A report earlier Wednesday indicated Ryan Grigson was leaving the Vikings to pursue another opportunity in the NFL. We now know what that opportunity is.
Grigson is returning to the Browns as a senior football advisor, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.
He held the same position for the Browns from 2020-21 and was a senior personnel executive in Cleveland in 2017.
New Vikings General Manager Nolan Teasley offered to keep Grigson in a different role after hiring Andrew Healy and Trent Kirchner as assistant General Managers. Grigson, though, chose to leave for Cleveland.
Grigson served as assistant General Manager for the Vikings last season under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. It was a promotion from senior vice president of player personnel, a position he held with the Vikings from 2022-24.
Grigson worked as the Colts’ General Manager from 2012-16.
Browns Clips
Jimmy Haslam is one of the rare sports owner to have his fingerprints all over a pair of massive deals in two different sports in the same month.
With the Milwaukee Bucks trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, barely three weeks after the Cleveland Browns traded Myles Garrett, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports reports that the Browns owner was a “driving force” in the decision to pick the Heat deal over an offer from the Boston Celtics that included Jaylen Brown.
As O’Connor explains it, “Haslam didn’t want to risk Jaylen Brown wanting out of Milwaukee in a year after dealing with Giannis and Myles Garrett trade demands.” Instead, Haslam wanted the “certainty” that comes from having draft picks. (Until, of course, those players selected with the extra picks want out, too.)
Haslam’s involvement with the Bucks is no surprise. It became clear last month that he’d be taking a more active role in the NBA team he partially owns.
Which serves as a reminder that owners always have the right to take an active role in roster management — regardless of whether they have the skills, knowledge, and/or ability to do so.
In Cleveland, Haslam has been the common denominator through the last 14 years of dysfunction. Now, dysfunction could be descending on Wisconsin’s NBA franchise.
At least dysfunction is easier to spell than Antetokounmpo.
Joe Thomas and Myles Garrett were teammates for one season — Garrett’s rookie year of 2017.
Then Thomas retired after a terrific career, and Garrett took over as the best player on Cleveland’s roster for the next eight years.
But Garrett no longer has that title, as the Browns traded him to the Rams earlier this month in a blockbuster deal.
In a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, Thomas noted that he understood why Cleveland made the deal, particularly given that the Browns received Jared Verse as part of the trade package.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the news came out, it probably caught a lot of people by surprise,” Thomas said. “I knew there was always going to be a chance that the Browns [would trade] Myles, just knowing the situation they’re in and the valuable asset they had. But for Cleveland fans, it’s tough, right? Because for several of those seasons that Myles was here in Cleveland, he was the one thing we got to cheer for, right? Last year, out of the playoff hunt for a long time, but it gave us reason to be proud as Browns fans, to see him chasing that sack record, and to finally get it. And just to see the commitment that he had on the field to his team, to the city, it was incredible.
“So it was really hard to hear that he was traded. It hurts everybody that Myles is not a Brown anymore.”
But, Thomas continued, this trade should help set up the Browns for long-term success.
“I’m not willing to accept the fact that we’re only allowed to think that our ceiling as Browns fans is to cheer for a player that’s having a good season, or breaking a record,” Thomas said. “I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that we’re still here to try to win championships. And when you look at the Myles trade, to be able to get a great young player like Jared Verse — who’s a tremendous pass rusher, who’s a great asset to that team. He’s on a friendly contract, saving money there. Getting three draft choices for Myles — a first, second, and a third. It puts us in a much better position for the next two, three, four years as we’re in this building phase.
“So, as you step away from the emotion of losing Myles, you realize this puts the team in a much better situation moving forward. And it was the right decision, even though it hurts.”
The offseason programs around the league have largely wrapped up for 2026, with players and coaches around the league now experiencing some time off.
But training camps are just a few weeks away from opening.
The NFL announced the camp report dates for all 32 teams on Monday, with the first ones opening up in less than a month.
