Cleveland Browns News: Kevin Stefanski speaks on guard situation
By Randy Gurzi
Daily Dawg Tags bring you all the Cleveland Browns news you need to know
The Cleveland Browns entered this offseason with some questions at right guard and with training camp underway, they now have even more. Of course, there seems to be one thing answered as Wyatt Teller is clearly the favorite to start but behind him, they became suddenly thin.
That’s because Drew Forbes — who was expected to compete with Teller — decided to opt-out of the 2020 season. Forbes was joined by three other offensive linemen two of which were guards. With Forbes, Colby Gossett, and Malcolm Pridgeon all sitting out, the Browns now have to figure out what to do in order to bring enough depth into the regular season.
So far, they have gone out and added a couple more options as they signed Michael Dunn and Jovahn Fair on Monday but that might not be all they do. And even when they do have the roster filled out, they have to figure out who belongs where and how to split up the practice reps.
That’s what head coach Kevin Stefanski touched on when he spoke with the media and it’s also the featured article in today’s Daily Dawg Tags.
Cleveland Browns News
"“That is what Andrew (Berry) and his staff are working on every day. I think they walk in the building and say, ‘Look at the roster. How do we improve it?’ I know with the opt-outs at that position, it is certainly something that we will continue to look at. As it pertains to practice reps, you have to get your starters ready. You also have to get your backups ready this year. We have to be very mindful of how we divvy up those reps. I have sat down with the coaches already and we have a plan for that, but I don’t think it is a season where you just say, ‘Hey, I’m just getting my starters ready.’ I think that may not be smart.”"
Stefanski is in his first season as head coach of the Browns and he’s clearly facing the toughest obstacles of any first-year coach in Cleveland — and it has very little to do with the roster but more so with the uncertainty the league has hovering over it right now.
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Browns sign guard Michael Dunn — Dan Labbe, Cleveland.com
"“Dunn, 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds, originally signed with the Rams in 2017 as an undrafted free agent. The Maryland grad spent time on the Rams and Jaguars practice squad and played for the Birmingham Iron in the AAF in 2019 and Seattle Dragons in the XFL in 2020.”"
The Browns are doing what they can to replace the offensive guards they lost, which was expected after seeing three departures. Wyatt Teller proved in 2019 that he can hold his own but the depth this season is going to be a concern unless someone unexpected rises to the occasion.
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