Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report: Day 2 - More Rain & Desir to Safety

CLEVELAND BROWNS TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 2 (7/30/16)

1. Rain Keeps Practice Inside: For the second day in a row, the Cleveland Browns had to cancel public admission to training camp because of rain, which was on-and-off throughout the afternoon. Unlike Friday, though, Hue Jackson kept his club inside for the duration of practice.

2. Early Returns from Injury: After suffering what were believed to be cramps on Friday, FB Malcolm Johnson, WR Marlon Moore, and OL Austin Pasztor were all back in action.

3. Veteran Days Off: We’re only on Day 2 of practice, but several Browns players already had “veteran days off,” including LT Joe Thomas, OLB Paul Kruger, and CB Tramon Williams. I’m not sure who filled in for Thomas on the first-team offense, but here’s who filled in on defense:

4. Drops from the Receivers: There were quite a few drops by receivers in one-on-one type of drills. Here are a few video clips, with the last two clips showing an end zone drop by WR Corey Coleman and the last one showing a drop by WR Terrelle Pryor.

5. Not All Bad, of Course: I don’t want to make it seem like everything was doom-and-gloom at receiver. Here is a play where WR Corey Coleman does a nice job making a catch against CB Justin Gilbert. Speaking of Gilbert, he appeared to be playing with the first-team defense with CB Joe Haden out.

And here is QB Robert Griffin III with a pass to WR Rashard Higgins:

6. Early Candidates for Kick Returner: Per multiple reports on Twitter, the first three players to take reps at kick return were RB Raheem Mostert, CB Justin Gilbert, and WR Darius Jennings. That’s pretty much what we anticipated, so nothing has changed in that regard.

7. Pierre Desir at Safety? Yesterday, the surprising position news was Emmanuel Ogbah at defensive end instead of outside linebacker. Today, it’s the fact that Pierre Desir is at safety instead of cornerback. The team said they are experimenting with him at safety and that he “gives them a different element back there.”

During my 53-man roster projection, one of my most controversial decisions (based on the comments I received) was keeping CB Charles Gaines over Desir. This change-in-position doesn’t seem good for Desir, though. How often do “experiments” work out? If the experiment isn’t a big success, is the team suddenly going to keep him to be a cornerback again? I don’t think so.

8. Notes from Phil Savage: Former Browns GM Phil Savage was in Berea today. Here are some notes he posted to Twitter:

9. Brownies: According to Scott Petrak of the Chronicle-Telegram, CB Jamar Taylor, acquired in the 7th round during this year’s draft from the Dolphins, has “flashed the past two days.” ... The Browns have this new banner in their field house:

QB Robert Griffin III took all of the first-team snaps again and drew better reviews on Day 2 of practice. ... Coaching intern Chad Johnson played defensive back to be another “body” during some drills. ... The Browns will be in pads for the first time on Sunday, and Hue Jackson promises they are going to hit.