Browns Training Camp Day 10 Recap: Cedric Tillman Ascends as Brand Aiyuk Trade Rumors Swirl

[Music] hey Browns fans Spencer German Anthony meglin covering the Browns practice number 10 today out at in Berea at the team facility uh Anthony I know you you you're dealing with the storms like like everybody who was out here unfortunately it was supposed to be the second practice that that had fans in attendance but got rained out by the the severe storms that passed through and so it ended up just being a team practice inside the the Fieldhouse without fans in attendance and we were on our merry way so unfortunate for the fans that weren't able to be get to be in attendance we'll obviously recap a lot of what I was able to see uh at the practice today but there are on a day with with the weather being a factor there are a bit it feels like there's a million different storylines that that we can sort of cover and talk about from today newsworthy things that are going on so I'm going to leave it to you Megs like let's play Russian rette here what what do you want to start with first of all I'm I'm glad to see you're standing outside for whatever came through Cleveland as you can see I'm in I had to call an audible here I'm in a Panera uh because whatever came through Cleveland Vengeance uh to it trees down everywhere powers out so hopefully everyone's taking care of themselves staying safe out there but I think uh we got to start where everyone else is starting uh there's rumors trade rumors swirling every direction there's a ton of them out there obviously um the one that hit home to us um is the Brandon iuk stuff um and uh it's it's certainly intriguing and it's it's caused for a lot of different scenario planning uh from from both the 49er side and uh from the brown side yeah and I think that is probably a good place to start with with everything kind of transpiring with that and going on with that right now and it's certainly an evolving situation over the last 24 hours I mean Anthony you know if you sat on Twitter at all on Monday day throughout the day it was pretty much people they saying it was a done deal that he was he was Brandon iuk was going to be a Pittsburgh stealer and then later in the night we get the the report from NBC um Sports uh West Coast that um apparently it's it's actually down to the Browns of the 49ers and the parameters of the deal have already sort of been agreed to in principle and it's just about iuk now negotiating a contract extension with the teams and then we got the news today from I think both Adam shefer of ESPN and Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network that the Steelers now are back in the mix and they've re-engaged conversations so it is clearly an evolving conversation an evolving situation uh one that doesn't have a definitive answer to this point what I'm more interested in I'm sure what you guys as bronze fans are more interested in as well is just how the Browns are sort of talking about and handling the situation what I found interesting Anthony was just the the the you always know you're going to get sort of a non- answer from Kevin fansy account stuff like that I mean it's just it's it's part for the course but the fact that it was very much sort of drilled into others who spoke today that you know were focused on the guys in this building it was clear that there was some sort of mention some sort of training that was done to sort of prep them for that for that question I found that interesting because generally if if you're you know preparing for something like that there's probably a little bit of smoke where there's some fire and you got to kind of make sure you're your players and coaches are saying the right things or the things that you want them to say about it so that doesn't become a bigger story so I I found that a little bit interesting but but yeah the the the theme from stefansky I know Chad o Shay wide receivers coach talked today and even Cedric Tillman who's obviously part of that wide receiver room the theme was very much about hey I'm focused on what I can control we're focused on the guys that are in this building and that's kind of what you expect from them but I I thought it was interesting that they all kind of had the same Cadence about the about what they were going to say when asked that question yeah and and we see all this news breaking on X and on social media and all sorts of different places but like nobody knows what actually the offer was like some people say Amari Cooper is involved and other people say he wasn't you know you can get some def Defenders like you know is Greg nsman there is it Wyatt teller like who are the big pieces yes if that if this trade does come through like there will be a big name that is um a Cleveland Brown that's going to go to San Francisco but also too none of it may happen like there's a very good chance it just doesn't happen and um you know there's also an opportunity that like hey maybe San Francisco was leaking some of this information to get Pittsburgh to come to table with a better offer you just never know how some of the stuff works and you know that's why we love the NFL so much because is because it becomes this like soap opera this like reality TV show where we can behind be on Twitter you know making these trades trades up and all sorts of stuff and then you know you it boils down to potentially nothing at the end of the day so yeah you're right you picked up on it right away you texted all of us like hey they they got these stock answers obviously they practiced it and then you you put the video side by side and you can definitely tell that like hey something was said you know hey let's just be very top level with this we don't know what's going on maybe Brandon iuk is a Cleveland Brown by the end of the week maybe he isn't but for now let's just talk about it like we're just going to handle our business what's happening inside um those walls um of the cross country mortgage uh Fieldhouse behind you um and just take care of business that way yeah it could be something it could be nothing we don't know I I think what's also interesting about