Latest news with #Berea
Washington Post
15 hours ago
- General
- Washington Post
Shedeur Sanders shows promise but faces challenges in Browns' QB competition
BEREA, Ohio — The dichotomy that is Shedeur Sanders' development as a rookie quarterback and the heightened expectations for him with the Cleveland Browns were again on full display Wednesday. Sanders had the best throw of the day during organized team activities when he zipped a pinpoint pass to tight end Caden Davis in the back of the end zone during a 7-on-7 red zone drill. Whether or not Davis got both feet in before going out of bounds was up for debate on social media. However, Sanders was the only one of Cleveland's four quarterbacks not to take a snap with the first-team offense during 11-on-11 drills. He did take second-team snaps, but slipped and fell on the first play. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees lauded Sanders for his work ethic on what some still see as a steep learning curve for the fifth-round pick. 'He's really put in a lot of work as all those guys are, but you could tell on the mental side of the game and learning the system and calling it and having that rhythm to it, he's put a lot of work and time and effort into that. And then when you do that, the game starts to slow down and you can focus on finding completions. And he's done a nice job of that as camp's progressed,' Rees said. With three young quarterbacks in camp — third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, Sanders and fourth-year pro Kenny Pickett — Rees said a large amount of the offense has been installed while keeping a close eye on the growth and progression of all three. 'Definitely pushing them and pushing where we want them to go, but also being cognizant of, hey, we want them to go out there with confidence and making sure that it's beneficial to how they're learning and the way they're going,' Rees said. Joe Flacco and Pickett remain the front-runners to be under center on Sept. 7 when the Browns open against the Cincinnati Bengals. The amount of snaps all four will get during the first two weeks of training camp remain fluid. 'We're going to find ways to be creative and make sure they all have opportunities to develop and put their best foot forward. And when the time comes, we will continue to push guys forward as they earn it,' Rees said. The amount of snaps all four will receive during the three days of next week's mandatory minicamp also have to be determined. When it comes to who may win the starting job, Rees can see valid arguments for any of the four at this stage of the competition. 'We're so early in the process and in evaluating it. I think we have a good group of guys that will continue to push one another and by the time September rolls around, we'll be ready to go,' he said. ___ AP NFL:
Associated Press
15 hours ago
- General
- Associated Press
Shedeur Sanders shows promise but faces challenges in Browns' QB competition
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The dichotomy that is Shedeur Sanders' development as a rookie quarterback and the heightened expectations for him with the Cleveland Browns were again on full display Wednesday. Sanders had the best throw of the day during organized team activities when he zipped a pinpoint pass to tight end Caden Davis in the back of the end zone during a 7-on-7 red zone drill. Whether or not Davis got both feet in before going out of bounds was up for debate on social media. However, Sanders was the only one of Cleveland's four quarterbacks not to take a snap with the first-team offense during 11-on-11 drills. He did take second-team snaps, but slipped and fell on the first play. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees lauded Sanders for his work ethic on what some still see as a steep learning curve for the fifth-round pick. 'He's really put in a lot of work as all those guys are, but you could tell on the mental side of the game and learning the system and calling it and having that rhythm to it, he's put a lot of work and time and effort into that. And then when you do that, the game starts to slow down and you can focus on finding completions. And he's done a nice job of that as camp's progressed,' Rees said. With three young quarterbacks in camp — third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, Sanders and fourth-year pro Kenny Pickett — Rees said a large amount of the offense has been installed while keeping a close eye on the growth and progression of all three. 'Definitely pushing them and pushing where we want them to go, but also being cognizant of, hey, we want them to go out there with confidence and making sure that it's beneficial to how they're learning and the way they're going,' Rees said. Joe Flacco and Pickett remain the front-runners to be under center on Sept. 7 when the Browns open against the Cincinnati Bengals. The amount of snaps all four will get during the first two weeks of training camp remain fluid. 'We're going to find ways to be creative and make sure they all have opportunities to develop and put their best foot forward. And when the time comes, we will continue to push guys forward as they earn it,' Rees said. The amount of snaps all four will receive during the three days of next week's mandatory minicamp also have to be determined. When it comes to who may win the starting job, Rees can see valid arguments for any of the four at this stage of the competition. 'We're so early in the process and in evaluating it. I think we have a good group of guys that will continue to push one another and by the time September rolls around, we'll be ready to go,' he said. ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man accused of attacking 2 with knife in Berea
