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- Josh Gordon is in “good spirits” (cleveland.com) - Rashard Higgins has been channeling Josh Gordon while the latter’s been absent, catching deep balls and TDs every day from Baker Mayfield. Higgins, who’s grown close to Gordon over the past few years, reached out to him on Friday and was pleased with what he heard.
- Tyrod Taylor shows starting credentials in scrimmage (ESPN) - Quarterback Baker Mayfield started well and finished slow in his first live scrimmage work for the Cleveland Browns. Tyrod Taylor, meanwhile, had consecutive possessions where he completed every pass and scored touchdowns, something the Browns sorely lacked in 2017.
- Jarvis Landry won’t take practices off (ohio.com) - The Browns routinely give players a practice off once in a while in an attempt to prevent soft-tissue injuries, but wide receiver Jarvis Landry isn’t interested in a break.
NFL:
- Kelvin Benjamin did not enjoy his time in Carolina (NFL.com) - Entering his first full season in Buffalo, Kelvin Benjamin is still going to Carolina in his mind. In an interview with The Athletic’s Tim Graham, the Bills receiver rehashed his tumultuous four-year stint with the Panthers, the organization that drafted him in the first round of the 2014 draft. Benjamin had few fond things to say about his former team.
- Terrelle Pryor working his way into shape (Newsday) - Once in a while, you’ll catch Terrelle Pryor talking about himself the way someone might talk about a finely tuned machine. He was broken back then, during those days last year in Washington, when he sprained his ankle in training camp and later hurt it again, requiring arthroscopic surgery. “Now everything is fixed,” he said. “Now I’m fixed and I’m healthy.”
- Jerry Kramer no longer “best player not in Canton” (packers.com) - Growing up in Detroit in the 1960s, Rick Gosselin can remember watching Jerry Kramer leading the way on the famous Packers sweep and dominating his hometown Lions. Some 50 years later, it was Gosselin leading the charge, so to speak, on the both the Hall of Fame’s senior committee and full selection committee to get Kramer enshrined in Canton.
- Jim Irsay: Colts on the verge of a “great renaissance” (indystar.com) - Boldly predicting that “a great renaissance period is about to unfold upon us,” Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay spent 24 minutes listing a litany of reasons why he believes his football team is ready to break out of its three-year, playoff-less slog.