Cleveland's quarterbacks were thousands of miles away from Berea during the time between minicamp and training camp, but there weren't any breaks from the ongoing competition.
This was their personal, free time, but none of them took their foot off the gas.
Cody Kessler and DeShone Kizer worked alongside some of the NFL's top signal-callers, a group that included 2016 MVP Matt Ryan, in Los Angeles with quarterback guru Tom House. Up in Coure d'Alene, Idaho, Brock Osweiler could be found at a local high school working with his former college coach, Dennis Erickson, and former longtime NFL quarterback Jake Plummer.
The common thread: They were surrounded by people who have experience, one way or another, in a Hue Jackson offense.
"We have a big playbook I need to worry about as far as hard-wiring it in my brain so I can be the best teammate I can be for the Cleveland Browns," Osweiler said.
Osweiler, who was acquired in a trade with the Houston Texans in March, didn't change up his routine this summer. He retreats to Coure d'Alene every summer with his family and works on his game at the local high school, often using kids from the team as his receivers, while catching up with Erickson and Plummer, both of whom live in Coure d'Alene. What made this summer different is the connection between Plummer and Jackson, who was the quarterbacks coach during Plummer's junior season at Arizona State.
Under Jackson, Plummer registered his highest completion percentage as a college player and threw 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
"He gave me some pointers on bootlegs, nakeds and keepers. I think he was pretty good at those back in the day as well as some other things," Osweiler said of Plummer, who logged 10 seasons in the NFL with the Cardinals and Broncos. "He knows a lot about what Coach Jackson expects."
Kizer spent his first summer as an NFL quarterback surrounded by the kinds of players he aspires to be. Over five weeks, he worked alongside Ryan, Kessler, Matthew Stafford, Blake Bortles and others as he simultaneously fine-tuned his fundamentals and grew more and more comfortable with the language and verbiage of Jackson's playbook.
"I thought it was a no-brainer to go out and spend time with the guys who have taught guys to have success with Coach Jackson's system," Kizer said. "I learned quite a bit about myself and some of the biomechanics behind being a good thrower, as well as the right mental process that you need to have to continue to have success within something under Coach Jackson."
Kessler was in Kizer's shoes last summer as a newbie at House's camp. In his second year, Kessler continued the workouts and routines that helped him develop better arm strength and accuracy on his deeper throws during the time between the end of the season and OTAs.
He also found plenty of time to help Kizer get a stronger grasp on the playbook.
"We really compete every day," Kessler said. "We always have little competitions in individual drills and stuff. It is good because you get to learn from one another and really compete against guys that are in a really good position.
"I have been fortunate to have some really good coaches, as well, with Coach Jackson and (quarterbacks) Coach (David) Lee. They are the same way. They push all four of us as hard as they can. They get us going. It is fun to have guys that are that talented to compete against every day and make yourself better."
