QB Winston among players to watch as Browns begin OTAS
The Cleveland Browns are finally getting as close to real football as they’re allowed to get in the offseason. They started their offseason team activities, better known as OTAS, on Tuesday.
The OTAS allow for 7-on-7, 7-on-9 and 11-on-11 drills between offense and defense. Those drills have to be noncontact.
Tuesday was the first of three OTAS this week, and 10 overall, conducted over the next three weeks. All 10 are voluntary.
The entire team will be required, barring an excused absence, to attend minicamp June 11-13. That will be the final piece of the offseason program, as the players go their separate ways until latejuly training camp.
Here’s a look at three players to watch as the Browns get on the field.
Jameis Winston, QB
Why is the backup quarterback on the list, let alone at the top of the list? It’s because Winston is, in all likelihood, going to get a significant portion of the No. 1 reps for the Browns during this phase. That’s not to say Deshaun Watson won’t make an appearance — he’s been an participant in the offseason program — but how much he’s able to do as he recovers from November’s shoulder surgery remains to be seen as he follows the set ramp-up program. The Browns have four quarterbacks on the roster, with Watson and Dorian Thompson-robinson (hip) recovering from injuries. Winston, as well as former Baltimore Ravens backup Tyler Huntley, was signed during free agency to guarantee the Browns have veteran, experienced quarterbacks in place if/when Watson can’t play.
Jerry Jeudy, WR
The signature move of the offseason was the addition of Jeudy, who was acquired in a March trade with the Denver Broncos. The fifth-year pro was almost immediately signed to an extension by the Browns, showing the confidence they had that a change of scenery would unlock the former first-round pick’s full potential. That starts with seeing Jeudy help unlock the new-look offense coordinator Ken Dorsey is installing. In many ways, the narrative around him is similar to what was around Elijah Moore when he was last offseason’s big trade acquisition. Last year, Moore was seen as the player to change the offense’s dynamic. This year, what the Browns hope to do with Jeudy could be the piece that changes how explosive the passing game can become.
Grant Delpit, S
Delpit finished last season on injured reserve with a groin injury, although it’s almost a certainty that he would’ve been activated from the list had the Browns won their playoff opener in Houston. Regardless of how last season ended, up until the point he suffered the injury in Week 14, Delpit was playing the best football of his pro career. There’s no doubt that the impact he had while healthy was a major reason why the defense played as well as it did during that time. That was last year, though. Delpit signed a three-year extension right after that injury. This will be a chance to show that the former second-round pick has truly turned the corner in his career and will become the consistent highimpact safety the Browns thought he would be coming out of LSU.