Browns Clips
Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins and Browns right defensive end Jared Verse had some heated battles during joint practice this week, and afterward Dawkins said they brought out the best in each other.
“I’m gonna run my mouth, Verse is gonna run his too,” Dawkins said. “You meet people that match your energy, and I’m one of those that I’m gonna bring it, and Verse is one of those that he’s gonna bring it.”
Dawkins said it was great working against Verse and knowing that even if Verse got past him, Josh Allen wasn’t going to get hit.
“He brings it,” Dawkins said. “Being able to come out here and practice, and practice against him, I know I can try some things because he’s really not going to hit Josh. It feels good. I love the kid. He has a bright future as he keeps going. His bull rush is insane. So talk about that: His bull rush is definitely good, he’s going to rack up sacks all season long. I’m a Verse fan. I’m a Verse fan, and he’s been playing well.”
At a time when joint practice fights have led to some controversy in the NFL, Dawkins and Verse found out how to make a touch competition beneficial to both of them.
Nothing encapsulates the current chaos in college football like this — Browns tight end Dae’Quan Wright has entered the college transfer portal, via Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports.
Wright currently is a member of the Cleveland roster. He previously was under contract with the Eagles. After Wednesday’s temporary restraining order from a case in which Wright was one of the named plaintiffs, he separately has a path to a new college football team.
Many will blame the player. They shouldn’t. This is a direct byproduct of the collapse of the NCAA’s prior system of refusing to let players get paid anything, by anyone. As the NCAA scrambles to modernize its rules, the NCAA has created new donut holes.
The latest is the new rule giving players five seasons of eligibility in five years. Those who would have been able to stay in college for 2026 have argued that the rule should apply to them retroactively. On Wednesday, a judge agreed.
And the end result is that, as Wright prepares to potentially play in a preseason game on Saturday (he didn’t play in the preseason opener), he could soon have an opening to play for a college team in just a couple of weeks.
Browns defensive end Alex Wright was carted off the field with a lower-leg injury, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Browns coach Todd Monken said after practice he did not have an update on Wright.
Any absence by Wright into the regular season would hurt.
The Browns traded Myles Garrett this offseason, leaving a huge hole at the position. They were interested in Jadeveon Clowney, Za’Darius Smith and A.J. Epenesa, but none of them signed.
The team drafted Wright in the third round of the 2022 draft. He totaled 37 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss in 14 games last season.
The Browns signed him to a three-year, $33 million contract extension in November.
While Browns running back Quinshon Judkins has not practiced over the last couple of days, it doesn’t sound like the team is particularly concerned about his availability going forward.
Via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, head coach Todd Monken said on Thursday that Judkins is dealing with a nagging injury. The club has kept the running back sidelined as a precautionary measure.
While Judkins took some unnecessary hits during Tuesday’s practice, Monken noted that’s not why he’s been out.
The Browns practiced with the Bills on Thursday, with Monken noting he doesn’t find it frustrating Judkins wasn’t on the field even as the running back is such a key part of the offense.
“[H]e’s been out there all the time until now,” Monken said in his press conference. “I’d be more frustrated if it’s been two weeks. But, out of precaution, I think it was smart with where he was at.”
The Browns and Bills will play their preseason game in Cleveland on Saturday. Monken said that many of Cleveland’s veteran starters will not play, but their younger contributors likely will.
The Browns have made a pair of moves at tight end on Thursday.
Cleveland announced the team has signed tight end Drew Biber and placed tight end Jack Stoll on injured reserve.
Biber entered the league as an undrafted free agent with Green Bay this spring after playing his college ball at Minnesota.
The Browns will have a joint practice with the Bills on Thursday before the two teams play on Saturday afternoon.
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has regularly been booed in Cleveland, and that may happen again on Saturday, when the Browns play their preseason home opener. Watson isn’t worried about it.
Asked what kind of reaction he thinks he’ll get from Browns fans on Saturday at the stadium, Watson said it doesn’t matter to him.
