On if the Browns need to bring in another RB:
"For the immediate future for this week, we are not. We will wait and see. (RB) Duke (Johnson Jr.) was obviously out today. We should get word [on his status]. We will wait and see where we are with it."
On if he has an idea of the severity of RB Duke Johnson Jr.'s concussion:
"No."
On if RB Shaun Draughn is progressing from his hand injury and if he can now handle the ball:
"He is. He handled it some today. The further he gets along, the more they can remove from the cast. He will get to the point where he will just have a protective covering on it and not a cast. There is a chance, even Thursday night, that he will handle the ball some."
On if Draughn wore something different on his hand today than against Tampa Bay:
"Yeah, it was a little bit less than what it was."
On LB Barkevious Mingo's status:
"Mingo was out there today. Because today was jog-through pace, he was able to go through a lot. That was encouraging to see that he truly is on pace to be back potentially for Week 1."
On if Draughn's health is more of a determining factor than Johnson Jr. in regards to the team bringing in another RB:
"We already have a lot of information on Shaun. Whether he plays Thursday or to what extent he can play, I don't think that will be a determining factor when we do the final evaluation of the roster. We had him here for the end of last year and through the season. We know who he is. When things settle down from Thursday night, we have enough information to make an evaluation, is what I am trying to say."
On how DL Phil Taylor looked in his preseason debut:
"He did some good things. That is more of a confidence test than anything out there to be able to go out there and know that it is full speed and push off of it and change direction and take on double teams. I think just like anybody else, (OL) Alex (Mack), anybody coming off leg injury, (DL) Armonty (Bryant), a lot more of it is the mental than it is the physical. It was good to get him out there. As limited as it was, it was good to get him out there playing."
On knowing when Taylor will be able to contribute during the season:
"I don't. I don't because that was a pretty serious knee injury and those things take time. I just don't have a good answer for that."
On potentially adding now former Bills RB Fred Jackson:
"I don't want to get into hypotheticals. Let's talk about people that are here. We throw names out. I didn't give a name out the other day and now it is I am not ruling people out. We are aware of who is available. I will leave it at that."
On how much better QB Josh McCown's protection will be this year compared to last year:
"I can't speak on Tampa. I watched some of the film to evaluate him. That is a priority of ours to protect the quarterback. We feel we built the offensive line to be that way. We invested in tight end when those guys do have to protect. That is one of the individual techniques we practice often. It is a priority fort the backs. You need to keep your quarterback upright. You need to keep the pocket clean so he can step up in it and scan the field to make throws. For us, that is Football 101. We want to invest in protection."
On the offensive line's progression to this point and McCown taking hits against Tampa Bay:
"Sometimes overall, you look at the picture of 'is your quarterback getting hit' and there are times when you get a peak or a chance to look at a replay. That is a big thing for our offensive linemen. They can be good early, but they have to make sure they stay solid late. Part of that also is a function of Josh. 'Hey, let's get the ball out.' Then, we are not worried about getting beat late in pass protection. When you start to run around you could have your block executed and then your guy ends up getting a hit. We feel very confident in our offensive line and their ability to protect. I know that group. That is the last group I am worried about for the opener."
On if he has seen enough from WR Dwayne Bowe to be confident he will be as good as he was in previous years:
"He just needs to play in our system. There is plenty of tape, years and years of tape to go back and look at it. That is why he is here. He just needs to play in our system, and it has been unfortunate that he has been hurt. Dwayne is a professional, and we are confident he will be able to perform at a high level when he is out there."
On if DB Justin Gilbert and DB K'Waun Williams were limited today in practice:
"Yeah, they both went today. (DB Pierre) Desir wasn't out there. (LB Nate) Orchard wasn't out there. (DB Charles) Gaines was not out there. We did get Nelly (DB Robert Nelson Jr.) back. Mingo [was back]. Kitch (DL Ishmaa'ily Kitchen) was back. Gilbert went today just because of the tempo of practice."
