5 Things We Learned from the Cleveland Browns' OTAs
The Cleveland Browns are deep in the throes of Phase III of their organized team activities, which include 10 practices leading up to mid-June's mandatory minicamp.
Though there are still practices scheduled, there have already been notable takeaways from the Browns' early OTA practices. Here are five things we've learned thus far.
Injured Veterans Are Working Their Way Back
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A number of Browns veterans are continuing to work their way back from their respective injuries, with some participating more than others during OTAs thus far. Among them are center Alex Mack, defensive tackle Phil Taylor and linebacker Barkevious Mingo.
The Browns are being cautious with Mack, who suffered a broken leg in October. According to Andrew Gribble of the Browns' official website, Mack took part in the early portion of Tuesday's practices but sat out the Browns' 11-on-11 drills.
Guard John Greco handled the center duties in the drills, with rookie Cameron Erving working at right guard, Greco's typical position.
Browns head coach Mike Pettine declared Mack "ready to go," but he noted they will be careful with the center until training camp, saying, "That's just something where we just want to probably be a lot more conservative with it. He'll be able to do anything where there's no risk of a collision or getting tripped up," for now.
Meanwhile, ClevelandBrowns.com's Kevin Jones noted that Taylor, who suffered a knee injury last season, took part in a few drills with the first-team defense. Mingo, though, is still wearing a red no-contact jersey after undergoing shoulder surgery, reports Scott Sargent of WaitingForNextYear.com. Mingo had initially believed he'd be 100 percent cleared for contact by OTAs but it now appears that will not happen until training camp.
Safety Tashaun Gipson Is Still Holding out
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Though the Browns initially had more than $50 million in salary cap space once the 2015 offseason began earlier this year, they opted to give safety Tashaun Gipson a second-round restricted free-agent tender, worth $2.356 million.
The tender was expected to be a jumping-off point for a long-term contract. But that contract has yet to materialize and Gipson has not signed his tender. He is currently sitting out of OTAs while he waits to get a new deal.
OTAs are voluntary, and Gipson is working out on his own in Texas. And because he is unsigned, Gipson won't be subject to fines if he misses mandatory minicamp or training camp. But he can be subject to seeing his 2015 salary reduced to $627,000 if he does not sign the tender by June 15.
Expect Gipson and the Browns to try to work something out between the end of OTAs and the start of mid-June's minicamp. Until he reports, Jordan Poyer will be working with the first-team defense alongside fellow safety Donte Whitner.
Running Back Duke Johnson Absent for Now
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Rookie running back Duke Johnson is the only member of the Browns' 2015 draft class to still be unsigned. But it's not a contract dispute that's keeping him from attending OTAs. Initially described as a "travel issue," Johnson's agent Alex Gavilla said (via the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot) Johnson is not attending because of a "family matter."
Gavilla said, "We did not instruct him to miss OTAs. We're not trying to take an aggressive negotiating strategy. Duke is very close to his family and he had personal matter to attend to. He has no plans of holding out of anything."
Johnson is attending the NFLPA's Rookie Premiere in California, which began on Thursday and, according to Gavilla, "We anticipate Duke being on the field for organized team activities when he gets back from Los Angeles."
Until then, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West have been taking the bulk of the first-team reps at running back, with Glenn Winston and undrafted rookie Luke Lundy rounding out the position.
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Cleveland's Offense Is Taking Shape
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ClevelandBrowns.com's Kevin Jones noted that the Browns offense—which is entirely new, given they have a new starting quarterback, a new group of receivers and a new coordinator and quarterbacks coach—is beginning to take shape.
"Motion, motion, motion. An educated estimate showed about 70 percent of plays called by offensive coordinator John DeFilippo had either a tight end or wide receiver moving around, and some plays had up to four players shifting around," Jones write
He also saw "multiple swing passes" to receiver Andrew Hawkins, who lined up in the backfield, a heavy dose of tight end Rob Housler in the middle of the field, bunch receiver sets and lots of running. This lines up with what the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot expected from the offense.
She wrote, "We do know the Browns want to run the ball a lot to take the pressure off McCown. It will likely feature plenty of shifting and motion, and some elements of the West Coast offense and its short passing game."
Pettine told Jones that, "We are going to install a lot. We are going to throw a lot at our guys and see what we can retain. And then we'll see back as coaches and look at here's what we do well and go." Clearly, a main focus of OTAs thus far is to teach the players as much of the offense as possible.
Johnny Manziel Looking Good as Second-Team Quarterback
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As expected, quarterback Johnny Manziel is working with the second-team offense during OTAs, and thus far, he's doing a good job of it. Head coach Mike Pettine said, via Scout.com's Fred Greetham, that Manziel has "been very engaged in meetings and I feel a better sense of urgency from [the quarterback room]" and that, "I think he's a little bit more focused now, but he knows and he's said he has to go out and prove it every day."
Greetham observed Manziel throw an interception intended for running back Isaiah Crowell and then noted that "he bounced back and completed several passes to [tight end] Gary Barnidge [and wide receiver] Travis Benjamin with zip on the ball."
ClevelandBrowns.com's Kevin Jones noted that "Manziel was dialed in from the start," and he connected on a 45-yard pass to Rodney Smith. Jones also added that "the velocity on his throws and footwork in the pocket looked improved." While there is no quarterback competition going on at present, Manziel could force the issue when training camp begins in July.
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