Given the green light to fight, Browns waste little time
Browns WESTFIELD, IND. — coach Freddie Kitchens gave his players the green light to fight if it meant they would stand up for themselves during joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts.
In the second and final practice between the teams Thursday, the practice fields at Grand Park Sports Campus transformed into “Fight Club.”
During a punt coverage drill, Browns linebacker RayRay Armstrong threw haymakers at Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin. Colts cornerback Quincy Wilson was involved in everything escalating to that point. Players from both teams formed a huge scrum, and it took a minute or two to break it all up. Then there were a couple of aftershock dustups when the drill resumed.
Earlier, Browns wide receiver Jaelen Strong caught a pass of about 20 yards from quarterback Baker Mayfield and subsequently got into a skirmish with a Colts defender. Left guard Joel Bitonio ran into the fray as a bunch of players from both teams gathered.
On the other field, the Browns’ defense fought, too. Rookie safety Sheldrick Redwine tussled with Colts wide receiver Deon Cain. Rookie safety J.T. Hassell also mixed it up with Colts receiver Zach Pascal.
Those scenes came on the heels of Kitchens declaring after Wednesday’s practice the Browns wouldn’t back down to anyone.
“Message was received,” Browns receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said. “We came here to impose our will the same way we would do in the regular season when it comes up. We’re not backing down from anybody, and I love that mentality. That’s all I’ve ever known. You don’t want [fighting] to happen, but it happens sometimes.
“Competitive nature runs high. As long as you can contain it and make sure we’re still able to do all the drills. We came here to practice. We didn’t come here to fight. It’s good to see that we do have fight in us, and they were going pretty hard. It was an active day.”
Kitchens thought his players failed to establish the tempo during Wednesday’s practice.
“We identified that problem last night,” he said Thursday, “and they came out and fixed it.
“We set the tempo. Nobody else does. I think these guys learned that today.”
Setting the tempo led to brawling.
“We just have a way that we are going to treat our practices,” Kitchens said. “That’s how we’re going to practice. That doesn’t ever change. It doesn’t matter who we’re going against. It doesn’t matter if we’re going against ourselves.
“I think we learned a lot about ourselves from the standpoint of that’s how you have to approach it. You keep your tempo. Let everybody else adjust to yours, not the other way around.”
“I told you guys [in the media] yesterday we’re not into backing down from anything.”
Top secret
Kitchens withheld his plan for how much he’ll play his starters today in preseason game No. 2 against the Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“We’ll wait and see,” Kitchens said. “I haven’t fully decided yet. I’m not trying to avoid the question. I really haven’t decided. I swear to you guys. I take it one day at a time. I think I have a preliminary plan, but that changes. We got some good work done today and yesterday. We’ll see. We’ll talk about it and determine that.”
In last week’s preseason opener, the Browns’ 30-10 win over Washington, the starting offense and defense each played a series.
Running back Kareem Hunt didn’t play in the first exhibition because of a groin injury, but he returned to team drills this week and is positioned to face the Colts. Hunt said he “most definitely” wants to play today.
O-line watch
A player who’s positioned to receive ample playing time against the Colts is rookie offensive lineman Drew Forbes, a sixth-round draft pick from Southeast Missouri State. After toiling with the backups for the first two weeks of training camp, Forbes got first-team reps at right guard late in Wednesday and Thursday’s practices.
“He has gotten better,” Kitchens said. “He kept his head down when everything around him seemed to be falling apart. He kept his head down and just kept working. I think he has seen some of the benefits of doing it like that.
“Some of these guys just have to play. Some of these guys come from small schools, and they just have to play. He flashed in the game the other night, so that earned him more reps. He flashed yesterday, so that earned him some more reps. It’s kind of like we’re on a reward system around here, I guess.”
The No. 1 right guard in Thursday’s practice was still primarily Eric Kush, a veteran free-agent pickup. However, Forbes is worth watching at an unsettled position.