BEREA, Ky. (FOX 56) — Deputies in Madison County worked with Kentucky State Police troopers to find a man accused of attacking two people with a knife on Saturday. The Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) posted on Facebook that after being dispatched to Owsley Fork Road in response to reports of a stabbing, deputies found a man and woman who had suffered cuts 'consistent with a knife attack.' Law enforcement identified the suspect as 34-year-old James Cochran, who was arrested and lodged in the Madison County Detention Center, according to a Facebook post by the MCSO around 9 a.m. on Sunday. According to the sheriff's office, Cochran was charged with attempted murder and first-degree assault. Man accused of attacking 2 with knife in Berea Crash in Meade County leaves 1 dead, 2 fighting for life in hospital 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan snaps 5-race losing skid with win in Blame at Churchill Downs He was lodged in the Madison County Detention Center. Deputies wrote that a man who was attacked had been treated at the scene, and a woman was taken to the University of Kentucky Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries. The knife attack investigation remains ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Browns' best QB after Day 1 is Joe Flacco, but who'll start Game 1 is complicated
BEREA, Ohio — The past and potential future were on full display Wednesday when two things seemed evident watching the Browns' organized team activity: 1. Shedeur Sanders is very clearly fourth on the depth chart. 2. Joe Flacco is still the best quarterback on this roster. How any of that changes, if at all, between now and September remains to be seen. Advertisement The Browns have a lot to sort through over the next 12 months. The trade-down with the Jacksonville Jaguars on draft day to acquire a future first-round pick signaled they were punting on finding a franchise quarterback until next year's draft. But since they have the next 11 months, 17 games and too many practices to count between now and then, they might as well pass the time by seeing if either of the two darts they threw in the middle and late rounds of this draft — Dillon Gabriel and Sanders — can find the dart board. That complicates what we'll witness as OTAs, minicamps, training camp and eventually the regular season play out. Even at 40, Flacco can still spin it. The arm strength on display Wednesday was undeniable. I have thought since the draft concluded, even after the Browns selected Gabriel and Sanders, that Kenny Pickett begins this competition with the edge to be the starter. He got here first. The Browns pursued him shortly after last season ended. They gave up an asset to acquire him. He turns 27 next month and has two years of experience as a starter in the NFL, meaning theoretically he should still have quite a bit of football in front of him. .@Jamari_Thrash making plays 😯 — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 28, 2025 Then you watch the way Flacco slings it downfield, the way he commands the huddle, listen to others explain how he commands the quarterback room, and it puts the Browns at an interesting intersection. Do you play the old man, even if he wins you an extra game or two that might be counterintuitive to the high draft pick you covet next year? Or play the kids now and see what you have? deep dot from @JoeFlacco 🎯@jerryjeudy | #DawgPound — Cleveland Browns (@Browns) May 28, 2025 If this is a lost season, or more politely a season of transition as the Browns continue to clear out the cap carnage from the Deshaun Watson era, it makes sense to lean into the youth movement, for better or worse. They have 17 games to figure out if Gabriel or Sanders is the long-term solution. If they're not, they'll likely be in position to draft a quarterback next year. Advertisement That's where Sanders is trying to fit into all of this. He was the only quarterback of the four not to take a rep with the starters in full team drills on Wednesday. That isn't necessarily surprising since he was the last one in the room as a fifth-round rookie. This is also where it's important to point out we're judging all of this based on one OTA practice in May. It's the only practice this week that was open to reporters. Kevin Stefanski could just as easily give the starter's reps Gabriel received on Wednesday to Sanders on Thursday when reporters aren't allowed on the field. Or he could elect to give Sanders starter's reps next Wednesday, when the media will again be watching. But the one day this week the media is able to watch, not giving Sanders a single rep with the starters during 11-on-11 drills was certainly noticeable. Stefanski has cautioned multiple times not to pay attention to the batting order in which the Browns' four quarterbacks take reps because the lineup is going to change. But what about the number of snaps? Or more specifically, the lack of snaps? If Sanders is going to win this job, or even a spot on the roster, he has some hurdling to do. Luckily for him, he has plenty of time. The Browns' unique setup of running simultaneous 7-on-7 and then 11-on-11 drills on parallel fields was intended to ensure all four quarterbacks got enough reps. It's just that Sanders was throwing primarily to guys who probably won't be here in September. Whether Sanders is one of those roster cuts remains to be seen. Right now, the quarterback who is only three years younger than the head coach is still the best passer on the field. How the Browns truly want to approach this season might dictate who starts and who sits. Who ultimately wins the job? Like everything else with the Browns these days, it's complicated.
