Beckham, Hunt put charge in Browns fans
Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt made their unofficial Firstenergy Stadium debuts Saturday as members of the Cleveland Browns.
A crowd of 37,686 — energized by quarterback Baker Mayfield — gave both offseason acquisitions numerous ovations during the Orange and Brown Scrimmage, a 2½-hour intrasquad practice.
Former Giants wide receiver Beckham caught passes from Mayfield on the first two snaps of full-team action, while ex-chiefs running back Hunt logged his initial on-field work after missing the first eight training camp sessions with a groin injury.
“You could feel the excitement from the fans out there,” said Mayfield, who encouraged chants of “O-B-J” by waving his arms. “It wasn’t even halffilled and the energy was unreal. People are excited to have football back. The excitement is justified, so now we have to go and make it right for them.”
Hunt was activated from the non-football injury list and took part in individual drills. The northeast Ohio native is facing an eight-game league suspension for a domestic violence incident that prompted his release by the Kansas City Chiefs.
“For Kareem to be in the stadium for the first time in front of everybody, not that he actually played, but just to be out there, it will change your perspective on it,” Mayfield said. “I’m hoping he enjoyed that more than we did.”
Coach Freddie Kitchens didn’t rule out Hunt seeing limited action Thursday, when Cleveland hosts the Washington Redskins in its preseason opener, but said he would prefer to err on the side of caution with injured players.
“It was nice to see Kareem do that, but it’s a slow process and we want to be safe with them and careful with getting him back,” Kitchens said. “I was pleased that he came out and did some drills. It was very good.”
Gruden: no trade for Redskins’ Williams
Jay Gruden is doing his part to quiet trade buzz swirling around the Redskins and holdout Trent Williams.
Asked if the team would trade its starting left tackle, Washington’s coach said Saturday, “I would seriously doubt that, so no.” But exactly what it will take to get Williams to training camp remains something of a mystery.
“I do not have an understanding of what it would take to get him back here,” Gruden said. “If I did, he’d be back here.”
Williams is reportedly upset about the team’s handling of his health, including the removal of a growth on his head this year. Williams has two years left on his contract, but the standoff appears more complicated than other holdouts around the league because money isn’t the only focus.
The team last week denied a report that Williams no longer trusts Redskins President Bruce Allen or the medical team and informed the Redskins he didn’t intend to play for them again.
Brown still absent from Raiders camp
For the second straight day, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown was nowhere to be seen during the seventh practice of training camp in Napa, California.
The Raiders have not specified an injury, with a source indicating as camp opened Brown would be out “probably a week” after starting on the non-football injury list. Brown was removed from the list last Sunday. He participated in a walkthrough, and two days later, ran some pass routes against defenders in drills before calling it a day.
The only clue about what ails Brown was a since-deleted Instagram post which showed two badly blistered feet. Considering Brown wasn’t with his teammates on the field, it’s conceivable he’s getting checked out by a specialist.
Quarterback Derek Carr, who said he hadn’t seen the post, has no choice but to wait.
“We wish the healing process of whatever is going on will be fast,” Carr said. “We want it to be fast, but at the same time you can’t rush things for training camp when you know you have a season and hopefully a playoff run to think about, right?
“We just know that when he does show up, we can’t wait and we’ll welcome him with open arms. Hopefully he’s healthy and just ready to hit running.”