Saturday Dawg Chow: Browns news (7/15/23)

Dawgs By Nature:

• Cleveland Browns we’ve lost in 2022 (Barry Shuck) - Training camp each year earmarks a renewal with the Cleveland Browns. Every NFL club is undefeated and has aspirations of a deep playoff run and a chance of winning the league championship. Our players are looked up to as the next crop of conquering leaders. Just as our heroes are celebrated in life, here is a snapshot of several former Browns who parted this earth in 2022.
• Nick Chubb finally gets the respect he’s due from NFL personnel (Jared Mueller) - Finally ranked as the league best running back, Nick Chubb has carried the Browns.
• Former Browns DT Malik Jackson retires after 10 seasons (Thomas Moore) - Malik Jackson, who spent the 2021 season with the Cleveland Browns, announced his retirement on Friday from the NFL. The Browns signed Jackson to a one-year contract in 2021 in an attempt to bring the much-ballyhooed “veteran presence” to the defensive line. It sounded good on paper to place on the inside of a line that featured defensive ends Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, but it did not work out as planned.
• Joe Thomas exhibit set up at the Hall of Fame: Photo, video included (Jared Mueller) - In just over three weeks, the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets face off in the kickoff to the NFL’s preseason. The Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio is even more exciting this year for Browns and Jets fans as players from both teams are inducted into the Hall of Fame just two days later.
• Community Convo Open Thread: Best vacations are at a beach, mountains, big cities, cruise or something else? (Jared Mueller) - If you haven’t planned a summer vacation, you have a little over a week until the Cleveland Browns start training camp, a little over two weeks until the Browns first preseason game and about two months until the first game of the regular season.

Cleveland Browns:

• How will Deshaun Watson respond to the national snub? (cleveland.com) - Deshaun Watson is no stranger to getting snubbed. Fast forward to 2023, and Watson is being snubbed all over again, this time by the national media, which doesn’t seem to believe he’s even a shadow of his former self after 700 days away from the game and his extensive off-the-field issues.
• Browns training camp preview: Can line provide a return on investment? (Beacon Journal) - The Browns enter camp with a roster capable of challenging for an AFC playoff berth, maybe even an AFC North title. However, there are also questions abounding at each position. Earlier installations of this series looked at the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. Today, the attention turns to the final offensive position group, the offensive linemen.
• Are we sleeping on the Browns? Why AFC North will be NFL’s toughest division in 2023 (Bleacher Report) - While it may not be as top-heavy as the AFC East or AFC West, only one division contains four teams with Super Bowl odds that are +5000 or better. No team in this division ranks 20th or lower in that regard, which means all four participants have a shot in the parity-dominated NFL.
• Browns 2023 position preview: Breaking down the RBs (clevelandbrowns.com) - The Browns appear ready to utilize a new No. 2 back behind Nick Chubb, while any more positions in the room will come down to a training camp competition

NFL:

• An NFL linebacker quit football to sell Pokémon cards, now he’s making millions (The Athletic $$) - Blake Martinez wired a six-figure sum to a man in Japan he’d never met, then waited. The cash was crammed into duffel bags, delivered by train and dropped on a doorstep. The package was shipped stateside via FedEx two-day air. But once it landed, it went nowhere.
• Commanders’ Antonio Gibson wants to line up more at WR in 2023: ‘I haven’t shown my position’ (NFL.com) - Eric Bieniemy taking over as offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders brings change for a host of players, perhaps none more so than running back Antonio Gibson.
• How the Dolphins’ Zach Thomas blended humility and fury into a HOF career (ESPN) - For a time, Zach Thomas was content with accepting his fate. The former Miami Dolphins linebacker enjoyed a 13-year Hall of Fame-worthy playing career — or so many football fans believed. But for nine years after he became eligible for enshrinement, voters decided otherwise.
• Giants’ impasse with Saquon Barkley heats up: It’s impossible to know what’s true (nj.com) - The contract squabble between Saquon Barkley and the Giants has become an epic they-said-this-and-the-other-side-said-that battle. And that’s the nicest thing we can say about it.