Browns develop plans for Johnson

Undersized running back Duke Johnson has never backed down from a challenge. That mindset is serving him well in his third training camp with the Cleveland Browns.

Johnson, who has 114 receptions for 1,048 yards in two NFL seasons, is the top candidate to serve as Cleveland’s slot receiver.

Browns coach Hue Jackson believes the 5-foot-9 speedster can be a dual threat catching passes over the middle, as well as out of the backfield.

“If coach says, ‘Go,’ I go,” Johnson said Monday after the team’s walk-through practice. “I asked for more opportunities and they’ve been given, so now I have to make the best of them. That’s my job to do it.”

Cleveland envisioned Johnson as a featured back when it selected him in the third round of the 2015 draft. He rushed for a schoolrecord 3,519 yards at the University of Miami after being the consensus No. 1 prep prospect at the position.

Isaiah Crowell, however, established himself as the starter, making Johnson the change-of-pace back. He has been limited to 291 total offensive touches and 737 rushing yards.

“Duke is going to do everything, honestly,” Jackson said. “He is a weapon for us, and we’ll line him up in different places where we can get an advantage. He has to bounce around to a lot of different [positions] rooms. That’s why I said we ask a lot of him, but he has responded well.”

Dolphins

Coach Adam Gase said running back Jay Ajayi is being evaluated for a possible concussion. Ajayi was hurt in training camp practice. He walked off the field accompanied by trainers. Ajayi had a breakout year for the Dolphins in 2016, when he ran for nearly 1,300 yards and had consecutive 200-yard games. Gase declined to second-guess his decision to conduct live practices. “If we don’t go live, you guys write that we don’t work on tackling,” he said. “If we do go live and somebody gets hurt, then you say we shouldn’t. You’re going to be wrong either way. We feel like that’s best for our football team. We needed to go live and tackle, and it’s football.”

Jets

Rookie safety Jamal Adam participated in a forum for season-ticket holders that included NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and running back Matt Forte. During a questionand-answer session, a fan asked the panel about player health and safety. Adams, a first-round draft pick from LSU, isn’t so fond of the NFL rules that often protect offensive players. “I’m all about making the game safer ... but as a defensive player, I’m not a big fan of it,” Adams said. “But, I get it. But, again, and I could speak for a lot of guys that play the game, we live and breathe — this is what we’re so passionate about. Literally, if I had a perfect place to die, I would die on the field. I would be at peace. Literally. That’s not a lie.”

Redskins

Terrelle Pryor exemplifies Washington’s bigger-is-better changes at wide receiver. The 6-foot-4 converted quarterback, 6-2 Josh Doctson and 6-3 free-agent addition Brian Quick will be counted on to give quarterback Kirk Cousins tall targets that can replace DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. “They know us big bodies — we go and get the ball and go attack it,” Quick said. “You can’t teach height.”