Sunday Dawg Chow: Browns news (6/18/23)

Dawgs By Nature (the week that was):

• Report: Browns ‘didn’t have any intentions’ of signing DeAndre Hopkins (Jared Mueller) - While free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins does not seem to be in a hurry to sign, which leaves the door open for the Browns, according to Mary Kay Cabot they do not plan to do so. Interestingly, Cabot notes that new Cleveland WR Elijah Moore is a big reason why Hopkins won’t be coming to the Browns.
• How does the Browns defense stack up in PFF’s rankings? (Thomas Moore) - Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and the coaching staff will continue the process of fixing the defense during training camp and the preseason, so in the meantime let’s take a look at how Pro Football Focus ranks Cleveland’s defensive talent heading into the 2023 season.
• Breakdown of the rest of the Browns’ offensive free agent contracts (Chris Pokorny) - We’ve been breaking down contracts for the Cleveland Browns’ free agent and trade acquisitions from this offseason. The bigger contracts have been covered already, and now we have a little over a handful of smaller contracts to look at. We will do one post on the remaining offensive contracts, and then look at defensive contracts.
• The story of how the wedge between Art Modell and Paul Brown began: Part 2 (Barry Shuck) - A group of investors hailing from New York City had bought the Cleveland Browns in 1961. The two main owners were the Schaefer Beer Company and advertising executive Arthur B. Modell. Modell came to Cleveland to be the boss, not bossed around. He was a native New Yorker and demanded respect. Working with Coach Brown, or should it be working under him, the last thing Coach wanted was a “meddling owner.”
• Kareem Hunt rumor: 1st team with interest in RB identified (Jared Mueller) - The Kareem Hunt story with the Cleveland Browns is likely over. The hometown kid excited fans with his passion, got paid well for being a backup running back in the NFL and has his production mostly fall off a cliff last year while requesting a trade or new contract.
• How does the Browns offense stack up in PFF’s rankings? (Thomas Moore) - Head coach Kevin Stefanski and the rest of the offensive staff will get to work on developing the offense in earnest when training camp opens in late July, so in the meantime let’s take a look at how Pro Football Focus ranks Cleveland’s offensive talent heading into the 2023 season.
• Juan Thornhill’s coverage: Newest Brown near the top of the league (Jared Mueller) - In 2023, GM Andrew Berry revisited the same sort of well by adding safety Juan Thornhill from the Kansas City Chiefs. You’ll forgive Cleveland fans who are waiting to see the production on the field before getting excited about a free-agent safety again.

Cleveland Browns:

• Forget Hopkins, Elijah Moore could be difference-maker for Browns (ESPN) - Cleveland Browns fans have been on DeAndre Hopkins watch ever since the Arizona Cardinals released Deshaun Watson’s former All-Pro teammate last month. Yet over the last few weeks, those in Berea have reveled in watching another receiver who is already on the Browns roster.
• Myles Garrett ready to ‘have a lot of fun’ with Za’Darius Smith, new Browns defensive line (Beacon Journal) - There was a lot that had Za’Darius Smith excited when the new Browns defensive end spoke last month. But nothing got him going quite like the thought of getting to know his newest teammate, Myles Garrett.
• How has the defense adjusted to new schemes from Jim Schwartz? (clevelandbrowns.com) - Summer vacation is here for the Browns, who will have the next five weeks off until they begin training camp at The Greenbrier in West Virginia for the start of training camp. We’re continuing to fill the gap with our first mailbag since the team’s offseason program concluded.

NFL:

• Zac Taylor says his deepest Bengals team primed for training camp (bengals.com) - As he bid farewell to his Cincinnati Bengals for the summer, head coach Zac Taylor said Thursday what many have been thinking since the draft. This is their deepest roster in his five seasons and the expectations are soaring with the talent.
• Patrick Peterson believes Steelers’ success will ‘come down to how well Kenny (Pickett) can play’ (NFL.com) - Patrick Peterson believes there’s a talent-rich roster in Pittsburgh that has the Steelers poised to have a special season. In Peterson’s veteran eyes, the most crucial question mark will be the play of quarterback Kenny Pickett.
• Seven things we learned from Ravens’ mandatory minicamp (Baltimore Sun) - A lot of things go on during an NFL practice. Here are the seven things we learned about the Baltimore Ravens.
• Derrick Henry’s ‘traveling road show’ and the greatest high school football season ever (The Athletic $$) - Bobby Ramsey was 28 when he was hired as the high school football coach in Yulee, Fla., a town of 36,000 people that sits 25 miles north of Jacksonville and 15 miles south of the Georgia state line. In spring 2008, as Ramsey scrambled to field enough players, build a playbook and instill a culture in his team, he was visited by Pat Dunlap, one of the town’s middle school football coaches. Dunlap was an institution in Yulee, had been there for decades. He saw an overwhelmed Ramsey and told him to relax. “You know, Coach, in a year we’ll get Derrick Henry up here and we’ll be fine,’” Ramsey recalled Dunlap telling him in his deep, gruff voice.

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