this you bring up Amari Cooper a lot of praise for just Amari what he means to the team because there was a lot of follow-ups ass just about you know whether or not he's part of it or not um or if that comes to fruition you know what does he mean to this team and his impact and all these different things so he certainly is an appreciated member of this group and for now he still is a Cleveland Brown I do think what's interesting too with with Amari we talk about all the time like guy's a consumate pro I know he held out a mini camp earlier in the summer but um you know the fact that I think he understands how it how it is he talked about that a little bit when he spoke at the at the Green Brier for the first time since the since the hold out situation where he kind of said like hey you know the business is the business and you just kind of realize that in rooll with it even though I don't necessarily love change so if there's anybody that you trust is going to you know not take this personally or not like let it affect him out on the field or leading up to the season or whatever it's Amari Cooper um and at the end of the day like we're talking about something that's only hypothetical right now we'll have to see what comes to F in these next couple days but it certainly does seem like the Browns are in the mix on this thing and they are pursuing Brandon iuk I I do think Anthony we can maybe kind of conclude this this part of the conversation here but say this I I think Amari Cooper's it's it's it's interesting because I think Amari Cooper's like a perfect fit for this team what he brings to the table the type of player that he is the personality that he is he's not this boisterous guy he's he's very like you know show up with your lunch pill and go to work and I think that fits this culture so so well and he's obviously been a great leader on this team you don't want to mess with the good things sometimes but I also like and that's my one holdup is like I don't know like do you want to mess up the the the the vibe with the team by doing something like this but in the same breath I look at Brandon auk and I see like a younger Amari Cooper like the talent is undeniable what he brings to the table is undeniable so I love the move from a football standpoint and it's just going to be about if it happens um you know what that does or what that means for the locker room and the the team moving forward yeah and and I wrote about this last night um over on the site and it's it's very clear that Andrew Barry is going to be a guy who gets rid of somebody one year early as opposed to holding on to them for one year too long you know and that's been the case you know in his entire uh um tenure to this point um and I don't see that changing yes sometimes it's gonna hurt and sometimes it would be hard but also there's a real scenario where Amari Cooper and Brandon iuk are Cleveland Browns next year and you deal with other guys and you move money in different places um but like you said it's an opportunity to get younger with a guy who's equally skilled who comes to the table with some of that same skill set that that Amari has um and you know I think whatever whichever way they decide to go it's going to be the right way if they keep Amari I'm that's awesome if they do you know move on to Brandon auk that's equally good too so I don't think this is a win-win scenario I don't think you can go wrong either way yeah I do think right now this organization's earned some trust from the fan base in terms of the way that they do business and we'll we'll see again if it if it plays out that way and what happens but obviously the situation Cleveland fans have the their finger on the pulse of at the moment uh the other big news of the day Anthony I think was Kevin stefansky I I I thought he' wait till Thursday but he did share with us today uh before practice that Deshawn Watson will not be playing in the first preseason game against the Packers on Saturday um Jordan love conversely for Green Bay is expected to play and Kevin stfi kind of joke that you know maybe him and Matt lefur sort of talked beforehand maybe they found out you know hey we're not playing miles Garrett so they decided they were gonna play Jordan love so I thought that was kind of funny uh but it sounds like those two star players two of your most important players will not be suiting up for Cleveland on Saturday um but Kevin stansky did say um that some starters will play and that they'll play about 10 plays somewhere in that range um in this game this weekend um your thoughts though on on DeShawn not play because I do think this is an another interesting conversation given that there's certainly reason to believe he needs to get as many live reps as possible get that shorter sort of shoulder sort of back in the swing of things before the season obviously gets roll in on September 8th yeah if it were up to me I I'd have him playing you know I think I think that even one series is just good enough just to you know get the blood flowing again knock the cobwebs off right the last time he played was week 10 of last season so that's a very long time going with without playing football and when you look at the preseason the way that it's laid out for Cleveland like next week you're gonna have the Vikings in town with those joint practices and they treat those like a preseason game yeah you're you're going to the I think we're going in the same direction with the Anthony because like you now you got to wonder if he's not playing Saturday does he play it all in the actual preseason games because week three in the preseason you're playing in Seattle at the 700 p.m. local kickoff which is 10 p.m. Eastern right you're not going to get home till 4 5 6 in the morning you know after that so are the starters even going to go to that game right like week three is has become such just a uh just to turn the page kind of a day or Turn the Page kind of a week like what is that even gonna look like so you know I I was going to say I'm pretty sure last year we saw the starters play in that third preseason game for Cleveland like I know Sean played a little bit