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Pickett: Browns' QB competition not contentious
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Kenny Pickett realizes that almost all the offseason attention devoted to the Cleveland Browns is on the quarterback competition. Pickett wants to make one thing abundantly clear, though — even though it is a competition, things haven't gotten heated inside the quarterback room. 'I think the outside world makes it a lot bigger than it is. Of course, we're all competing, but you become friends with everybody,' Pickett said on Wednesday after the Browns completed their second day of organized team activities. 'I think it's a great media headline, but when you get in the building in a quarterback room and at least all the ones I've been in, you really become friends with these guys, and we're just pushing each other.' Pickett and Joe Flacco got the majority of the snaps with the veterans. Third-round pick Dillon Gabriel got one series of 11-on-11 drills on the main field, while fifth-round selection Shedeur Sanders had none. Gabriel and Sanders got most of their work with the other rookies on the adjacent field. Even though he is 40 years old, Flacco is the slight favorite to be under center when the Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7 in the season opener. 'It's funny, it's like every time I go out here in the offseason, I've done it a million times, but it's like there's a little piece of you that's like, 'all right, let's see if I still know how to read it and let it go and do all those things.' So it's good to get back out there and start doing it again,' said Flacco, the AP Comeback Player of the Year in 2023, after he went 4-1 as a starter and led the Browns to the playoffs for only the third time since their return in 1999. Even though Flacco said this is the first quarterback competition of this magnitude he has experienced since being a sophomore in high school in Audubon, New Jersey, he isn't focused too much on it at this stage of the offseason. 'I'm just going out there and doing what I do, and everything else is kind of out of my control. So all I can do is go out there and play football and that's what I'm doing,' Flacco said. The Browns acquired Pickett in a trade with Philadelphia when the league year opened in March. Pickett started one game last season for the Super Bowl champion Eagles while backing up Jalen Hurts. He was 14-10 as a starter in two years with Pittsburgh after being the Steelers first-round pick in 2022. Pickett admitted that there are more similarities between the Eagles' and Browns' offenses than most people realize. The biggest thing he has focused on is getting up to speed with the terminology. 'I think it has gone well. They're doing a great job of getting everyone reps to get experience with the offense and get a feel for everybody,' he said. Pickett and Flacco both have developed a good rapport with Jerry Jeudy. The sixth-year wide receiver had one of the day's best catches on a deep route from Flacco on one of the first plays during 11-on-11 drills. 'It's been good. I don't think there were many dropped balls,' Jeudy said. 'So quarterbacks were putting balls right on the money and receivers were making plays. We're going to keep doing that.' Gabriel had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and picked off by first-round pick Mason Graham. Both Gabriel and Sanders fared well in 7-on-7 drills against rookies. Coach Kevin Stefanski said all of the rookies' snaps remain valuable, whether they are on or off the field. 'They're being graded on every play. And there's a variety of things that they're being graded on, but for the quarterback, decision-making, technique, accuracy, those type of things,' he said. 'We love the opportunity being out here on the practice field and have two drills where we can maximize all the time that we're out here.' Garrett's absence There were two notable absences at Wednesday's voluntary practice. Defensive end Myles Garrett is in Japan and accompanied Olympic snowboard gold medalist Chloe Kim at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Stefanski said he didn't know if Garrett would be back with the team before the mandatory minicamp begins on June 10. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who signed with the team on May 5, might be the bigger no-show since the Browns are his fourth team in less than a year. 'I'm worried about day to day, but let me reiterate, this is a voluntary program across the NFL guys,″ Stefanski said. 'That's their right, whether they're here or not. The guys that are here, we coach 'em up. The guys that aren't here, that is totally their decision to make.' ___ AP NFL:
