CLEVELAND BROWNS TRAINING CAMP REPORT - DAY 17 (8/24/16)
1. Browns Fans Representing: With practice open to the public, Cleveland fans came out and enjoyed the practice:
Some Browns fans in attendance for today's joint Bucs-Browns practice. It's the last... https://t.co/SY7wcCM8ul pic.twitter.com/KKxBga5gzy
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 24, 2016
You see those shaded bleacher areas? That is what I’ve been begging the Browns to do in Berea...to no avail.
2. First Play to Pryor: In the first play of team drills, QB Robert Griffin III hit WR Terrelle Pryor.
#Browns RG3 to Terrelle Pryor on 1st play of team drills vs #Bucs pic.twitter.com/k2DO92z9sv
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 24, 2016
Neither teams was in full pads, but the energy and competitive spirit was still present on both sides.
3. Erving Leaves With Ankle Injury: When team drills started, Garth Gerhart was working with the first-team offense instead of Cameron Erving. It turns out that he sprained his ankle a little bit, but head coach Hue Jackson is hopeful that he’ll still be able to play on Friday.
4. Higgins Finding His Niche: Quarterbacks must like how WR Rashard Higgins catches the back shoulder type of passes. He caught one for a touchdown in the first preseason game, and he had a couple during Wednesday’s practice against the Buccaneers, including the one below:
#Browns Hollywood Higgins in one-on-ones pic.twitter.com/SUJzAWspP6
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 24, 2016
5. More Success for Haden: It’s good to see CB Joe Haden already finding his groove in his first couple of practices. He picked off QB Jameis Winston again on Wednesday, this time without anybody having tipped the pass:
Browns CB @joehaden23 picks off Jameis Winston.... pic.twitter.com/lk1jiuMWGf
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 24, 2016
As far as other defensive backs go, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal says that CB Charles Gaines had holding penalties called on him on back-to-back plays, the second of which negated an interception by S Derrick Kindred on the complete opposite side of the field.
CB Tramon Williams reacted to his apparent “demotion” after practice:
#Browns Tramon Williams on what he's going to do about Jamar Taylor starting in his place pic.twitter.com/EDYkERHEb1
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 24, 2016
6. Out of Bounds: The good thing is that the receivers aren’t dropping the football. On two instances, though, receivers were called out-of-bounds on passes to the end zone. WR Josh Gordon was called out on one of them, and then WR Corey Coleman was called out on the other. Coleman’s is obviously out, but fans and Gordon protested the call against him.
First, the Gordon play:
Gordon called out. He disagrees. pic.twitter.com/WQXZZ9Qg40
— Dan Labbe (@dan_labbe) August 24, 2016
Second, the Coleman play:
#Browns Corey Coleman ruled out of bounds on this one pic.twitter.com/NH0OSDljvR
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 24, 2016
Both receivers are scheduled to debut on Friday.
7. Brownies: NT Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, formerly of the Browns, is a member of the Buccaneers now. ... CB Tramon Williams left practice early with a toe injury. ... LT Joe Thomas had the day off. ... TE Connor Hamlett and TE Randall Telfer caught red zone touchdowns in 7-on-7 drills. ... Thankfully, Mary Kay Cabot survived the ricochet below:
I deflected this #Browns RG3 ball w/ my right hand. Would've caught it if it had been my left. Literally saved face pic.twitter.com/BnID1UTv0t
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 24, 2016