Takeaways from Day 15 of Browns training camp starts with angry Todd Monken

BEREA ― Todd Monken is as big a fan as anyone of physical, tough football. That is, until that physicality could impact his team’s ability to stay healthy.

Day 15 of Browns training camp appeared to get cut short with about 11 minutes left in what should’ve been the final practice period. At that point, Monken called the team together and yelled at them about protecting their teammates and practicing smart.

It wasn’t just the players, either. Monken’s directed some of his ire at defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg and the defensive coaches as well.

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Why the reaction? Well, the last straw was when defensive tackle Adin Huntington blasted running back Quinshon Judkins, which led Huntington to get expelled to the sideline by Monken.

Earlier, there was also a situation where defensive tackle Benton Whitley was rushing around the right side of the offensive line and ran into quarterback Shedeur Sanders‘ arm. While it appeared that Whitley was trying to pull up to avoid Sanders, getting near the quarterback is a strict no-no and led to him being sent off the field.

There was also an incident where defensive end Jared Verse grabbed Judkins by the Guardian Cap that was covering his helmet, then defensive tackle Mason Graham added a little extra shove as well. While it was a fully-padded practice, there’s a fine line on how the defense can actually “tackle” the ball carrier, normally they’re asked to “thud up” instead of taking them to the ground.

It’s actually something to monitor when the Browns get to the joint practice with the Buffalo Bills. Even those practices won’t be remotely close to the kind of anything-goes approach that typically goes with an actual game.

It was that kind of day. It was also the kind of day where a number of players were sent off the field because of injuries, including defensive ends Isaiah McGuire, offensive tackle KT Leveston and tight end Carsen Ryan.

All three are at positions where the Browns have already been thinned out by injuries. Leveston left on a day where right tackle Tytus Howard and center Elgton Jenkins didn’t practice, and right guard Teven Jenkins seemed to be walking gingerly off the field.

There’s still a dearth of defensive tackles because of injuries, even though Mike Hall Jr. did return to the field. They’re still missing Kalia Davis, Maliek Collins and Sam Kamara, although Collins appears to be closing in on being activated off the physically unable to perform list.

Tight end is more complicated due to the relative lack of experience overall. Second-year pro Harold Fannin Jr. and fourth-year pro Blake Whiteheart are the only truly experienced healthy ones there, and even Whiteheart came up gimpy after it looked like his ankle was rolled up on in a tackle.

That doesn’t even mention cornerback, where Tyson Campbell hasn’t done team drills in at least a week. The Browns have been searching for answers to back up Campbell and Denzel Ward all camp, but injuries have made that a chore as well as many of those players are hurt as well.

It was Deshaun Watson‘s day with the No. 1 group. There were some throws that were nice, such as crossing routes to both KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston.

There were, however, more than a few throws that the defense simply maxe it tough on Watson or whomever was trying to catch the ball. Often, it was Ward who was right in the thick of the play, ripping the ball free.

Sanders’ day with the No. 2 was similar to Watson’s. There was a really nice fade route to Gage Larvadain, and a slant to Luke Floriea late in practice that was right on the money.

It was, quite simply, a day that ground was neither gained nor lost. So we continue to march forward in the competition.

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/