Head Coach Kevin Stefanski:
On if RB Nick Chubb is in concussion protocol:
“He is.”
On confirming that Chubb will not practice today:
“Correct.”
On what was said to the team after the hard tackle of Chubb during yesterday’s practice:
“I am going to keep those conversations internal.”
On if it fair to say that he was not happy with the play:
“That is fair.”
On the disappointment of a player getting injured during the first padded practice:
“Yeah, I would say that is disappointing. We have to be smart. We have a lot of work to do, and we are going to continue to have our pads on. We just have to make sure as a team that we get our work done and get it done while taking care of each other.”
On if having RB Kareem Hunt available to step in can help the offense, run game and defense continue to prepare with Chubb out:
“I think that is a really good running back room. I think (run game coordinator/running backs) Coach (Stump) Mitchell does a great job with those guys. Kareem looks great. He is really moving around and has a very good grasp of what we want this offense to look like. Excited for what Kareem has going forward.”
On his tolerance for dropped passes during practice and if the rain plays a role in dropped passes yesterday:
“It was rainy, but I do not want to use that as an excuse. We are an outdoor football team. Receivers by definition receive. We are going to throw plenty of balls to our running backs and our tight ends so there is a standard that we expect. That is something that they work really hard on. That is a pre-practice drill and a post-practice drill. They get a lot of work during the practice itself, and I should mention you know we put a huge emphasis with our defense. We want these tipped balls and overthrows to turn into turnovers.”
On if the Browns keep track of dropped passes at practice:
“We do.”
On how TE David Njoku can elevate his game and become a consistent pass-catching tight end:
“I think you hit the nail on the head. All of our players, we are looking for consistency. David is no different. We need him to perform day in and day out in the run game and the pass game. I think he showed up here in great shape, he is learning the playbook and I think he is willing to put in the work.”
On if there is something specifically he talks with Njoku about to work on either mentally or physically to elevate his game:
“Not necessarily. With each player, you have to reach them in a different way. We are all different so there are some guys that are great learning from tape and there are other guys that need walkthrough. For David or for any of our players, we have to as coaches find a way to reach our students.”
On if the hard tackle on Chubb and his injury will change practices moving forward, given the desire to be aggressive but keep people safe:
“No, we will not change anything about what we are doing. Yeah, we want our defense play with great enthusiasm. I think (defensive coordinator) Joe (Woods) and the staff are doing an outstanding job in showing our guys the level of play that we are looking for. We just know there is a safe way to do that.”
On if he can sense when things are getting too heated in practice:
“Yeah, I think you can.”
On how T Jedrick Wills Jr. is performing at LT early in camp:
“Like you said, it is early. I think all of our rookies are working on technique. They are all working in the playbook and the scheme of what we are trying to get done, but I can assure you with Jed and with all of our rookies, our coaches are spending a lot of time with them. There is time on the practice field, there is time in the meeting room and there is time off to the side. We have to utilize our time, be efficient with what we do and making sure that we are getting it how we want it.”
On if the Browns will use TEs and multiple-TE formations as frequently as he did last year:
“I cannot specifically say what that will look like. I will tell you, we want to be multiple. The tight end room, the wide receiver room, the running back room, we want to use all. There will be some games that call for one person over the other, but that will be dictated really by the game.”
On if he stressed to Njoku how important he can be in the system this year, given Njoku requested and then rescinded a trade request:
“I did not necessarily stress that to David, no. I think all of our tight ends understand the type of offense that we run, the different jobs that will have them do. I think and David can answer that better than I can, but I think he understands the role in which he will play and all those guys in that room.”
On he is most pleased with and what he learned about your team in the early going:
“I think we are early in this. I think we have to get through these four days of contact integration, as the NFL is calling it, before we kind of know what we have. I will tell you, by and large, the work has been good. It is not perfect. It is nowhere near where we want to be, but that is the nature of training camp in the nature of practice.”
On the importance of signing TE Austin Hooper for the offense and scheme:
“Yeah, we identified that early on in that free agency process, and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager) Andrew (Berry) and his staff did a great job to make that happen. We think we have a versatile football player, a guy that has played in a scheme similar to this. He really can do a bunch of different jobs, a young player, smart. Very excited about Austin.”
On TE Harrison Bryant playing offensive line in high school and if that makes him usable as an inline TE:
“I think the inline tight end for us, typically is our Y, and I have seen many shapes and sizes of players play that position on the line of scrimmage throughout the history of this offense and the history of this game. I think all of them can play that position with varying degrees of comfort. Harrison’s background in offensive line play, yeah, I would think that it helps in some of the footwork and some of the hand placement, but he is somebody that we really see versatility in his game. Excited to grow that here over the next couple of weeks.”
On if practices increases in minutes every four days due to the contact integration policies determined by the NFL:
“It does. It increases by 15 minutes.”
Photos courtesy of the Cleveland Browns / Matt Starkey