Here’s What Happened at Day 2 Of Browns Joint Practices With Vikings

The Browns offensive line issues continued, but Deshaun Watson made some progress during team work against Minnesota

Browns QB Deshaun Watson throws to David Njoku during Day 2 of joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings / Spencer German

Day 2 of joint practices went a little bit better for the Browns as the offense found some room to operate and the defense continued to generally dominate. All-in-all it made for two solid days of practice between Cleveland and their Week 2 preseason foe the Minnesota Vikings.

Here's what happened on Day 2 of joint practices out in Berea.

Soreness

Kevin Stefanski described a number of new injuries to key players simply as "soreness" after Day 2 of joint practices with the Vikings. That applied to veteran safety Rodney McLeod, who was a new absence from practice on Thursday. The same goes for David Njoku who participated in one-on-ones and got up a little bit slowly after going to his knees to try to catch a ball in the end zone. He stayed ou on the field the rest of practice but didn't take any more snaps. Amari Cooper had something similar happen where he seemed to tweak something making a catch during 11-on-11s and wound up walking inside with a trainer.

Chirp, Chirp, Chirp

One thing that was abundantly clear over the course of the two days of joint practices is that Ja'Marr Chase wasn't lying about how much the Browns secondary talks. The are a confident group and they made that known against Minnesota. After any big play for the defense they'd have something to say about it. Even Greg Newsome from the sidelines was getting pretty animated.

Speaking of the secondary, it was another solid day from M.J. Emerson, who had the opportunity to go head-to-head with Justin Jefferson a lot these last two days. In one-on-one drills Jefferson got the better of Emerson twice for touchdowns. But Emerson also answered with a pick as well. Later on during two minute work Emerson made a nice play to break up a pass intended for Jefferson on a deep out down the left sideline.

Other defensive backs who made some nice plays today included rookie Myles Harden for a second straight day, safety Faion Hicks who made a couple plays during two-minute drills and even Kahlef Hailassie who ended the Vikings two minute drive with a pick in the end zone.

Better But Not Great

The process on offense was better on Day 2 of joint practices than it was on Wednesday. There were some plays where Deshaun Watson clearly had more time to throw than he did the previous day. After starting the day throwing a pick to Ivan Pace in 7-on-7s he made up for it later with an impressive touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy during 11-on-11s (more on that later). The run game also had some more room to operate today with a highlight run coming from D'Onta Foreman during the same period.

That said, the o-line issues reared their ugly head again throughout the practice and particularly during two-minute drills. Watson was sacked three times during the session and flushed out of the pocket two other times in seven total plays, as they turned the ball over on downs. Dawand Jones and James Hudson were picked on during these two days. Jones does deserve credit though, for working to get ramped up following his MCL surgery.

Player Of The Day

I'll give it to Jeudy. Anytime he's out there he seems to have a real connection with Watson. He caught two touchdowns today, one during 7-on-7s and one during 11-on-11s. He's been impressive during camp when he actually practices.

Play Of The Day

As mentioned above, it was Watson's touchdown to Jeudy during 11-on-11s. The ex-Broncos wideout was running a corner route into the boundary on the left side of the end zone. Watson threw a dart to put it in a perfect spot for only Jeudy to catch it as he high pointed the ball and got two feet down. It was one of the most impressive throws of camp by Watson. Anytime Jeudy practices he and Watson seem to show off some really impressive chemistry.

corner pocket DOT to @jerryjeudy @deshaunwatson | @OHLottery pic.twitter.com/yXMpDgWoMT

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 15, 2024

Injury Report

Did not practice: David Bell (quad), Jaelon Darden, Michael Dunn, Tony Fields II (ankle), Mike Hall Jr. (stinger), Ronnie Hickman (back), Jordan Hicks, Rodney McLeod (soreness), Denzel Ward (concussion protocol), Nathaniel Watson (quad)

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

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

Injured During Practice: Maurice Hurst (soreness), David Njoku (soreness), Amari Cooper (soreness)

Quote of the Day

"I think coming from similar but different backgrounds. He's been, played a lot of football, he's been at the highest level, been around other pro quarterbacks. So for me it’s to be able to learn and build off the knowledge and then vice versa, him learning from me and what I see in different schemes and different offenses and success that I had. So we feeding off each other and not just us two, but the whole room, Snoop, DTR, we're a brotherhood so every time you see us moving it's probably one of us with each other. So that's the chemistry and the love that we have in that room is definitely one of the best I've ever had.

- Deshaun Watson on his relationship with Jameis Winston and the entire QB room

What's Next?

The next time you see the Browns they'll be back on the lakefront for their Week 2 preseason matchup with Minnesota on Satur. Kickoff is schedule for 4:25