Here’s What Happened at Day 9 of Browns Training Camp

Injuries continue piling up for the Cleveland Browns through the first two weeks of training camp practices

Aug 4, 2024; Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) and running back Aidan Robbins (49) and cornerback Kahlef Hailassie (25) run sprints at the end of practice at the Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

After an eventful first day of training camp back in Berea on Sunday with fans on the scene, the Browns were back at work on Monday with their ninth practice session this time with the stands empty.

Day 9 was all about the defense, which seemed to dominate the team drills today, including a session near the goal line toward the end of practice. Unfortunately, though it was injuries that wound up overshadowing the day as Cleveland was already missing a handful of players due to injury and saw two more pop up during practice.

Here's everything you missed at Monday's practice.

Please, Not The Cart...

After the scary incident at the Greenbrier that saw running back D'Onta Foreman carted off the field and eventually air lifted to a hospital following a direct hit to the head, the cart was back again, only this time in Berea. Towards the end of practice while the team was going through 11-on-11 work along the goal line Za'Darius Smith came up lame on a play and was seen on the ground grabbing his knee. Shortly afterwards Smith had to be taken off the field in the cart and into the team facility.

While there was an initial fear that the ailment could be more serious, the team announced that Smith had suffered from a knee contusion. The expectation is that he'll be re-evaluated before Tuesday's practice. That's a positive update considering the alternative.

Along with Smith, fellow defensive tackle Sam Kamara also left practice with an injury. The 26-year-old left the field under his own power with a member of the training staff.

The Moore The Merrier

That was the bad injury update of the day, but the positive injury update was that Elijah Moore was back at practice in a limited capacity. He is still working his way through the concussion protocol at the moment, which kept him out of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work. He was very active during individual drills though, which is a sign of progress.

Video proof in case you didn't believe me. pic.twitter.com/pyUcvuVTTY

— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) August 5, 2024

Defensive Domination

On the day Myles Garrett joined his teammates in 11-on-11 drills for the first time, the defense dominated Day 9 of practice. It seemed like every time Deshaun Watson dropped back to pass someone was leaking through the offensive line for a sack or at least flushing him out of the pocket. In a number of other instances the coverage downfield was so good that the defensive line eventually would get to Watson.

Those trends continued during the team's short red zone period as well, with Jameis Winston being the one quarterback that had some success, throwing two touchdowns. It was essentially the exact opposite of what played out on Sunday when the Browns offense dominated and Watson was throwing it all over the field.

Player Of The Day

Kevin Stefanski has discussed throughout camp that they were putting star defensive end Myles Garrett through a slow ramp up through the first few weeks of camp. That "ramp up" reached its climax on Monday as Garrett participated in team drills for the first time. His presence was on full display during full team work as was constantly creating pressure on quarterback Deshaun Watson. The rest of the defense fed off his presence too on a day that side of the ball dominated.

Play Of The Day

Devin Bush intercepted Deshaun Watson during the first round of 11-on-11 drills. He read the play perfectly moving to his right and Watson, under some duress, left the ball short to David Bell. It was a a nice highlight on a banner day for the defense.

tracked it the whole way 🔎@_Dbush11 | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/Jrgu9Nflyu

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 5, 2024

Lineup Notes

- Dorian Thompson-Robinson was QB three for the Browns on Monday. That was a change up from Sunday where Tyler Huntley was next in line behind Jameis Winston. That battle for the No. 3 QB spot will be interesting to follow the rest of camp

- With JOK sitting out Tony Fields working his way back from injury and now Jordan Hicks dealing with one, the Browns are rotating a number of bodies at linebacker. Devin Bush got a ton of run with the first team defense on Monday along with Mohamoud Diabate

- With Greg Newsome sidelined following surgery on his hamstring the Browns defense utilized some three safety looks at times with Grant Delpit playing in the slot and and Juan Thornhill and Ronnie Hickman playing on the back end of the defense

- With Moore sitting out team drills and Jeudy following a same script on Monday, an assortment of receivers got time with the ones. David Bell, Cedric Tillman, Michael Woods were some of the first names up in their absence.

Injury Report

Did not practice: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, D'Onta Foreman, Tony Fields II, Jordan Hicks, Michael Dunn, Shelby Harris

PUP List: Nick Chubb (knee), D'Anthony Bell (shin), Dalvin Tomlinson (knee), Jack Conklin (knee), Jedrick Wills (knee), Nyheim Hines (knee)

NFI List: Nyheim Hines (knee), Greg Newsome (hamstring)

Quote of the Day

“I mean, like maybe a little bit in the offseason, but once we get into training camp, our theme every day is just embrace that practice and improve and try to keep our eyes on what’s most important now. We can’t make up for anything last year right now unless we attack each day and we work out inconsistencies, we’ve improved our technique, we improve our teamwork, all those different things. So, you know, further on down the line, we’ll have places for themes and things like that. But right now, it’s just a go to work every day and try to improve.”

- Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz talking about the team leaning into the "unfinished business" mantra

What's Next?

The Browns are back on the practice field Tuesday in Berea with a late start of 4:25 p.m. with a session that is open to the fans.