On RB Duke Johnson Jr.'s status after leaving practice:
"We're just going to check him. He just got tagged one time. I think he'll be alright."
On Browns players returning to practice and if they are expected to play this week:
"That's my plan. I'll check with our medical staff, but hopefully, the fact that they're out here first day and in pads with everybody else, I think there is a good chance those guys will have an opportunity to play. It's good to have them back and look forward to the rest of the week and see what they can do."
On the benefits of practicing against another team and if the Browns would like to do it every year:
"Yeah, I'd like to if we can find a willing partner. Anytime you can go against another team, another organization and get a chance evaluate your team in a different light – we see our guys against our guys all the time – to evaluate them against somebody else is always fun, different and it's a true evaluation more so than going against the same guys all the time."
On if there is potentially more value practicing against another team than just a preseason game:
"You get to do more things. You get to really see the things that you need to see as a staff because we're kind of working together. There are things they need to see. There are things we need to see so it has its value, but games are still the games. There is nothing like a football game because that's what we play. We play games every week. I like both to be honest with you, but I am going to enjoy this experience with Tampa Bay."
On the format of Tuesday's and Wednesday's practices:
"Tuesday, we'll have on pads. Wednesday we'll be in shells. We're going to go practice. We'll have 9-on-7, team, pass scale. We'll do some situational football. We'll do a lot of different things to get our team better and help them get their team better."
On if there will be two separate practice fields:
"We'll have two separate fields, but I think we'll be together for a lot of it. Then, there will be times we'll split up doing certain things."
On if live tackling will be involved on the day in pads:
"We won't take anybody to the ground. We're going to play a game so we'll try to keep everybody up. The game is on Friday. This is more of let's practice against each other and take care of each other."
On how much of a major project it is to fix the Browns' 'unsettled defense':
"I think it's just work. What's important is that we get better. I think everybody has a job to do and what I said to our team this morning, everybody – offense, defense and special teams – we all have to do our job better. That is what is most important is that we understand the sense of urgency everywhere on our football team to get better and get better as fast as we can."
On looking forward to seeing what the Browns WR corps can do on Friday as players return to practice:
"I am. I'm looking forward to one having them there, potentially having them all for a game and have them go out there and play with our offensive football team. It would be fun to watch all those guys and see the different pieces, but we have to get them there. I just want to make sure. I'm going to be cautious. I'm going to talk to our medical staff. They were out here today, which was good. We'll see where they are this evening, and hopefully, they'll be back out here tomorrow so we can get better again before we take off or have them every day. I think that's the goal. I think when we started this process with (WR) Josh (Gordon) and with (WR) Corey (Coleman) since his hamstring, our whole goal was to make sure those guys are here for consecutive days so they can practice and be with the quarterbacks and the quarterbacks can get a feel for them, they get a feel for the quarterbacks and feel for their teammates. It is important for them to be out there. We'll know more as we go through the week."
On how much of a difference the new facility and the recovery methods available have helped the Browns injured players try and return to form:
"Absolutely, it's really helped. I give a lot of credit to Dee and Jimmy (Haslam) for making that a reality and putting back into our players so that we can rehab guys and get them back out here quickly, and then (head athletic trainer) Joe Sheehan designing this thing. He knew exactly what it needed to look like, feel like in order to get our players back when those things do happen. He's done a great job. He's really helped me and taught me that these guys with these soft tissue injuries, you don't want to bring them back too soon because you could lose them for more time afterwards if they all of the sudden pull something."
On how he fully emphasized sliding on rushing attempts to QB Robert Griffin III:
"Demand it (laughter). If you want to play quarterback in our system for us, there are certain things we ask the quarterback to do. Those are two of them. You have to do it. You have to protect the ball. You have to take care of yourself because you need to be out there with your teammates. He gets it. I think he understands it, but it's still in progress. It's something we have to keep working at."
On if Griffin's slides the other night were positive:
"Huge. Yeah, it was very important. It's good to see him do that. That's what he needs to do. That's what we're asking him to do as our quarterback."
On how important this week of work is for Coleman and DB Joe Haden:
"That's what's important – they need to be out there with their teammates, good practice against somebody different than the guys they practice against a lot, and then have the opportunity to play in a game, too. That's the goal for all those guys. I want to see them play in a game against a different opponent and come out there and prepare and get ready for a game because a couple of weeks from now, it's real. They need to have that experience heading into our first game."
On it being the perfect time to have join practices in Tampa Bay with players returning:
"Absolutely, it is. It has been great. A lot of teams probably wouldn't do it on the third week, but I thought it would be best for us, and I couldn't foresee the physical injuries that we would have or anything. It wasn't any magic solution. It just worked out this way. It's working out in our favor because it is important for us and what we have in the future."
On when he and Buccaneers Head Coach Dirk Koetter scheduled the joint practices:
"We did this awhile back, way before the summer. I think after the draft is when we really talked about it. They were in Jacksonville last week practicing. Obviously, they like doing this. It gives them a chance to evaluate their team, too. I'm just thrilled that they have invited us there so that we can do this together."
On determining how much to use WR Josh Gordon in practice and with the first team to prepare him and the Browns offense for the regular season, considering his four-game suspension:
"What is important is that I don't really know him yet as a football player. I'm learning and I need to see what he is able to do. He is talented, obviously. He has a lot of talent. The more I can see him and feel him before because he will be away and not able to do that, the more I can understand when he gets back and he can hit the ground running the right way. It is important for him to be out there with those guys. It is important for him to be with the ones because I think he is going to be one of our better players. We have to put him out there and see what he is capable of doing."
On DB Jamar Taylor working with the first team defense at CB today:
"It means he is one of starting corners."
On how Taylor earned the first team reps:
"He plays the game we want him to play it. He made some plays the other night on the ball. I expect our corners to get their hands on balls and defend the other teams' receivers. We are going to keep mixing and matching until we get this right. That is just how I am. That is how our defensive staff is. This is how our offensive staff is. Our job is to put the best players out there and give them a chance to play and put people in position to be successful. That's what we are going to do."
On if Taylor is making the most out of a fresh start after it did not work out for him in Miami:
"I can't speak to what happened there. Here, he has been outstanding. He has done everything that we have asked him to do, he has done it the right way and he is a good football player."
On if DB Tramon Williams has played enough as a nickel corner to slide him inside:
"There is no question. He has done it, like you said. He has done it here and done a good job of that. Tramon is fine and will do a good job for us, too."
On if this is a special opportunity for Taylor to compete against the Buccaneers and to show that he wants the job:
"Absolutely. There is no question. Anybody that we put out there first, they have a chance to claim what is there's and what they want. That is all everybody wants is just an opportunity to show that they belong or that they should be one of the 53, one of the guys and one of the starters. He is going to get that opportunity, and he has to make the most of it.
