Cleveland Browns: A fresh feeling heading into training camp

The Cleveland Browns finished offseason practices Thursday and will come back to Berea in July with a new feeling surrounding the team.

The Cleveland Browns will not be on the practice field again until late-July when the players and coaches return for training camp.

The team’s veteran minicamp wrapped up Thursday, leaving fans more than a month to reflect on what the team has done so far in 2016.

It has been an eventual first five months to the year, with the organization introducing a whole new front office and coaching staff, along with many new faces on the roster.

The Browns drafted 14 players in the 2016 NFL Draft and have already signed 12 of those players, which includes Cody Kessler after he signed his rookie deal Thursday.

The optimism surrounding this team is less about the team’s ability to win a great deal of games in 2016 and more about the potential of the team under Hue Jackson.

Jackson has come in and rejuvenated a franchise in danger of destroying itself via failed drafts and poor personnel decisions.

Jackson’s positivity and devotion to making the Browns a successful franchise again is getting fans excited, which is not something that could be said for Browns coaches since 1999.

He is holding the team accountable and showing fans that he is committed to making the team one that is respected, even if the wins are not there in 2016.

The doubts surrounding the team’s chances of winning this year seem to be less important than in the past.

Past seasons involved either blind optimism and hope for teams that clearly had little chance of success. The other side of that was people who thought the Browns were doomed to be terrible forever.

This year’s optimism actually has some foundation supporting it thanks to Jackson. Even his decision to keep the quarterback position an open competition shows that nothing will be given with him as head coach, and everything must be earned.

With this mindset, along with the front office giving him talent to work with, Jackson should be able get the team its first winning record since 2007. It likely won’t happen this year, but if he is able to focus on development in 2016, 2017 could be a surprising season.

This fact is what has fans excited awaiting the beginning of training camp, even if future success is only at the level of speculation right now.

The Cleveland Browns needed a fresh start, which made the decision to undergo a rebuild a great one. Owner Jimmy Haslam took a chance by starting over once again, but it looks to be a great decision so far. Let’s hope this optimism and excitement lasts throughout the season and continues on into 2017.