Below are the camp locations and report dates:
Arizona Cardinals: State Farm Stadium | Rookies: 7/22 | Veterans 7/22
Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta Falcons Training Facility | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
Baltimore Ravens: Under Armour Performance Center | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
Buffalo Bills: St. John Fisher University | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Carolina Panthers: Bank of America Stadium | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/22
Chicago Bears: Halas Hall | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Cincinnati Bengals: Paycor Stadium | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Cleveland Browns: CrossCountry Mortgage Campus | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Dallas Cowboys: Marriott Residence Inn Oxnard | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Denver Broncos: Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit | Rookies: 7/22 | Veterans: 7/28
Detroit Lions: Meijer Performance Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Green Bay Packers: Lambeau Field | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Houston Texans: Houston Methodist Training Center | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Indianapolis Colts: Grand Park | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Jacksonville Jaguars: Miller Electric Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Kansas City Chiefs: Missouri Western State University | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Las Vegas Raiders: Intermountain Health Performance Center | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Los Angeles Chargers: The Bolt | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Los Angeles Rams: Loyola Marymount University | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/25
Miami Dolphins: Baptist Health Training Complex | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/28
Minnesota Vikings: TCO Performance Center | Rookies: 7/26 | Veterans: 7/28
New England Patriots: New Balance Athletics Center | Rookies: 7/21 | Veterans: 7/24
New Orleans Saints: Ochsner Sports Performance Center | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
New York Giants: Quest Diagnostics Training Center/The Greenbrier | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
New York Jets: Athletic Health Jets Training Center | Rookies: 7/25 | Veterans: 7/28
Philadelphia Eagles: Jefferson Health Training Complex | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
Pittsburgh Steelers: Saint Vincent College | Rookies: 7/28 | Veterans: 7/28
San Francisco 49ers: SAP Performance Facility | Rookies: 7/18 | Veterans: 7/25
Seattle Seahawks: Virginia Mason Athletic Center | Rookies: 7/17 | Veterans: 7/24
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: AdventHealth Training Center | Rookies: 7/27 | Veterans: 7/28
Tennessee Titans: Vanderbilt Health Football Center | Rookies: 7/23 | Veterans: 7/28
Washington Commanders: Commanders Park | Rookies: 7/24 | Veterans: 7/28
The NFL has announced the full list of joint practices that will take place during training camps this summer.
The first set of them will take place on August 11 in four different locations. The Cowboys and Rams will practice in Los Angeles, the Colts will visit the Patriots, the Bucs will work out at the Jets’ facility and the Titans will go to Santa Clara to practice with the 49ers.
All in all, there will be 28 teams working in joint sessions in August. The Lions, Steelers, Chiefs and Broncos are the teams that will not hold joint practices.
The full list of joint practices is below with the host team listed second. If there are multiple practices scheduled, the date of the first practice is listed.
August 11 — Cowboys-Rams; Colts-Patriots; Buccaneers-Jets; Titans-49ers.
August 12 — Dolphins-Commanders.
August 13 — Jaguars-Saints.
August 18 — 49ers-Chargers; Raiders-Texans; Saints-Cowboys.
August 19 — Falcons-Colts; Ravens-Vikings; Panthers-Jaguars; Eagles-Patriots.
August 20 — Bills-Browns; Bears-Bengals; Saints-Rams; Giants-Dolphins.
August 21 — Seahawks-Titans.
August 25 — Buccaneers-Jaguars.
August 26 — Cardinals-Packers; Texans-Panthers; Commanders-Ravens.
August 27 — Bears-Titans.
Last month, Deion Sanders rejected the idea of the Browns trading defensive end Myles Garrett. Now that the trade has happened, Deion is singing a different tune.
“They got a killer on defense, I’m tired of y’all talking about trading him and getting rid of him,” Sanders told Garrett Bush before the trade. “That don’t make no sense to me. That’s a once in a lifetime man. That’s a once in a lifetime man that you don’t see no more. I don’t get rid of that. Unless I could get your mama, daddy, your uncle, cousins, and everybody in a trade for that. Because that’s a grown man. That’s a winner. That’s a winner.”
Now that Garrett was traded, Deion deferred to the decision.
“I’m happy with Mr. [Andrew] Berry, the G.M., and what he’s doing, I’m not going to question his direction of what he’s bringing to the table,” Sanders recently told D.J. Saddiqi of Covers.com as part of a media tour for Deion’s Depend partnership. “I’m not there, so I don’t know all the intangibles that provoked that trade. I’m happy with what they got, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.”
Apparently, Deion considers Jared Verse and a first-, second-, and third-round pick to equate to “your mama, daddy, your uncle, cousins, and everybody.” At least we now know how to calibrate that specific metric.
How far can Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders go? In the opinion of his father, it depends on whether the rest of the team can take him there.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders, whose recent media tour for Depend included a visit with D.J. Siddiqi of Covers.com, explained the importance of having help when discussing Shedeur’s performance as a rookie in Cleveland.
“I would have wanted him to perform a little better, but that’s not just an individual thing, that’s a team thing,” Sanders said. “A quarterback needs help tremendously from the offensive line, from the receivers, from the running game, from the coordinators as well. It’s not just a singular thing, like a defensive back. I don’t care what the pass rush is, [the DB] has got to do his job. It’s a little different with a quarterback. He needs several things to go right for him to be successful.”
He’s right, but there’s a fine line between acknowledging the importance of having help around the quarterback and making excuses. Yes, others have to do their jobs. The quarterback does, too.
The reality in football, as Donovan McNabb once said, is that the quarterback gets too much credit for wins and too much blame for losses. In Cleveland, it’s hardly a coincidence that most of the bad seasons since the team returned to the NFL in 1999 featured less-than-ideal quarterback play.
Still, there’s hope for the Browns if Shedeur wins the starting job over Deshaun Watson. Last year, Shedeur started seven games, winning three and losing four. In the 10 games he didn’t start, the Browns went 2-8.
Linebacker Jared Verse has a new NFL team. But he’s still rooting for his old NFL team. Especially when his old NFL team faces one specific foe.
