his odds at making the final roster. Fort could end up starting this Thursday against the Green Bay Packers.
- Wade Climbs the Depth Chart: With veteran Dimitri Patterson nursing an injury from the first preseason game, someone needed to fill in at nickelback for him. The obvious candidate was second-year cornerback Buster Skrine, but instead, the coaching staff decided to try out seventh-round draft pick Trevin Wade there. You think first preseason games don't matter? A few days after having solid showings against the Lions, Fort and Wade were practicing with the first-team defense in camp.
- Cribbs Sees More Action at WR: After not really playing against the Lions, Joshua Cribbs saw quite a bit of action at wide receiver Sunday afternoon. The reason for that can be attributed to the fact that the team was down two receivers -- Massaquoi and Benjamin.
- Windsor Breaks Free After Gordon Gets Pulled: I know he didn't have much time to shine against the Lions, but Rod Windsor continues to be a playmaker in camp. During 11-on-11 drills, the media reported that wide receiver Josh Gordon was pulled by Pat Shurmur for not running hard/giving up on a fade route. He was replaced in the lineup by Windsor, and reports indicate that Colt McCoy and Windsor connected on a 70-yard touchdown pass, with a lot of the yardage coming through the air.
- More INT's for Haden: The potential suspension for cornerback Joe Haden hasn't hurt his performance in camp. He had two interceptions on Sunday -- one each on Brandon Weeden and Seneca Wallace, even though Nate Ulrich of the ABJ notes that Joshua Cribbs and Josh Cooper, respectively, could have done a better job.
- Brownies: TE Evan Moore grabbed a high pass from Brandon Weeden during 11-on-11 drills, and WR Greg Little had an impressive catch as well. ... Overall, it was deemed a pretty lackluster practice session. ... Pat Shurmur said the starters will play about one half against the Packers. ... CB Tashaun Gipson intercepted a pass by Colt McCoy. ...There were 2,913 fans in attendance, which is still a very high number for this far into camp. ... The team's next practice session is Monday morning, starting at 8:45 AM, in full pads.
Link Collection / Training Camp Sources
- News, notes, and observations from practice (Akron Beacon Journal, Ulrich)
- Eyes on Berea, 8/12/12 (ESPN Cleveland, Burge)
- 15 players miss practice with injury (Chronicle-Telegram, Petrak)