Damarious Randall doesn't know where he'll line up this Sunday. He might play safety, he might play corner. The only certainty: He doesn't care which.
"I'm an athlete, bro," Randall said. "I don't think you can put a position on me."
That's fortunate for the Browns because cornerback E.J. Gaines missed last week's game with a concussion, and Hue Jackson said Gaines is likely to sit out again against the Steelers.
But the Browns built their secondary for situations like this. They traded for Randall with free safety — his college position — in mind, but they also noticed his three years of cornerback experience in Green Bay.
Randall was glad when the Browns moved him back to his natural position. Last Sunday against Tampa, though, he bounced around, marking Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Evans as a cornerback for the majority of the game.
"He got it done," Jackson said. "He competed and played extremely well in my opinion. It is really, really good to have a guy with his versatility because there are a lot of different things you can do with Damarious."
This isn't Randall's first shift to the outside. And he doesn't seem fazed by the uncertainty.
"Whatever the defensive coordinator wants," Randall said of his preferred position this weekend.
That's not to say Randall's positional transition is seamless, though. Safeties and corners shoulder different responsibilities. Safeties have the luxury of watching the play unfold. Corners? They run. Constantly.
"Of course," Randall said when asked if cornerbacks run more than safeties. "That's not even a question. As a safety, you can see things, you can slow-play some things. But at corner, you just never know whether it's a run or pass. So you always gotta be on your P's and Q's."
That will ring especially true this Sunday when the Browns travel to Pittsburgh. The Steelers haven't finished outside the top 10 in passing yards since 2013, and they'll enter Sunday's game with the seventh-best passing attack in the league due in large part to a talented receiving core. Randall called Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster one of the best wide receiver duos in the league.
Regardless of where he lines up Sunday, Randall is ready for the challenge.
"I just feel like I'm a different cut type athlete," Randall said. "And whatever (the Browns) ask me to do, I will do that for the team."