Via Cameron DaSilva of USA Today, Verse recently told Nathan Zegura of ClevelandBrowns.com that his final message to the Rams focused on their biggest current rival.
“I told them, ‘The most important thing, make sure’ — and I’m not going to cuss — ‘make sure you beat the Seahawks. That’s all I care about,’” Verse said.
Last year, the Seahawks and Rams were the best two teams in the NFL. The division, the top seed, and the Super Bowl berth turned in large part on a fluky two-point play that was fueled in part by Verse deflecting with his helmet a throw that turned out to be a backward pass.
Verse had asked coach Sean McVay for the opportunity to inform the other Rams players about the trade. McVay agreed.
“My mindset was, ‘I’ve got to leave my teammates, I’ve got to leave my brothers behind, because I don’t want to leave my brothers,’” Verse told Zegura. “So if I’m going to — I want to address them. I don’t want them to find out from ESPN or from this news site or that news site. I want them to hear it from me.
“Went to the team room. Coach, he released it, he told everybody that, ‘We’re trading Jared,’ and I got to tell everybody. I said, ‘It sucks I’m not going to be here. I love you guys to death. You guys are going to go out there, you guys are going to dominate, you guys are going to do everything you can do and you guys are going to play the best you can. You guys got 17 games for sure. Who knows what’s going to happen after that but just go dominate.’”
It would be something (and highly unlikely) if the Browns have a dominant season, too. Of all the potential storybook endings to 2026, the Browns against the Rams in the Super Bowl would be among the very best.
One of the two teams is far more likely to be there than the other. Especially if they heed Verse’s call to beat the Seahawks.
When asked recently about the possibility of adding quarterback Brendan Sorsby in the supplemental draft, Browns head coach Todd Monken was clear on his stance.
He told reporters earlier this month that he didn’t think the Browns should be interested in Sorsby, saying players have been “banned for life” for gambling.
But General Manager Andrew Berry was more measured in an interview last week, which now has more relevance given that Sorsby is set to apply for the supplemental draft after dropping his lawsuit against the NCAA over his collegiate eligibility.
In an interview with Anthony Lima and Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan, Berry was asked how gambling would factor into a player’s evaluation.
“I think there are two things,” Berry said. “There are two questions I ask, because we’re all human and I’d imagine everybody that’s on this call and listening to this show, I’m sure everyone has made mistakes. I really ask two questions: I ask, No. 1, is this a bad person, or did they make a bad decision? And then the second piece is, what are they doing after the fact … to correct the behavior. Is this a pattern of decision-making? And if so, have they done something to stop the pattern? Or is this an isolated incident? Because the reality of it is, we’re all going to screw up. And some, certainly, mistakes are greater in magnitude than others.
“But I think the most important thing in Brendan’s case is what he does from here. Obviously, it’s a great first step to get the help that he needs. But then it’s like, OK, what is around him? What is he doing to make sure that he can maintain healthy habits moving forward? So, it seems like it’s a very good start there. Obviously, I don’t know all the details at this point. But I think, probably, within society, so to speak, we could all use a little bit more grace.”
As a follow-up, Berry was asked how he feels about such character concerns, specifically when thinking about how a quarterback leads and is the proverbial face of the franchise.
“I also think that probably the more important things are the internal leadership — so how does this player prepare? How do they relate to their teammates? Are they coachable to the coaching staff? Are they an anchor when there’s tough moments in the game? Because that’s the stuff that actually makes the biggest impact,” Berry said. “And those are the people, that’s the biggest constituency that the individual has to lead and serve. So, that’s really more the priority than what I would say as maybe the more marketability, [piece of it].
“But you like to have everything. You’d like to have everything, ideally. But very few players fit that, though.”
Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reported on Monday night that the Browns are “unlikely” to bid on Sorsby in the supplemental draft, should he be deemed eligible for it. But with the way the Browns have operated at the QB in recent years, it’s hard to put anything past them at that position.
The Browns hope to sweeten their sweetheart deal to build a new stadium.
According to Rich Exner of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns want Brook Park to create a stadium authority that would own the team’s new facility and lease it back to the team.
What’s in it for the Browns? Apparently, a savings of roughly $100 million in sales tax on the materials for the stadium.
Brook Park City Council will discuss the proposal on Tuesday night. A public hearing is set for July 15.
The current funding plan for the $2.6 billion stadium includes $1.755 billion from the team, $600 million from the state, and $245 million from Brook Park. The Browns will be responsible for cost overruns.
The chosen device for the state’s contribution — borrowing from the state’s massive pool of unclaimed funds — has been delayed by litigation. The state apparently will come up with the money elsewhere if the courts prevent the state from using unclaimed funds.
Actually, as sweetheart deals go, this one is a little sour. The Browns will be footing 67.5 percent of the bill. While some would say that the Browns should be paying for all of it, the team is carrying a fairly high percentage of the total expenditure.
Especially when the inevitable overruns happen.
