00:00We bring in our Cleveland Sportsbeat reporter, Darryl Ryder, brought to you courtesy of Scheiben
00:04Jewelers, Cleveland's premier jewelry store. Darryl, how are we doing? Are we excited for
00:10tomorrow? Excited? Yes. And I said that with a straight face. Come on, football's back. We get
00:21excited for this. I mean, obviously it's work, but it's fun. Football's back. We enjoy the football
00:26season. Football is back when they actually play games that matter. Well, Darryl, you could argue
00:33over the last few years that hasn't happened. Well, this is true. This is fair. This is absolutely
00:39fair. But no, it should be an exciting training camp. Watch the watch for. And obviously there's
00:46one position that'll dominate all the headlines and get all the conversation. But, you know,
00:52we've been through these quarterback battles before. And hopefully this one ends up being
00:56a little more fruitful than every other one that they've held since 1999. And there've
01:00been a lot of them. We can definitely, we can sit here and hope for it. We're going to talk
01:04about the quarterbacks, obviously, Darryl, but I do want to start news of the day over the
01:08last couple of hours. Denzel Ward getting an extension, making him on that extension, currently
01:13the highest paid quarterback in the NFL. Do we like the move for the Browns? And what does
01:19it signify for you? Well, I mean, you know, look, we thought when they extended Miles Garrett
01:24that that was the end of that. I don't know that this prohibits them from moving him, but
01:30it certainly shows a commitment to him. And look, he's certainly deserving of the contract.
01:37You know, he's one of the best corners in the National Football League. And he's been that
01:44for a few years now. I mean, there were games last year where they wouldn't even throw on his
01:49side of the field. I mean, you know, it reminded me a lot of Darrell Revis when he was with
01:54the New York Jets, you know, Revis Island. They just wouldn't even look his direction
01:59in games. And I remember we were talking with Denzel during last season a little bit about,
02:07you know, the fact that, you know, he wasn't racking up a lot of PBUs or getting a lot of
02:12opportunities
02:12for interceptions. And the reason why is, well, they weren't even looking in his direction.
02:17They had so much respect for what he does as far as shutting down opposing wide receivers. So
02:26he's very deserving of that contract extension. And it'll be interesting to see the actual structure
02:36of it, you know, for salary cap computation purposes. But on the field, he has earned it and
02:45then some. A little bit of a, I think, an eye-opening move the day that veterans report
02:51for training camp. That kind of came out of nowhere. But that's how Andrew Berry likes to do business.
02:57He likes to make moves like that that come out of nowhere. So, you know, I think that that
03:05really tells you how the Cleveland Browns feel about Denzel Ward, who is a player that has never
03:12asked for a trade, nor has he gone on a variety of multimedia platforms and just absolutely nuked
03:20the organization. And without actually using the phrase bumbling idiots, you know, called them a
03:27bunch of bumbling idiots, too. So, you know, Denzel's been a model player, not only on the field,
03:34but he's also been a model human being off the field, too.
03:39Darrell, when we talk about obviously bringing Denzel back, we know man-to-man corner really
03:43good at it. We know Tyson Campbell's still here, man-to-man corner. I mean, does this kind of feel
03:47like the staple for anybody that might have had lingering worries just that the defense wasn't
03:53going to be running as similar as the scheme is, you know, the Browns have made it out to be
03:57to
03:57what Jim Schwartz was running last year? Well, I don't know where that fear came from because the
04:03organization has made it very clear that while Jim Schwartz is not here, the primary principles
04:10and overall scheme that he ran here would continue to be employed. Sure, there's going to be some
04:19tweaks under Mike Rutenberg, but, and also, you know, expansion of concepts. You're going to see
04:26a lot of three safety looks. That's becoming a new fad around the NFL. But all in all, like, you
04:32know,
04:33this notion that they had, you know, just because they, you know, they didn't make a change because,
04:41you know, they wanted to. I mean, Jim decided he, you know, kind of really didn't want to participate
04:46on Todd Munkin's staff after not getting the head coaching job. But, you know, the results of that
04:54scheme and that system speak for themselves. Overall, the Browns defense, one of the better defenses in
05:02the National Football League over the last three years or so, and it only makes sense. You don't break
05:09what is not broken. And so it makes total sense why they want to carry that base philosophy forward
05:20here. And, you know, the wide nine on the defensive line, the man-to-man coverage in the secondary,
05:28there's no reason to mess around with any of that. Again, Daryl Ryder with us here. All right,
05:33Daryl, everybody's obviously, I'm sure, going to be keeping a close eye on social media.
05:38Day one of the media getting to see the Browns quarterbacks now out of training camp.
05:42What do you expect it to look like? The same thing I saw in the spring. Consistently inconsistent.