“I don’t care. I don’t care,” Watson said.
It’s obvious why Watson gets booed: Trading for him has proven to be the single worst roster transaction in NFL history. The Browns gave up three first-round picks, a second-round pick, a third-round pick and a fourth-round pick to get Watson, then gave him an unprecedented five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract. For that, Watson has played a total of just 19 games in four seasons, and has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL in those 19 games. And the Browns made the move for Watson despite knowing he had been accused of sexually assaulting some two dozen massage therapists, accusations that resulted in Watson being suspended for the first 11 games of his time in Cleveland.
The reality of sports fandom is that despite all that, if Watson earns the starting job this year, plays well, and the Browns win, the fans in Cleveland will cheer him. But he hasn’t heard many cheers through his first four years in Cleveland.
Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders is going to get a pair of chances to work against an opposing defense this week.
The Browns will have a joint practice with the Bills on Thursday and Sanders will be starting a preseason game between the teams on Saturday. That game could be his final real chance to make a case for the starting job in Week 1 of the regular season as Deshaun Watson started the opener and Browns head coach Todd Monken has not ruled out making a decision heading into the final week of the preseason.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Sanders said that he is not feeling any extra weight as he heads into a three-day stretch that could weigh heavily on where he sits on the depth chart this season.
“I’ll say every day of my life is important,” Sanders said, via a transcript from the team. “Every day is important, I wouldn’t say there’s a day that’s not important. So, that’s just another day going out there doing what I’ve got to do, honestly. I don’t really feel anxiety or any pressure going into things like that anymore, because that’s how I approach everything. It’s just another day of going to work, that’s all it is for me.”
Monken said this week that he and Bills head coach Joe Brady agreed to hold most starters out of the preseason game if they are happy with how Thursday’s practice unfolds. That might not be the best thing for Sanders, but he’s keeping it to himself if that approach isn’t the one he’d prefer to see from the Browns this week.
The Browns have made a pair of roster moves on Wednesday.
Cleveland announced the club has signed defensive end Jamil Muhammad.
The Browns have been looking for help at edge rusher, as they were interested in both Jadeveon Clowney and Za’Darius Smith, though both ended up signing elsewhere.
Muhammad, who played his college ball at USC, entered the league last year as an undrafted free agent. He spent time with both the Rams and Panthers in 2025.
As a corresponding move, the Browns waived cornerback Jeadyn Lukus.
One of Cleveland’s key offensive players is not on the practice field on Wednesday.
According to multiple reporters on the scene, running back Quinshon Judkins is not participating in the day’s session.
There has not been a reason given by the team for Judkins’ absence.
Judkins, who is coming off a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle that prematurely ended his rookie season, has been practicing throughout camp and played in Cleveland’s preseason opener against Chicago. But multiple reporters noted Judkins did take some unnecessary hits late in Tuesday’s practice. With the defense getting over aggressive, head coach Todd Monken called off the session early.
“First of all, I love the way our guys practice,” Monken told reporters in his Wednesday press conference. “But there comes a time where Browns have to take care of Browns.
“I thought we’d had enough.”
The Browns are slated to practice with the Bills on Thursday before Saturday’s preseason contest between the two teams.
Browns head coach Todd Monken found himself “emotionally hijacked” during a practice early in training camp and he was hot under the collar again on Tuesday.
Monken called practice to an end more than 10 minutes before the scheduled finish after a series of plays that left him angry about the contact being made by defensive players. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that Monken kicked defensive end Benton Whitley off the field for making contact with quarterback Shedeur Sanders and then did the same to defensive tackle Adin Huntington for a hit on running back Quinshon Judkins.
The final straw came when defensive end Jared Verse grabbed Judkins and wound up knocking the Guardian cap off his helmet. Cabot reports Monken than had “harsh words” for the team — reporters can’t share specifics of what they overheard — before calling the session to a close.
The Browns will have a joint practice with the Bills on Thursday and Monken will be hoping to keep a more even keel through that session.
