Browns OL Mitchell Schwartz hopes to remain at right tackle. Coach Mike Pettine has broached the idea of Schwartz moving to guard, but has since said he'll likely remain at tackle. "I have only played tackle here for two years and going back into college," Schwartz said. Schwartz did hint he would not protest too strongly were the move made. Schwartz has remained at right tackle for voluntary workouts, but his position could ultimately depend on what the Browns do in the draft.
Extra Points ? File this: A source says that efforts by the Browns to sign tight end Jordan Cameron to a long-term contract have snagged already. The Browns have had two different offers rejected by Cameron, who is in the last year of his contract. After the first practice of coach Mike Pettine?s voluntary veteran minicamp on Tuesday, Cameron declined to characterize negotiations in any way. ?That?s business stuff,? he said. ?I can?t think about that. I?ve got the season to play and my business people handle that. I can?t really say anything about it. I?ve got to play hard and really focus on this right now.? Cameron would not even address whether he wants to get contract talks out of the way before the season starts. Center Alex Mack had the same attitude last year. After owner Jimmy Haslam blew up football operations ? interrupting contract talks -- the new regime gave Mack the transition tag. The Browns matched an offer sheet for $42 million over five years signed by Jacksonville, which can be voided by Mack after two years for $18 million. The source says Cameron?s rejection of the two Browns? offers may have more to do with a desire to return to the West Coast than quibbling over dollars. In any case, the Browns could use the franchise tag on Cameron in 2015. But they have other core veterans with contracts expiring this season to consider, also, such as cornerback Joe Haden, linebacker Jabaal Sheard, nose tackle Phil Taylor and defensive lineman Ahtyba Rubin. For his part, Cameron does not intend to rest on the laurels of his first Pro Bowl season. ?Got to do better,? he said. ?Lot of stuff to work on. I?m not anywhere near where I can be. I still got a lot to learn and I will. I?ll keep working my butt off, like I always have and still stay hungry. I still have a lot to prove to myself, and I?m willing to work.? Hoyer?s working: Everyone has said quarterback Brian Hoyer is ahead of schedule in his recovery from ACL surgery about six months ago in October, and Tuesday the proof was there. Hoyer was agile and assertive in doing exercises and 7-on-7 drills while practice was open to media. Hoyer was unfazed by a bulky brace on his right knee and did not appear restricted in any movements. ?I thought he looked good,? Pettine said. ?It?s not a surprise because the Phase 2 work (of the offseason program), we?ve been able to do a lot of individual stuff with him, too. As we?ve said, he?s ahead of schedule.? Pettine said Hoyer has been cleared for individual and 7-on-7 work but won?t be exposed to 11-on-11 activity until the second team minicamp in June, at the earliest. ?I think that?s going to be based on how he progresses,? Pettine said. ?I don?t think there will be any limitations once he gets to training camp.? Hoyer said, ?It was awesome. I felt really good, which was no surprise to me. I was begging him to let me take the team. It?s just good to play football again.? We?ll have more on Hoyer Wednesday morning on ESPNCleveland.com. Brownie bits: Quarterbacks Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen participated on a tryout basis. Pettine said that one will be signed following the three-day minicamp. Young, who turns 31 May 18, was with the Tennessee Titans when Browns quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains held the same job with them. Thigpen, 30, was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs after his release from Minnesota in 2007 when Browns GM Ray Farmer was Chiefs director of pro personnel director ? Pettine said that Mitchell Schwartz will remain at right tackle and went a step further. ?Mitchell?s a guy, we were happy with what he put on tape last year,? Pettine said. ?We?ll potentially address it in the draft but I don?t really see tackle right now as a position of need.? ... Chris Faulk, who was "redshirted" in 2013 after having ACL surgery his last year at Louisiana State, is working at guard. The old regime earmarked Faulk at right tackle ... Defensive end Desmond Bryant was excused for personal reasons. Pettine said it had nothing to do with Bryant's surgical procedure in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. Bryant has participated in the offseason program ... Anyone worried about receiver Josh Gordon making it through the offseason after his big year can breathe easier. "He's been here. He's worked hard. He's really gotten after it in the meeting room and on the field, as well. He's got a lot to learn. It's a new system, but he's been very open to coaching, to hard coaching. I think that will show up in the fall in his play."