I think he played like maybe a series or two I think it was two series because if you remember like the whole debate over like Denzel and should he have played should he not have played because he left that game with the concussion against the Chiefs so that was the way they deployed it last year so there's a chance he maybe does play in that game but I'm with you like it's it's an interesting scenario that you kind of look ahead at now and say okay well where will he play if he's not playing this weekend yeah I'm just saying if it were up to me man I'd have him out there on Saturday just because it's it's a great opportunity to do so right you know just get everyone out there you're at home you're going to be at home on September 8th you need just to get that rep just to get that one rep of hey we're gonna go through all of warm-ups this is how it's going to feel this is what it's going to look like just get back into the swing of things you know it's it's the age-old debate everyone has it and we'll have it again next year as well but um you know if it were up to me I'd have him out there but you know that's why Kevin makes a lot more than I do guess no doubt um yeah I I think it was it's it's a it's a it's a debate that fans are having obviously as well and I think it's interesting and we'll have to kind of see what the strategy is here with CH moving forward but I I'm with you I think those reps matter especially for a guy coming off of a serious shoulder injury who's trying to still kind of reclaim a former version of himself um speaking of live reps though the Browns did get some live reps in today out of the practice field or really inside the Fieldhouse um and I'll tell you a a disappointing day is maybe the word I'll use for Deshawn which comes on the heels of a disappointing day I think yesterday defense really dominated yesterday didn't matter who was quarterback they were just getting wreaking havoc getting in the back field causing a lot of problems uh you know rightfully so I guess with the be miles Garrett's first day participating in 11on 11 stuff yesterday he was back out there again today and the defense still winning a good amount of reps but there were some moments more so from jamus Winston Who lit it up inside the Fieldhouse he threw three different you know deep pass touchdown passes one was like a 30 yder um to one of the the backup tight ends he hit Cedric Tilman on like a 45 yard bomb he hit Jaylen Darden who's had a really good camp so far and continued that today on a on a 45 yard bomb so both all three of those plays were awesome uh jamus was really in Rhythm he was throwing in time and kind of just making a quick read and throwing he was the most effective of the quarterbacks today and on the other side Deshawn struggling a little bit he had another interception that he threw today to to MJ Emerson and there seemed to be a little bit of some some some like gets frustration from him at points uh during team team workor and during 11 on 11s and again not what bronze fans want to see I always like to say Anthony I caution against leaning one way or another on anything that you see in practice whether it's the good stuff or the bad stuff so I don't want to read into it too much here but obviously back toback days where desan struggled a little bit and I will say I'll give him some credit he had the one really really nice play where he aired it out deep to Cedric Tilman Cedric Tilman caught two deep passes today for touchdowns one from jamus one from des and those are two of the highlights of the day yeah ton to unpack there and I want to start with the with the Desa stuff and like you get to day 10 of Camp right we're a week and a half in you know you've been going against these guys day in and day out and there is you know you get to that point of frustration right you come off a bad day yesterday and you've it's not that long remov from what would have been Sunday or or Saturday no Sunday when the offense came and lit it up right um that the what that tells me is it's a it's a mark of a really good team right you know when you have um you know back-to-back days or or different where the offense wins and the defense wins and maybe some days it's going to be more of that tug-of-war where you know you get some wins from both sides of the ball that's just the mark of a really really good football team and yeah you wanted to be clean obviously I wasn't there you were there you saw it um and yeah sometimes it does get a little more ugly than than good but that's what practice is for especially early on in Camp um you know making sure that you're you're testing the limits you're learning this new offense you're going against the best defense in the football against you know two cornerbacks in Denzel Ward and MJ em Emerson who are you know top 10 guys in the league so yeah there's going to be that frustration there and that does you know does it make you feel a little uneasy that he's not clean right now for sure but you understand that hey can't this is a longer process um you get into it what I'm really excited about though we didn't touch on this earlier is watching jamus Winston on Saturday you know that guy he's known to to just light it up um and let it rip and and I'm really excited to see that and hearing the report from you today that he just was letting that thing fly just the way that we're all used to seeing jamus do and I can't wait to see what he brings to the table on Saturday afternoon I think there's definitely a lot of reason to be excited about jamus um he's been he's he's he's been pretty solid in Camp and he's obviously a solid I think just addition to the team in general so I'm I'm sure fans are going to kick out of seeing him and yeah the desan stuff like it's concerning I always like to remind people this time of year too like defense generally ahead of the offense I've always been told that still early on in Camp um but yeah in the same in the same breath like I I'm not going to freak out but I'm all you know you you give you give deshaan some time you give Deshawn some some he he still has a Runway here to sort of get himself ready for