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3 Players who will shine early at Cleveland Browns training camp

By Randy Gurzi

OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Karl Joseph #42 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after sacking the quarterback and recovering a fumble against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter of their NFL football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. The Raiders won the game 45-20. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Karl Joseph #42 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after sacking the quarterback and recovering a fumble against the New York Jets during the fourth quarter of their NFL football game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on September 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. The Raiders won the game 45-20. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 06: Karl Joseph #42 of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the NFL match between the Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 06, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images) /

2. Karl Joseph, S

Another area where the Browns needed to improve in the 2020 offseason was at safety. They entered 2019 with hope that this would be a strength of the team, and with good reason. Damarious Randall was coming off a career-year and they signed Morgan Burnett who was moving back to strong safety, which was where he played during his prime years in Green Bay.

Then there was Jermaine Whitehead, who was the camp darling last season. Coaches were raving about Whitehead’s leadership and talked him up as their un-earthed gem. Unfortunately, none of those players lived up to expectations and are all now gone — with Whitehead not even finishing the season after he unloaded on some reporters following a loss last year.

With those three players out, the Browns added Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo in free agency and then used their second-round pick on Grant Delpit. All three are capable starters but the one who is going to make fans quickly in training camp is going to be Karl Joseph.

A former first-round pick of the Raiders, Joseph finished last season injured and signed a one-year ‘prove-it’ deal with Cleveland. He’s a hard-hitter with a nose for the ball and on top of that, he has something to prove after spending the final two seasons in Oakland hearing his name mentioned in trade rumors.

Cleveland is going to benefit from the fact that Raiders coach Jon Gruden never believed in Joseph. He’s going to come in and prove he’s more than capable of being a long-term starter in this league.

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