There?s little question that the Browns will be addressing the quarterback position in next week?s draft, but no one knows when they?ll be selecting a player to join Brian Hoyer on the depth chart. Coach Mike Pettine will be one of the men involved in making the decision about when the Browns move for a quarterback and Pettine said Tuesday that he prefers to have a quarterback sit as a rookie before taking over as a starter. Pettine has experience coaching on teams quarterbacked by Kyle Boller, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez and E.J. Manuel as rookies from day one, which has left him with the feeling that it is ?a rare guy that can handle that and he has to have a great supporting cast in order to do it.? That?s left Pettine feeling that the best course of action for the Browns would be to use the fourth overall pick elsewhere. ?That?s been a big part of the discussion in the draft room. That?s a position that we know we?re going to need to address, and you talk about where you?re going to do it and the impact that it?s going to have on the rest of the team,? Pettine said, via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. ?Certainly it?s an ideal situation if you can get that quarterback later in the draft and that way you?re drafting a position player at four. But we?re in the business of staying true to our sequence, that if our fourth-best player or somebody rated above that is there at the fourth pick that we?ll feel comfortable turning the card in regardless of what the position is.? Ideal situations rarely come to fruition in the NFL draft or anywhere else, but Pettine?s hopes of sitting a rookie quarterback are going to be a lot easier if Cleveland makes another pick at No. 4 because fourth picks are usually called on to play right away regardless of the position they play.
:[ Sorry..can't help myself...it was a lob serve I have to nail back cross court.. "Rare guy"? Johnny Manziel is about as rare as they come... Supporting cast?: Josh Gordon Joe Thomas Cameron Jordan Alex Mack Ben Tate Great mix of veterans and youngsters to jump start something special on the offensive side of the ball. Throw in, Nate Burleson's veteran leadership and another weapon like Marquise Lee at #26 and this team could be special sooner rather than later.
Yeh, I don't know Irish if the Browns will use #4 on Manziel or not. I agree that I think he would be fine in the NFL over time but that #4 is a huge leap of faith and if it doesn't pan out, will keep us back in the pack. It looks like Hoyer will be able to play well at this point and Johnny Football with a clip board for a season would help but there are 4 huge players at the top of the draft, Clowney, Watkins, Mack and Robinson, it would be hard not to take one of them and address the QB later even at #23 where maybe Bridgewater, Carr and others may sit.
I've been known in the past to post photos of the Goat's Mom and Dad. Well, here's a few of his whole family tree. Spoiler *SHADES*
I will agree on polarizing . he will not hold up in Cleveland . he cant stay in the pocket and go through his reads . that's how LSU waxed his ass last season . they kept him in the pocket and made him play QB . you either love or hate this kid . I cant stand him don't want him anywhere near Cleveland unless its on his ass after he gets laid out !
Will be glad once the draft finnaly gets here . tired of all this mock this & that . I just want to pull Goddells underwear up over his annoying head and kick him down the stairs repeatedly for moving it back *ROSE* *WASSUP* . this SOB has to gooooooooooooo !
For those of you who watch PFT Live and Pro Football Talk on NBCSN, you?re familiar by now with the notion that the devaluing of the tailback position eventually will trickle down to lower levels of the sport, prompting truly great players to shy away from running back and to move to other positions. It could be happening sooner rather than later, if current NFL running backs start talking openly about their own regrets from choosing that position. Browns running back Ben Tate has become the first to say he would have done things differently, if he?d known then what he knows now. ?I would?ve been something else, for sure. I?d have been a safety,? Tate told Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com. ?I had the opportunity to play it in college, but I wanted to be the guy to get the ball. I had no idea the position would be devalued, but hopefully I can break that trend.? He can?t. It?s a basic matter of supply and demand. There are too many guys who can move the chains if given proper blocking. And as those guys move the chains and score the touchdowns and take the poundings, they become less desirable in comparison to younger guys with full tread on the tires and lower financial expectations. The trend toward having multiple running backs has helped teams avoid creating The Star Tailback that they must keep ? and in turn overpay ? for fear of alienating the fans. That?s the one lingering piece of leverage for tailbacks in the modern age; job security comes from winning the crowd and becoming the face of the franchise. It doesn?t happen often (see Adrian Peterson), and it?ll happen even less frequently with two and three tailbacks sharing the touches. Which means that, over time, those young players who stand out so clearly that it?s obvious they?ll play in college and possibly beyond will make different choices when the time comes to play in college and possibly beyond, if not earlier. For the rare Sammy Baugh-style athlete who can do it all, it will pay even better ? and for a lot longer ? to be a kicker than to be a running back. really really liking the Tate signing .
The league office should have had a better plan in place... This was actually caused by a scheduling conflict at Radio City Music Hall...The League should have given a :/ and found a different venue. It would have been the perfect timing to start the traveling roadshow draft moving it city to city each year. You want to talk about appeasing the cold city masses who are shunned by Super Bowl purgatory? How about putting the rotation on these non-SB list cities? Cleveland has several venues that would work for this event and how cool would it be to see a Dawg Pound in place of those annoying Jets fans every year? I would be there!! In fact I would pay the price of a ticket, which is something I don't believe is done at this time. I think it is a lottery pick if I'm not mistaken and the tickets are free. Oh well, 1 week from tomorrow we can get back to our normal selves and talking about how "insert name here" is going to lead the Browns to the promised land!!
I love the idea of moving the draft around to different NFL cities....I'd definitely join ya for a cold one at the "Dawg Pound" draft Irish.....that would be epic.
