Brendan Gulick reports the lastest on the Browns from Browns HQ in Berea.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Well, hi, everybody, and welcome to Berea.
00:11 This is the Browns Practice Report,
00:13 part of our continuing coverage on Browns Digest.
00:16 I'm Brendan Gulick, and I want to bring you the latest
00:18 from the Cleveland Browns training facility
00:20 here this afternoon.
00:21 It's a big day because we found out
00:23 from head coach Kevin Stefanski that Deshaun Watson is not
00:26 playing and not supposed to practice this week
00:30 as the Browns get ready for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
00:34 So PJ Walker, who was officially added to the 53-man roster
00:38 this afternoon, PJ Walker is going
00:40 to make his third consecutive appearance for Cleveland.
00:43 Obviously, started a couple of weeks ago,
00:46 came in and played most of the game this past week,
00:49 and now will be this team's starting quarterback
00:52 this Sunday.
00:52 Kevin Stefanski did talk with us a little bit ago
00:55 and want to share a little bit of what he had to say,
00:57 including Kevin breaking the news about Deshaun.
01:01 With Deshaun, PJ is going to start this week.
01:04 Deshaun is going to focus on his rehab.
01:07 I just feel like with what happened in the game,
01:09 landing on a shoulder, there's residual swelling that's
01:13 affecting his throwing.
01:15 I think it's the best thing for him to rest this week
01:19 and focus on the rehab.
01:20 And as I've told you guys, I will always
01:23 make what I think are the best decisions for our football
01:26 team, for Deshaun, and I feel like this is the best
01:29 decision for this week.
01:31 But with that, I'll take any questions.
01:34 Kevin, it's now been described as a four- to six-week injury.
01:38 Should you guys have put him on IR at the start?
01:41 Yeah, I would just tell you, Tony, as you know,
01:44 we make decisions based on the information
01:46 that you have every day.
01:47 You guys have heard me say day to day,
01:49 and I just think that's based on the player,
01:53 how he's feeling, the information with the injury,
01:56 all those things.
01:57 But you're just trying to make the best decision you can.
02:01 So look, hindsight's 20/20, right?
02:03 And I'm sure if the Browns knew four weeks ago that it
02:05 was going to go this way, they probably
02:07 would have seriously considered adding Deshaun to IR.
02:11 But that's not how things have gone.
02:13 And the reality is, so far, it really
02:16 hasn't snakebitten the team too badly
02:18 because they were ultimately able to get through a bye
02:21 with part of the injury time here.
02:23 And they've won back-to-back games.
02:26 Hasn't necessarily looked great.
02:27 I don't know that I would say the Browns have won games
02:29 in spite of PJ Walker.
02:30 I don't think that's fair.
02:32 He's made some good plays.
02:33 But certainly, a little bit of the play from Walker
02:36 has left something to be desired.
02:38 And so hopefully, with three days worth of first team reps
02:42 that he's going to have this week,
02:43 hopefully, Walker will be able to--
02:46 as far as the prognosis on Deshaun's shoulder
02:50 and the outlook for him moving forward,
02:53 here's what Coach Stefanski had to say
02:54 about any potential further damage
02:58 to what Deshaun's shoulder injury has had.
03:01 [INAUDIBLE]
03:03 Did he have more damage?
03:04 Yeah.
03:06 No, there's no structural damage, Tom, based on the MRI.
03:12 There is, like I mentioned, residual swelling.
03:15 But that's why it's just important for him
03:16 to focus on rehab this week.
03:20 So the good news is no further damage, right?
03:22 Just some swelling.
03:23 And I would hope that with some continued rehab
03:27 and hopefully rest mixed in with that for Deshaun,
03:32 that the rotator cuff injury that he's dealing with
03:36 can be healed soon.
03:37 I don't know if the Browns even really know for sure
03:40 if he has further aggravated it with that swelling
03:44 and maybe set himself back.
03:45 I'm not sure they really know the exact timetable moving
03:48 forward.
03:51 They're going to continue to take this thing as best
03:55 they can on a day-to-day basis.
03:56 I know that everybody in this locker room
03:58 wants Deshaun to be out there and be fully functional
04:01 and healthy and give this team the best chance to win.
04:04 But in the meantime, I can tell you
04:06 in being around this team a little bit
04:08 that they have full faith and confidence in PJ Walker
04:11 to go out and perform well.
04:13 Walker needs to play a little bit better for sure.
04:15 But it's not for a lack of faith or belief in his teammates.
04:20 There's a lot of confidence.
04:21 And you even heard it from Miles Garrett post-game
04:23 that they love the way that PJ Walker approaches the game
04:26 and is all about ball.
04:29 So they feel good about, hey, we're
04:31 going to go out and give our best effort in Seattle
04:33 and see what happens.
04:34 Speaking of Seattle, pretty tough place
04:36 to play over the years, hasn't it been?
04:38 I don't know any team that goes into Seattle
04:40 and feels comfortable because it is so loud
04:43 and such a tough environment.
04:45 And the Browns are trying their absolute best
04:47 to get ready for that.