On having an update on Orchard's status:
"I don't. It was not portrayed as anything serious. We are confident just a little bit of time and treatment and rehab will take care of it. I don't see it as anything at this point that will cause him to miss games."
On concerns about McCown being skittish because of all the hits he took last season:
"I don't see that. To me, it is the opposite. He is willing to stand in. He is willing to take some hits in order to make some throws. I don't see him as skittish at all."
On if that was a concern before McCown signed with Cleveland:
"No."
On having an update on QB Johnny Manziel:
"No. I don't know when he will throw again, but he is doing his rehab exercises. He is on the training room protocol with it. There is not any real update with Johnny."
On why the Browns defense fits DL Jamie Meder so well:
"Jamie is a guy that has played very well for us. He is not a flashy guy, but he is very good with his technique and with his hands. I am very pleased with where Jamie is. We are just going to see how it all plays out. As we all know, that is a room where we have tremendous depth. Jamie is a guy that – I think (defensive coordinator Jim) O'Neil said it the other day – if you had to vote for a most improved that he would certainly be in the discussion."
On where DL Desmond Bryant fits in the defensive system and where he can improve:
"If you had to say what he is better at rushing the passer or defending the run, I would say rushing the passer. We need to get him in those situations. I think our additional depth will help that. We can put him in situations where it is more likely to be pass than it is run. He has proven to us that he is more than capable of playing every down. We are very pleased with where Des is. He fought through some things injury wise a year ago, and I thought he played well for us. He was one of the pleasant surprises of the season with how he pushed through. Even this offseason, he has had a good offseason and he has gotten good results on the field."
On the kicking competition:
"It is close. It is close. We are going to discuss that. We still have some moves to make to get to 75. We are going to get together here tonight to make the decision as to whether or not we can still carry two or whether we are going to have to make a decision here quickly."
On distributing playing time Thursday:
"I am not going to go through the list now because we haven't gotten with the players yet. Similar to last year, we are going to rest a good number of our guys."
On if QB Pat Devlin will be able to play:
"Yes. He could have played against Tampa. There was a 10-12 play rack that we had for him in an emergency where he could have gone in and played. We are confident he will know what to do on Thursday. He will get a decent number of reps between him and (QB) Thad (Lewis)."
On if Devlin has a photographic memory:
"I had not heard that, but he is a Philly kid so that wouldn't surprise me (laughter)."
On if he saw anything from WR Shane Wynn to make him believe he could be an NFL receiver:
"He made plays. I think Shane got caught up in the numbers a little bit. We loved having Shane here. We loved his attitude. He was productive for us. He went out and worked hard every day and made plays. I tell those guys, 'Just because the door closes one place, hopefully, it can open others. 'To me it certainly would be open here if we ever needed for him to be back here. He did enough good things and left a favorable enough impression. I think he has an NFL skillset. It just ended up being a numbers thing."
On being comfortable having a kicker who has never kicked in a regular season game facing a game-winning kick:
"I am going to rely on Tabes (special teams coordinator Chris Tabor) and his opinion with it. Rookie kickers play. It is no different. They have to put the ball through the uprights. I have seen rookie kickers come in this league and be very successful. I am not that concerned about that. I think the competition has really been great for both of them as far as working under pressure, knowing I have a guy right next to me that is ready to take the job if I miss this kick. That could be the end of it for me. Those guys have been dealing with NFL type pressure now since the day we moved on from (K Garrett) Hartley and they knew it was essentially a two-horse race. We have been very open with them about there were not going to be any winner by default. Our kicker could be outside the building. Those guys have both kicked well and have done a nice job handling the pressure."
On WR Terrelle Pryor's hamstring injury:
"We will know a little bit more tomorrow because tomorrow will be full-speed tempo in pads. Today was a just a jog–through. He looked good out there today. I think tomorrow will truly tell. If he does go against Chicago, he will be limited as far as the number of plays he is going to play. We are not just going to put him out there and say, 'Play the whole game.' We will have a clear plan for him on Thursday and we are hopeful that he can go."
