BEREA, Ohio — It was a different feel to the opening of Browns training camp. At least it was for Nick Chubb.
“Things are definitely back to normal now,” the All-Pro running back said Wednesday. “No more COVID tests, no more wearing a mask. No more restrictions. We can come in here any time of day we want and get our work in. We were able to do all the things we wanted to do.”
Compared to two seasons spent under the cloud of a global pandemic, it’s easy to see why it felt normal to Chubb to be back in the facility for the first full-squad practice. Compared to most NFL teams, though, even getting back to “normal” isn’t normal for the Browns.
That all changed once the March trade to acquire quarterback Deshaun Watson was executed. From that moment on, the Browns knew there would be questions due to the allegations of sexual misconduct made by more than two dozen women against him.
Even with those allegations hanging over Watson, the Browns expected to have a firm idea of what kind of potential punishment he would be receiving for any violations of the NFL personal conduct policy by the time camp opened. The only issue for them has been that the jointly appointed disciplinary officer, Sue L. Robinson, hasn’t operated on their time schedule.
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The Browns took the field Wednesday still awaiting word on any kind of suspension Watson may receive. The actual hearing took place June 28-30, with the post-hearing briefs submitted to Robinson on July 12.
“I just think that’s the nature of this game,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I think player availability, we have to deal with that in-game. You get into the fourth quarter or third quarter of a game, and that’s our job to adjust. It’s the player’s job to be ready in a ‘next-man-up’ mentality, as you’ve all heard 1,000 times before, and then it’s our job as coaches to prepare everybody to play.”
That messaging has filtered down into the locker room to the players who have been answering questions about Watson since April. What was true during offseason workouts or minicamp was true on day one of training camp.
That’s why, for all of the uncertainty surrounding their starting quarterback, the Browns operated as if in a bubble of normalcy despite the grey cloud — literally and figuratively — hanging over the first day.
“We move as if he will be or won’t be,” All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett said of Watson’s availability. “You don’t really keep it in your mind like that. I mean, he’s on the field with us right now. He will be on the field with us this season training and working out. He’s going to be in the weight room and he’s going to be interacting with us. … I feel like once we get to the season it will all work itself out.”
Watson has been a dedicated worker when he’s been around the team since the trade. During the offseason program and minicamp, the only days he missed were the couple of days he was sitting down with NFL investigators.
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Even during that time, Watson took virtually all of the first-team reps in the offseason. He reported for camp last Friday with the other quarterbacks, as well as the rookies.
At some point, the Browns will begin the transition to Jacoby Brissett with the first-team offense in order to prepare him for the opener at Carolina. When that actually occurs, though, remains in question.
Stefanski reiterated Wednesday that Watson would handle most of the first-team reps, at least until a decision is made. He did say there’s a plan in place they could pivot to should the situation change.
“Guys will rotate in there like we always do,” Stefanski said. “If you saw in the spring, we rotated Deshaun and Jacoby as well, so that really doesn’t change. We have to get all those guys ready to play. It doesn’t mean you divide the reps evenly among four different guys, but we have to get four of them ready. We have a plan to use all of them at different times.”
The one Stefanski would like to use the most is Watson. Yet, if, when and for how long he’ll be suspended continues to cast that uncertainty across everything.
For most of the Browns, including Watson, the best way to handle it is to put blinders on to anything else around them. His teammates have noticed that approach from him ever since he arrived.
“I feel like when we get in the building, he doesn’t carry himself like that anyway,” second-year cornerback Greg Newsome II said. “When he gets in this building, he’s worried about football and football only, so we’re going to worry about football and football only. We’ll let legal stuff pan out the way it’s supposed to pan out. We’ve kind of just got to focus on us getting ready for the season. Obviously, we hope D-Wat’s there Week 1, but if he’s not we’ve got guys that are going to be able to step in and play right away.”
The Browns did add a fourth quarterback to the room in advance of camp, signing Josh Rosen. Rosen, though, isn’t seen as a back-half of the room addition, even with Watson out.
Brissett, who was signed in April after a year in Miami, remains the guy to take over during any Watson absence. Even with the relative lack of first-team reps during the offseason program, he and third-stringer Josh Dobbs have gained the confidence of their teammates.
“We got guys preparing like they’re the number one anyways, Brissett is going to play like he’s the number one regardless and he’s shown it multiple times in his career, where he had to step in and be the number one,” Newsome said. “Josh can get out there and do the same thing. So you know Stefanski is going to have them ready to go regardless of who’s out there.”
Stefanski, for now, is looking at Watson. Of course, to him, it’s only about today and nothing else.
“We just deal with it,” he said. “That’s kind of our mentality. We’re going to deal with July 27th and then we’ll get to tomorrow and we’ll deal with tomorrow. That’s kind of how we operate.”
Follow Chris Easterling on Twitter @ceasterlingABJ.