04:48 We did have a chance to talk in the locker room
04:50 here today with Kareem Hunt, with Grant Delpit,
04:52 and certainly with Anthony Walker.
04:55 And I thought the best sound I got from Anthony Walker
04:57 in particular came when I asked him about Geno Smith
05:01 and what this offense could look like.
05:03 And I thought he gave a pretty cool answer
05:04 about his relationship with Geno going back a bit.
05:07 Next week, you're playing a quarterback that kind of had
05:10 a resurgence last year.
05:11 Geno had a really good season.
05:13 When you watch him on tape, what stands out to you
05:15 about the way he plays?
05:16 What's his best quality?
05:17 Yeah, I think he can make every throw.
05:20 I think he can make the outside throws better than a lot
05:22 of quarterbacks in the NFL.
05:25 He can throw on the move.
05:26 He can use his legs very deceptively.
05:29 Obviously, I'm biased.
05:30 I've known Geno for a very long time,
05:32 being from the same area.
05:34 I've been watching him since he played Little League football.
05:36 Obviously, he's older than me, but always been a fan.
05:40 So I think--
05:41 I always thought he was a good quarterback.
05:43 So I'm biased.
05:45 It's a question that resurges.
05:46 I don't think it was that.
05:47 I think he got in the right system, where it benefits him.
05:51 Got a running game that marries with the pass.
05:53 And I think he's a good quarterback
05:54 when you put those two together.
05:55 I commend Walker for his stance on that, for sure.
06:01 But I think it is fair to say that he
06:03 had a resurgence last year as the 2022 NFL
06:06 Comeback Player of the Year.
06:08 Geno Smith's been in the league for a long, long time.
06:10 And certainly, one of his best ever years came last year.
06:14 And he's becoming one of the better quarterbacks now
06:17 in Seattle Seahawks history with what
06:19 he has done over the last 12 to 18 months at this point.
06:24 That said, I think there is something, too--
06:27 and I talked with Anthony Offcamber about this.
06:29 I think there is something, too, a player finding
06:32 the right system to get into.
06:34 And there are probably lots of guys around the league
06:37 that have a ton of raw talent.
06:41 But different organizations do things differently.
06:44 Sometimes it's, hey, I'm coordinating this unit.
06:47 And this is how I want to run it.
06:48 And we're going to try to find players that fit my scheme,
06:52 as opposed to the other way around, where I think maybe
06:54 it's a better approach of, OK, if I come in
06:56 and I'm coordinating a unit, and it's, hey, this is what I got.
07:01 Now how can I make the best of what we have here,
07:05 as opposed to trying to shoehorn certain players
07:08 into a certain mentality or a certain scheme?
07:11 So whatever the case is, Seattle has figured out a way
07:14 to really make use of Geno Smith's talents really well.
07:18 Kenneth Walker is a terrific running back.
07:20 He breaks a lot of tackles.
07:22 And he's been really tough to bring down this year.
07:25 And when that receiver room is at full health,
07:27 it's one of the better, deeper rooms in the entire NFL,
07:31 in my opinion.
07:31 DK Metcalf is questionable right now as we sit midweek.
07:35 But I'm sure Seattle is hopeful that he'll
07:36 be able to come back.
07:38 Ty Lockett's really talented.
07:39 Jackson Smith and Jigba, the Ohio State product,
07:42 scored his first NFL touchdown last week.
07:44 He's a great route runner and somebody
07:46 that I think Seattle is really high on.
07:48 They've got a good tight end room.
07:50 This is a good offense.
07:50 And Seattle's playing well right now, coming off a win.
07:53 They're 4-2 on the season as well.
07:54 And I know the Browns are expecting a tough test
07:57 from the Seahawks this weekend.
07:59 And by the way, it's been a very long time
08:01 since Cleveland has won a game in Seattle, decades, in fact.
08:05 So the Browns are--
08:07 certainly this group is not focused
08:09 on past imperfections and losses along the way.
08:15 But I get the impression that this group is sure confident
08:18 that they can go to Seattle and win a game
08:20 in a tough environment on the road.
08:22 So we'll see what they do as they prep
08:23 throughout the course of the week.
08:24 Tomorrow, we'll have open locker room again
08:26 with a handful of players at 1120.
08:28 It's Thursday at the facility tomorrow.
08:30 And so that means we'll hear from all three coordinators.
08:32 So Bubba Ventrone, Alex Van Pelt, Jim Schwartz
08:35 will all take the stand and answer
08:37 some questions from the media.
08:39 And then right around 1:30, the Browns
08:41 will get out to the practice field.
08:42 And we'll be able to watch the first 20 or 25
08:44 minutes of practice.
08:45 So we'll continue to bring you the latest news
08:47 and information from the facility
08:48 throughout the course of the week.
08:50 But for all the latest on the team,
08:51 you can head over to BrownsDigest.com.
08:54 And we'll have anything that you need
08:55 to know about this team posted over there.
08:57 I'm Brendan Gulick reporting live in Berea.
09:00 We'll see you again real soon as we continue to cover the Cleveland
09:02 Browns here on Browns Digest.
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