Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns plan on utilizing Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett as occasional interior pass-rushers this season.

And Clowney is excited to try his hand at the role.

"We love that matchup," Clowney told reporters Thursday. "We feel like they're the unathletic guys. That guard position, they're not real athletes down there. So they're just physical and maulers. But we try to get in there and create those matchups for certain guys, and hopefully we get some wins.

"You've got to think different [on the interior]. Everything happens very, very fast down there. Those guys are much bigger down there. So, yes, your whole mindset has got to change in how you attack the quarterback, how you attack the guys down there."

A few of Clowney's teammates on the offensive line might raise their eyebrows at those comments. Granted, if Clowney dominates opposing guards at a regular clip, nobody in Cleveland is going to be upset for long.

However Clowney and Garrett line up, they could form an elite combination. Garrett registered 12 sacks, 18 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for loss in 14 games last season. Clowney had a down year with zero sacks, six quarterback hits and four tackles for loss in eight games as a knee injury yet again limited him. But he recorded 24.5 sacks, 59 quarterback hits and 53 tackles for loss from 2016-18 with the Houston Texans.

The 28-year-old hasn't played 16 games since 2017. And an injury Clowney has described as a "strain" cost him a few weeks of training camp this year as well, though he said he is feeling "pretty good."

"Have to take care of what you have to to get ready for the long season," he told reporters. "That was the goal—not to come out here and hurt nothing. If something happened, a little strain or something, take care of it now so that it won't linger later on."

If the Browns get the Clowney who was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Texans, look out. Pairing that player with Garrett, an All-Pro last season, would give opposing quarterbacks nightmares.

It's another reason the Browns head into the 2021 season with Super Bowl aspirations, fresh off last year's postseason appearance—their first since 2002.

Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett has become a feared pass-rusher in the NFL, but Jake Paul isn't so sure the two-time Pro Bowler could hang in a boxing ring.

Garrett told Complex Sports he'd "beat the brakes off of Logan Paul" if the two faced off in a boxing match. Jake came to his older brother's defense.

"Stick to football, my friend," he said on the 3 Things to Know podcast. "I like Myles. I have nothing against him, he’s an amazing player. But you saw what happened when Nate Robinson from the NBA tried to step into the ring. People don’t realize it’s a whole different sport."

Paul went on to say his brother has trained against members of the Gronkowski family and "took them all down in the same sparring session."

The entire discussion is largely moot because there's almost no chance Garrett will be permitted to partake in any legitimate combat sports endeavor as long as he's under contract. He already had to "retire" from playing basketball after clips of him in the gym went viral.

Garrett also said in the Complex Sports interview that boxing wasn't something that interested him as a second career when he's done with football.

But Paul's comments hit on a larger truth. Excelling in one sport—even mixed martial arts—doesn't guarantee one can be a good boxer. He showed as much with his victories over former NBA star Nate Robinson and former UFC star Ben Askren.

The 24-year-old will once again put that theory to the test when he faces off against former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on Sunday.

New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard and Cleveland Browns cornerback Troy Hill got into a fight following the two teams' joint practice at the Browns' Berea, Ohio practice facility Friday.

Cleveland.com and Camryn Justice of WEWS provided video from the end of the fight, which included a shot of Giants wide receiver John Ross pulling Shepard away:

Punches were thrown, but it did not appear any of them landed, according to Zack Rosenblatt of NJ Advance Media.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic and Bobby Skinner of Talkin' Giants provided some insight into what went down between Shepard and the Browns during the joint practice between the two teams, perhaps leading to the fracas:

To make matters more confusing, Browns linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. said that the fight was a joke, although it didn't appear that way from numerous onlookers. Skinner provided different takes on the puzzling situation.

Jake Trotter of ESPN also noted how players around Shepard and Hill seemed "super chill" as it was going on, adding to the confusion.

Rosenblatt set the scene with Shepard immediately after the dust-up.

After the fight, a heated Shepard took off his shirt and walked toward the busses alongside Giants receiver Darius Slayton.

To make matters even stranger: Shepard proceeded to conduct his post-practice interviews with Giants media from New York and New Jersey, who had been speaking to Daniel Jones at the opposite end of the the facility when the fight transpired.

Shepard approached the media without a shirt, and a Giants public relations employee found one for him to put on for his interview. The first question was about whether he was surprised no fights broke out during practice despite all the trash talking that had transpired throughout practice.

Art Stapleton of the Bergen Record provided video of Shepard's interview and noted that the Giants beat reporters were interviewing quarterback Daniel Jones far from the fight action and did not see anything go down.

As Rosenblatt noted, Shepard was asked if he was surprised no fights had broken out despite the host of trash talking between the two teams.

“No, it’s friendly competition," Shepard said. "That’s what we came out here for, it’s competition. It’s going to get into a talking match, it’s going to get physical out there. This is football. This is what we do. They understand that on that side, we understand that over here."

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters that he did not see the fight but would review tape afterward.

The Giants and Browns will play a preseason game Sunday at 1 p.m. ET from Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett said he'd "beat the brakes off" American YouTuber and boxer Logan Paul in a hypothetical celebrity boxing match.

