BEREA — The Browns get their toughest test of the preseason starting today. The Minnesota Vikings are in town, and Wednesday marks the first of two joint practices between the two teams.
The afternoon practices, which are scheduled to start at 2:10 p.m. both days, are closed to the public. However, the media — and likely assorted sponsors, as well as some players' family members — will be able to get inside the gate to watch.
Follow along here through the day to get updates on what's seen and heard during the course of the first day of joint practices with the Vikings:
Head coach Kevin Stefanski said following Wednesday's joint practice with the Vikings that cornerback Denzel Ward was in the concussion protocol. While Ward was in protocol, he was still on the field watching his teammates.
The collision which led to Ward being placed in the protocol came during Monday's practice. He was defending teammate Elijah Moore on a cross pattern and, while he was bringing Moore to the ground, hit his head.
Ward immediately showed some signs of the impact of his head hitting the ground, as he remained on one knee for some time. If he did have a concussion, it would be the fifth documented concussion since the Browns took the Nordonia High School and Ohio State product No. 4 overall in the 2018 draft.
The only unaccounted for absent from the start of practice was second-year defensive end Isaiah McGuire. Head coach Kevin Stefanski later said that he was out sick.
The remainder of Browns players who did not practice were made up of guys who have been dealing with some kind of injury, either short-term or long-term. Guard Michael Dunn was back watching practice Wednesday after having missed more than a week for an undisclosed injury.
Also out were cornerbacks Ward and Greg Newsome II, wide receivers Jaelon Darden and David Bell, running backs Nyheim Hines and Nick Chubb, safeties Ronnie Hickman and D'Anthony Bell, linebackers Nathaniel Watson, Tony Fields II and Jordan Hicks, center Luke Wypler, offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and defensive end Za'Darius Smith.
One of the last offensive plays the Browns ran on the day ended with running back Pierre Strong Jr. taking a violent shot from Vikings rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. The hit caused the ball to jar loose, while also leaving Strong shaken up.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about the level of contact with which several Minnesota players played with, include Pace, the former University of Cincinnati linebacker.
“Yeah, we thud the runner, meaning you can fit the runner up," Stefanski said. "Obviously, we don’t take cheap shots and those type of things. But it is thud so it’s not tackle, it’s not wrap them up, but it is thud.”
There was one prominent color on the field even among the white-and-brown clad Browns and purple-clad Vikings. That color was yellow.
The officials who were brought in to work the joint practices got their work in on Wednesday. There were plenty of yellow flags thrown during the course of the 90-minute practice, a lot of them on the Browns' offense.
“We need to be way better offensively from an operations standpoint," head coach Kevin Stefanski said afterwards. "That was not good. Some of it was the cadence, some of it — they weren’t false starts, some of them were that the tackles were aligned too deep at times so those are all things that are correctable and we will correct them.”
It wasn't close to the crispest day of the year for quarterback Deshaun Watson. That was especially true during the 11 on 11 periods against the Vikings' defense.
A big reason, but not nearly the only one, was because of a lack of time Watson had after the snap. While he was protected from being hit by the controlled natured of the practice, there were no fewer than seven times on 24 drop-backs where it appeared clear that Minnesota would've gotten to him for a sack.
The Vikings, in particular, were taking advantage of the weaknesses on the edges of the offensive line. Right tackle Dawand Jones was mostly OK in pass protection, but the left tackle spot — which was primarily James Hudson III, but also was Germain Ifedi and Hakeem Adeniji — was often a open door for Minnesota to pass through to the quarterback.
"Yeah, I think it’s twofold," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I think they have good rushers, credit to them. I also think that front gives us way more variation than we’ve seen so we need that work. We need to talk through it as an offensive line, tight end group, running back, quarterback, just get on the same page there. Those are all valuable conversations that we definitely need to have.”
Rookie seventh-round cornerback Myles Harden has been a sleeper to make the Browns' roster all training camp. The University of South Dakota product added to his case while going against the Vikings' No. 2 offense in 11 on 11 drills on Wednesday.
Harden had an interception off of Minnesota backup Nick Mullens that he returned for a touchdown. That came a play after he had another impressive break-up, then added another one late in the practice.
"He’s done a nice job," head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I didn’t see that play in particular, but I’ll watch, obviously, what he’s done. But he’s a very smart player, has great ball skills, so he’s doing a nice job. We’re just kind of moving him around and seeing if he can carve out a role.”
Cornerback Denzel Ward was not dressed for practice Wednesday due to an injury. It’s believed he hurt himself during Monday’s practice.
Ward’s absence took away one of the biggest draws to the joint practices with the Vikings. He would’ve been matched up with Minnesota’s star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
Rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was in the Browns' facility on Wednesday with the rest of his teammates, one day after he was arrested by Avon police and charged with domestic violence. There's no word yet on what, if any, internal discipline the second-round pick out of Ohio State will face with the team.
Hall's next date in Avon Lake Municipal Court is Sept. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
The key to many of these joint practice matchups, especially with the Browns under head coach Kevin Stefanski, is to work with other teams where there's a mutual connection. That's certainly the case between these two organizations.
Here's the Browns connections with the Vikings:
- Head coach Kevin Stefanski: Vikings assistant coach, 2006-19
- Defensive end Za'Darius Smith: Played for Vikings, 2022
- Linebacker Jordan Hicks: Played for Vikings, 2022-23
- Guard Wyatt Davis: Played for Vikings, 2021
- Offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji: Played for Vikings, 2023
- Cornerbacks coach Brandon Lynch: Vikings' Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellow, 2013
Here's the Vikings connections with the Browns:
- General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: Browns Vice President of Football Operations, 2020-21
- Head coach Kevin O'Connell: Browns quarterbacks coach, 2015
- Wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell: Played for Browns, 1992-95
- Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown: Played for Browns, 2015-16
- Assistant head coach/Outside linebackers coach Mike Pettine: Browns head coach, 2014-15
- Pass game coordinator/Tight ends coach Brian Angelichio: Browns offensive assistant/tight ends, 2014-15
- Game management coordinator/Pass game specialist Ryan Cordell: Browns staffer, 2019-21
- Cornerback A.J. Green III: Played for the Browns, 2020-23
- Quarterback Nick Mullens: Played for the Browns, 2021
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns-Vikings joint practice day 1 updates: Denzel Ward in concussion protocol
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