05:50There are going to be moments where both of these guys are going to wow you. And there's going to
05:56be moments where we're just going to be like, I don't believe I just saw that. So that's now that's
06:03my expectation. I certainly hope that's not the case. You know, obviously, I don't have a rooting
06:08interest here. But my hope is for this competition that one of these guys, whether she or Sanders or
06:14Deshaun Watson, they grab the bull by the horns and just take this job and make it no contest where
06:20it's no doubt. And I know, you know, Todd Munkin has said that he feels like he's got two NFL
06:27starting
06:27quarterbacks on this roster. And I'm going to respectfully disagree with him because if that
06:32was the case, you wouldn't be having a quarterback competition. So yeah, that's just that's just the
06:38reality of that situation. So it's you're trying to find the best player in that room to lead your
06:45offense on the field. And it's going to take a good four weeks plus, I think, for that to play
06:54out.
06:54I'm not looking forward to the everyday questions about whether or not he has picked a winner in the
07:00competition or how long it's going to go or whatever. My anticipation is that we will go
07:06through the Buffalo Bills joint practice with that undecided or we'll go up to that practice and then
07:14he'll pick the guy, you know, the starter and the starter then gets those one team reps against that
07:20Bills defense in practice. But right around, I think that's the neighborhood that we're going
07:26to be playing. And as far as a timetable to pick the quarterback, either going into that Bills
07:31practice, we'll have a number one quarterback or Todd Munkin is going to use that that Bills joint
07:36practice there in mid-August to go ahead and, you know, make it a last audition, if you will,
07:44in a very controlled environment because that Bills preseason game, we'll see how Todd wants to do it.
07:51But typically, when you have a joint practice, your starters get that game off because you went
07:58ahead and you got your work in in that controlled practice environment.
08:02Darryl, entering day one of training camp, do you still feel like Shador is fighting,
08:06even if a slight one, in uphill battle when it comes to the starting job? Or do you truly feel
08:10that both of these guys are walking into training camp, even slate, whichever guy would play better
08:15would get the starting job? It's an even starting line for both of these guys. Now, my expectation
08:21is that Deshaun has a little bit of a leg up just because of his experience and whatnot. But Shador
08:27Sanders comes into training camp with just as good an opportunity to win this starting job as Deshaun
08:33Watson. And so if he doesn't win the starting job, it's going to be on his, you know, his own
08:40merit.
08:40Like, it's going to be just, he's going to factor in. This is not a situation where Todd
08:46Munkin or the organization, I believe, has a thumb on the scales. We saw a very balanced
08:53spring offseason program, OTAs, and many camp in which I think Todd Munkin did a pretty good
09:00job of giving up the reps between those guys in as balanced a fashion as you possibly could see.
09:08This is going to be the antithesis of the nonsense wasted time we all suffered through last year
09:15with that four-man charade that they ran, okay? I mean, the week one starter didn't even get
09:23meaningful reps during training camp. That's how much of a joke that quarterback competition last
09:28year was, a four-man competition, allegedly, in which Shador Sanders was throwing to ball boys
09:35in practice during individual reps, okay? And getting very little team reps. So he comes into
09:42this thing on even footing with Deshaun. They start from the same starting line. Neither one of these
09:48guys, in my view right now, is ahead of the other. I give the edge to Deshaun because of experience
09:54as
09:54far as my expectation who wins the thing. But if Shador Sanders does not win this starting job,
10:00it will be either because of injury or because he did not perform up to the level of expectation,
10:07and Deshaun Watson did. And again, Darrell Ryder with us. All right, Darrell. One of the guys involved
10:12in that quarterback competition last year, Dylan Gabriel. I struggled to... Is he still on the team?
10:18I believe so, which is kind of where we're going. But is there any way he finishes any higher
10:23in training camp in the depth chart than QB4 and potentially off this roster? Because I'm finding it
10:29tough to find a way that he does. Well, and Green certainly factors into this, right? They're not
10:35going to cut him. Teams were interested in drafting him. I know he's the first pick in the sixth round
10:40for the Browns there. The Browns really like his skill set, certainly like his measurables. There's a
10:49lot of upside with that guy as well. And so, look, I think three guys have already made the team,
10:57okay? As long as they're healthy, that's Deshaun Watson, Shadour Sanders, and Green. Those three
11:03guys are in. Dylan Gabriel very much is on the bubble. And I'm trying to remember if Todd Munkin
11:10has even said Dylan Gabriel's name, taking over as head coach. I think it's once or twice. I think
11:15it's come up once or twice to be, you know, all sarcasm aside, he has. But, you know, we're, you
11:20know,
11:20have a little fun the day before training camp. But the reality is, you know, I think the only way
11:26Dylan Gabriel sees the field is really through injuries this year. I don't get the sense,
11:33unlike last year, right, where it felt like a priority for them to play him. And that started
11:40with him being first up in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 reps during OTAs and minicamp. No, he's
11:49not gotten
11:50those opportunities this year. So I don't get the sense that there's a lot of urgency
11:56to put him on the field this year where he ends up. I don't know. I can't sit here and
12:02say there's
12:03a robust Dylan Gabriel trade market right now. But things happen around the NFL. Injuries happen to
12:08quarterback rooms across the league during training camp, unfortunately. So, hey, maybe an opportunity
12:14presents itself for, you know, Andrew Barry to trade him for a seventh-round pick. Or maybe
12:21it's a sixth-round pick. Andrew has to send Dylan with a seventh-round to get a sixth-round pick.