the start of the season it's concerning but it doesn't have to be us you know definitively deciding anything about him before the season gets going obviously and and think about it too Spence you make a good point like at at this point in Camp the defense is often times ahead of the offense and you know the the reason being is that on offense you need all 11 to do their job on one play for it to be successful right you could have Amari Cooper Break Free be running 20 yards open down the field and your left tackle gives up a pressure in the and the plays over or the quarterback slips or whatever for defense one person has to make a play at when the ball's in the air you know so it does when you think about it like that it's like all right the offense has to get all on the same page for defense you guys can just go go and ball out there's someone if the defensive end makes a mistake it doesn't affect MJ Emerson on the back end you know so it's like from that perspective think of it like that way like hey you know the offense is really starting to continue to work um there and come together especially early on in Camp so it's exciting it's a good thing um I think but like you said let's let's get it cleaned up um and continue to start to start working a little bit B better one guy I wanted to to ask about is Cedric Tillman everything we see on social media on Twitter on X is that he this dude's just taking the top off going deep he's that big body he's fast the last time he played significant time was three years ago at Tennessee where he just lit up the college football before a pretty significant ankle injury and it looks like he's starting to Trend back that direction yeah well and I think what's interesting too from coming out of college like he he was his his role in that offensive tendency was simple it was like hey just just run verticals and try to get open like that was it so I think last year there were some struggles there for him in terms of like learning The Playbook and and you know more you know more advanced in that way um he talked about that a little bit today because we did get a chance to talk to him and he kind of said like yeah you know I'm I'm focused on trying to learn these things and it's year two and it's slowed down a little bit so I do think you're seeing that progression the fact that he's playing so well though I'm fascinated by Anthony because i' I've said it leading up to the to the to training camp like there's a scenario where he plays so well that maybe the bronze are like hey you know what maybe we can trade Elijah more at the end of camp like guy who's in the final year of his deal we don't owe him anything MoneyWise financially like there's no dead money so I I'm fascina to see if he can continue to grow but yeah he's he's flashed a lot he's been really really good and that continued obviously today and it's really good to see too like obviously he's had some success taking the top off like he had today that little Sluggo he had for 50- yard touchdown but also there's clips of him coming across the middle making those tough catches and being that big body you know that's my favorite part about him is he brings something to the table that nobody else does yes coupe's got that 62 63 frame and he can be a tactician in routes and then you got Jerry Judy who's your more your speed guy Elijah Moore who's going to be more your finesse guy but you know Cedric Tillman stands 6465 and he's your big body go get it kind of a guy where you can throw one up to him and and Trust he's GNA make a big play for you it is starting to rain a little bit here so I don't want to take too much more time because I don't want to get drenched on if you see me looking around that's why because I'm like is it raining harder over there am I going to be in trouble um the final couple notes I'll give you guys here Quinton Jefferson was awesome again today until he did leave practice with an injury didn't seem like he was too serious he kind of stayed out there he just didn't play anymore um so we'll see what the update is on that but um he he continues to dominate um Elijah Moore as we mentioned his name was back today in a in a larger capacity he was doing individual stuff yesterday he did participate in team stuff today Jerry Judy did not as far as I noticed I didn't see him running any routes or anything like that so he kind of had another easier day he was doing individual stuff again uh Juan Thornhill was that was a new one he apparently dealing with an illness and Sam Kamar who left practice yesterday with an injury was back out there as well today we did not obviously have zidus Smith who was missing in action yet again after he left practice on the cart yesterday with that knee injury but again team doesn't seem like it's too anything too serious so that's your injury updates I think we've covered all our bases Anthony I'm gonna go inside before I get to soaked here uh I do want to thank you guys for jumping on in with us at the uh Browns on SI YouTube channel and as always you're following along at the BR Cleveland Browns on SI um the clevand Browns on SI website we're gonna get it everyone knows at some point we'll get it down we're gonna get it it's kind of a mouthful it's it's it's it's a better name but it's it's a mouthful um but yeah we appreciate you guys falling along with all things Cleveland Browns as well over at the Cleveland Browns on SI website where we have a ton of content from today the announcement about who's going to be playing in that that first preseason game is up there um commentary from everybody today about the Brendan iuk stuff um all b a whole bunch of a whole assortment of things that you can find over there so please go check it out and we'll be back as always leading you up to kickoff on Saturday rounds of practice on Thursday I don't think we'll have anybody on site that day but we'll be back obviously leading up to kickoff on Saturday and throughout the game to F give you everything you need to know about the Cleveland Browns so just keep it locked we appreciate you guys jumping on in and we'll be back with more coverage VI Cleveland bronze