Wide receiver Callaway suspended for 4 games

Antonio Callaway has been suspended by the NFL without pay for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

The Browns leaders are getting very proficient at not giving up on players sincerely willing to atone for their misdeeds.

The latest to get into trouble is wide receiver Antonio Callaway. Callaway on Aug. 9 was suspended by the NFL without pay for the first four games of 2019 for violating the league’s policy on substance abuse.

The league never specifies what a player did to incur such a suspension.

“I take full responsibility formy actions,” Callaway said in a statement. “I made a mistake and I own that. I have taken steps to make myself better and I appreciate the Browns standing by me and supporting me during this time. I know there’ s nothing I can say to re gain trust; it will all be about my actions.”

Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens vows to stand by Callaway, just as he is standing by running back Kareem Hunt.

“We’re not willing to put up (with what Callaway did wrong), but the person that’s affected has to be willing to do what’s right,” Kitchens said after practice Aug. 9. “If he’s willing to commit to doing what’s right, then we’re willing to support him in every way we can. That’s what we’re going to do until he proves us wrong.

“He knows what he has to do, so we will evaluate the situation as it goes forward. I like the kid. I think he’s a good person. People lump these sort of things into being a bad person. This is a great kid. We’re going to support him until he proves otherwise.”

Hunt, signed by the

Browns in February of this year, is suspended for the first eight games of 2019 for shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel in February of 2018 when he played for the Chiefs.

The former star running back from Willoughby South High School stayed out of the news until he was questioned by police outside a Cleveland bar on June 29. Nothing more came from the incident, and the Browns’ support of Hunt has not wavered.

“It is really one of those things where sometimes if you start feeling good about yourself, about what you’re doing as a person, then maybe I can do a few other things, whatever those things are,” Kitchens said on Aug. 5 regarding Hunt. “I think it kind of just brought him back to reality that he’s in the NFL.

“I’m pleased with Kareem. Don’t misinterpret that. I’m pleased with Kareem on the progress he’s making off the field, more

so than anything.”

Callaway turned in a diluted urine sample at the NFL scouting combine in 2018, which in the eyes of the NFL is the same as a failed drug test. That violation meant Callaway was in the first step of substance abuse program. This latest violation is separate but in addition to that one.

“We’re disappointed in Antonio,” Browns general manager John Dorsey said in a statement. “Freddie and I have had a direct conversation with him about where we stand. He understands our expectations of him.

“Wewill continue to support him as long as he remains committed to taking advantage of the resources made available to him by our club and the league to help him become the best version of himself as a person first and foremost.”

Callaway is allowed to practice and play in preseason games during his suspension. However, he

missed practice Aug. 9 with a high ankle sprain. There is no timetable for his return.

Callaway reported to training camp out of shape. He was running with the second team. As it turns out, that is the least of his problems.

“To his credit — I shouldn’t say his credit — he came in a little bit out of shape probably,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said last week. “The last seven days, he’s getting himself back in shape, putting himself in position. You can see that he’s starting to feel more comfortable and make plays.’’

Callaway caught three passes for 42 yards in the preseason game against the Redskins on Aug. 8. He caught 43 passes for 586 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie last season.

Fortunately for the Browns, they are deep at wide receiver with Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr., Rashard Higgins, Jaelen Strong and Derrick Willies.