12:25We see those trades all the time with Barry. But yeah, right now, I don't see them keeping
12:35four quarterbacks on the active roster. They're not getting green through waivers. So three definitely
12:41make it. You know, maybe they cut and then put Dylan Gabriel on the practice squad, assuming they
12:49get him through waivers. All right, Daryl, let's look outside of quarterback because obviously everyone's
12:55going to have eyes on the quarterback that's out there. But what's the biggest storyline that you
13:00want to pay attention to in the early going of training camp outside of the position? Well, there's
13:05three things that I'm going to be looking for. One, the starting center job, which then has an effect on
13:10who your starting right guard is, okay? If it's Elton Jenkins' starting center, it means Tevin Jenkins
13:14is competing with KT Levittson and others for the starting right guard job, right? If Parker
13:21Brailsford, their fifth-round pick, is able to win and earn that starting center job, that right there
13:27is the jackpot for the Browns because then Elton Jenkins plays right guard where he is fantastic,
13:34okay? And that's his better position, quite frankly, on the field. So that's what we're, I think, if you're
13:41the Browns, you're rooting to have happen. No guarantees it happens. But yeah, how that all plays
13:48out, starting center, impact on the right guard. That's the top non-quarterback thing I'm going to be
13:55watching in this training camp. Number two, the back end of the wide receivers. The last two wide receiver
14:01positions, number four, or I should say, number six and number seven on the roster, or number five
14:06and six, rather, on the roster, assuming they keep six, right? We know who the top five guys are.
14:11Jerry Judy, Casey Concepcion, Denzel Boston, Isaiah Bond. Those four guys have absolutely made the team.
14:17It's Cedric Tillman and a Jamari Thrash, Gage Loverdin, and a host of other guys competing for those final
14:24two roster spots. And then the third thing I'm going to be watching in this camp that I think is
14:28very,
14:29very important and critical, the depth in the secondary. Yes, they're going to be using a lot
14:35of three safety look, but the nickel, the dime packages, what do those look like? And then
14:40what do they have beyond their starters as far as the defensive backs go? That is something that we
14:49really, really need to pay attention to because, unfortunately, NFL seasons are war of attrition.
14:55We know this, watching the Browns, unfortunately, injuries do pop up. The Browns have had to go
15:01deep into the secondary and, you know, have guys step in during the season. So what does the back
15:11end of the safety and cornerback room ultimately end up, you know, looking like? And, you know,
15:18who steps up? What young kid steps up into a potential reserve role in that room? So those
15:27are my top three key storylines going into this training camp. You can throw in the defensive line
15:33as well, obviously. Jared Verse adding him. What does the rest of the defensive line rotation look
15:40like? But yeah, there is a lot to watch in this training camp beyond just the quarterbacks. And I think
15:46fans are really going to enjoy watching these two young receivers, Casey Concepcion and Denzel
15:52Boston. And it's also going to help, I think, Todd Monk and Andrew Berry, the offensive staff,
15:58the front office, effectively evaluate this quarterback competition because you guys got
16:05these out there that can go catch the football. Darrell, I was going to ask you about that because
16:09I think one of the big things with two rookie receivers that people would have pointed to at this
16:13time would have been, what do they look like? Hey, have they shown enough in the early going to,
16:18obviously, it's still a very important thing to see how they pan out, but maybe pull a little
16:21pressure off of the eyes that are going to be on them in the early going?
16:25Yeah, I absolutely love what I've seen from both of them during the offseason program and certainly
16:32hope they were able to carry it into training camp. And then throughout their rookie seasons,
16:36you got, you know, and then let's not forget Harold Fannin Jr., the tight end from Bowling Green.
16:42He's going into his second year, had an outstanding rookie year. What can he do to move himself forward
16:48in a positive direction, right? And continue to do more and more offensively. Dylan Samson,
16:54I'm looking forward to seeing him and what he does catching the football out of the backfield.
16:58Quinchon Judkins going into year two. He's healthy. You know, just impressive what he did to get
17:04himself back from that horrible leg injury that he suffered as a rookie. He looks to be back to
17:11100 percent and ready to roll. So there's a lot of pieces and parts. The skill players around the
17:18quarterbacks, a lot stronger than I think a lot of the national folks want to give the Browns credit
17:24for. They're young. Yes, that's a big part of it, of why maybe there's not a lot of attention being
17:30paid to those guys. But I really love this young skill group that the Browns have offensively. And
17:38again, I think they're going to provide Todd Munkin and Andrew Berry and everyone else out in Berea
17:45with a little more of an honest look at what they have in that quarterback room.
17:51All right, Daryl. We're looking forward to it. Looking forward to what you have to say. Obviously,
17:55everyone can keep track over there. I'm sure there'll be up over on the YouTube channel on
17:59all social medias. So we look forward to what you have to say and hopefully enjoy it tomorrow.
18:03Yeah, well, you know, Lance Rislin and I will be doing a daily YouTube recap of training camp.
18:11And so you can look for that right after practice. And then, you know, we'll have various snippets from
18:18the news and the soundbites and the plays of the day as well.
18:23All right. We look forward to it, Daryl. Enjoy.
18:25You bet. Thank you.
Comments