The Browns waved goodbye to their devout fans Wednesday, but it's only temporary.
Cleveland held its final open practice of 2021 training camp, and the team was sent off with a wam round of applause from another big crowd at the CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. QB Baker Mayfield, WR Odell Beckham Jr. and a cast of many more walked over to the stands and gave their thanks for all the support they've received over the course of the past few weeks.
In just a few short days, the team and fans will see each other at FirstEnergy Stadium, when the Browns host the Giants for their second preseason game. And then in a few short weeks, it will count for real when the Browns host the Texans in their 2021 regular season home opener.
Here's what else happened Wednesday:
— Browns S Grant Delpit, just one day after he returned to the field for the first time in two weeks, walked off with a member of the Browns training staff after reinjuring his hamstring during a team period.
— WR Davion Davis just keeps making big plays. His latest came Wednesday when Case Keenum rolled out of the pocket and lofted a deep pass to him down the left sidelines for a long touchdown. It's been quite a stretch of days for Davis, who continues to make the most of extensive playing time in the wake of a handful of injuries in the WRs room.
— WR Anthony Schwartz had a nice catch-and-run near the end of the team period. The third-round rookie returned to practice Tuesday after missing more than a week with a hamstring injury.
— The Browns kept things relatively light for a second consecutive day in preparation for Thursday's and Friday's joint practices with the Giants. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said the practices would be full speed but would not include tackling to the ground.
— The Browns and Giants will practice two hours each day. Each practice will include a two-minute drill period. Friday's will feature some red zone work.
"(Giants coach Joe Judge) and I spoke way back when in the spring and talked about doing this, and very open at with, 'What do you need to see? What do we need to see? Here is what we have done,'" Stefanski said. "Share some schedules together and then modify it with the coaches as the coaches talk to each other.
"There will be competitive periods, but AVP (offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt) will script the offense and give that to their defensive coaches and say, 'Hey, we are in this personnel on these plays,' so they can script their defense. You are working together to make sure you get good work."
— Asked if WR Odell Beckham Jr. would be able to participate in team drills against his old team, Stefanski said, "we are just following the discretion of the medical team."
— The following players didn't practice because of injuries: WR Ja'Marcus Bradley (neck), Tony Fields II (foot), DE Myles Garrett (hamstring), S Sheldrick Redwine (ankle), CB M.J. Stewart Jr. (hamstring), CB Denzel Ward (soreness), G Michael Dunn (back), .
— Demetric Felton continues to bounce between WR and RB at practice, and Wednesday marked a day at RB. He'd primarily played at WR up to this point because of the aforementioned injuries affecting the group. Stefanski said he expects the Browns will hone in on a specific position for him by the time they start game-planning for opponents but expressed confidence in his ability to do both within a single game, if necessary.
"You have to also think about how defenses are going to treat him," Stefanski said. "A lot of defenses when they play against a running back that is lined up in the slot or empty a lot, they treat him as a wide receiver so you may get more of a nickel defense. Those are the type of things that Demetric, if he is deserving of being here, he needs to carve out his own role. That is a work in progress, and we will see how it shakes out over the next couple of weeks."
— Browns. Giants. Thursday. 2:25 p.m. Tune in to Browns Live to catch all of the action.