In a one-on-one interview with Zach Frydenlund of Complex, Garrett was asked about what he may do when his football career ends. Garrett proceeded to list off things he would not do, including celebrity boxing.

Frydenlund then presumed that Paul, who just fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition match, would not be challenging Garrett.

The defensive end proceeded to make his remark on how he felt he would do against Paul before concluding with these comments.

I have bigger fish to fry. I got a career to take care of. But I feel like I’d like to be like Jim Brown, like he expanded his whole avenues of where he was going and what he was doing. I’d liked to do voiceover work with certain shows that I’ve watched, like anime. That’d be real fun. Get into movies and TV shows, and find a way to just stay busy, as well as to entertain that historical and paleontological side in my brain that wants to go do things all over the world.

There's no denying Garrett's incredible strength. He put up 33 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine and was shown deadlifting 655 pounds last year.

Those are just two of his remarkable feats of strength. For good measure, he can also pull off a 60-inch box jump:

Garrett's strength and agility may not be put to the test in celebrity boxing, but he has bigger goals at the moment.

Right now, he's focused on trying to help the Browns build off an 11-5 season that ended with their first playoff win since 1994. Cleveland opens with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 12.

Heading into the final season of his rookie contract, David Njoku is open to signing a long-term extension with the Cleveland Browns. 

Malki Kawa, Njoku's agent, told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com his client "would love to be in Cleveland long-term."

“Obviously there’s a lot of things that go into that," Kawa added. "At this point, we’re not even there yet. We’re going to see how the season goes, and we’ll sit with [general manager] Andrew Berry, who I have a really good relationship with."

The relationship between Njoku and the Browns appears to be much more stable now than it was last offseason. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in July 2020 that Njoku and his then-agent Drew Rosenhaus formally asked the Browns for a trade. He was coming off an injury-plagued 2019 season that limited him to just four games.

The trade request came after Cleveland signed Austin Hooper to a four-year, $42 million contract. 

Schefter noted the Browns told him they wanted to keep him. He appeared in 15 games last season between the regular season and playoffs. 

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported in May that Njoku "is in a good place with the franchise."

Njoku has a $6.013 million base salary in 2021, per Spotrac. 

A first-round draft pick by the Browns in 2017, Njoku hasn't become the go-to playmaker the franchise was hoping for. The 25-year-old showed promise in his second season, with 639 yards and four touchdowns on 56 receptions in 16 games. 

Njoku has managed just 24 catches, 254 yards and three touchdowns in the past two seasons combined.    

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield told reporters Sunday that Buffalo Bills signal-caller Josh Allen's six-year, $258 million extension is "good for the quarterback position" while noting his focus is on winning as opposed to landing a long-term contract with the team that took him No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL draft.

"I'm worried about winning," Mayfield said, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal. "I think the rest will take care of itself. It's good for the quarterback position overall. I'd be lying if we said otherwise, but I'm worried about winning right now. I don't know the timeline on it. We haven't talked about it because I'm worried about winning this season.”

Mayfield led last season's Browns to their first playoff appearance since 2002 and first playoff win since 1994.

The ex-Oklahoma star and 2017 Heisman Trophy winner completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 26 touchdowns (eight interceptions) and a career-high 7.7 adjusted yards per pass attempt. The Browns finished 11-5, their best regular-season mark since 1994.

Naturally, comparisons between Mayfield and Allen are inevitable considering the two were in the same draft class (the Bills took Allen No. 7 overall in 2018).

The Bills locked up Allen after a dominant 2020 season in which he accounted for 46 total touchdowns (37 passing, eight rushing, one receiving) and led Buffalo to a 13-3 record, AFC East title and AFC Championship Game appearance.

Mayfield looks like the long-term answer in Cleveland even if he has yet to finalize an extension. He is under contract with the Browns through 2022 after the team picked up his fifth-year option. However, whenever contract negotiations begin, Mayfield will likely benefit from Allen setting the quarterback market as he secures a massive extension.

Ulrich noted on July 30 that despite the fact that the Browns and Mayfield's camp hadn't engaged in substantial contractual talks, neither party is too concerned:

Mayfield has emphasized he's not in a rush to sign a long-term deal, and both sides seem to be comfortable with where they stand partly because they have mutual interest in a long-term partnership and the quarterback is under contract through the 2022 season after [general manager Andrew] Berry exercised the fifth-year option on his rookie contract in April for $18.858 million guaranteed.

For now, Mayfield is focused on helping the Browns reach (and win) their first-ever Super Bowl. Cleveland last won an NFL title in 1964 during the pre-Super Bowl era.

The Browns will begin this year's campaign with a road game against the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 12.

The Cleveland Browns have reportedly shifted their focus to getting a long-term contract done with cornerback Denzel Ward.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported talks between the Browns and quarterback Baker Mayfield have not "heated up," meaning Ward's prospective deal is the likelier of the two to get done.

First of all, it's a significantly smaller financial commitment. The NFL's highest-paid cornerback (Jalen Ramsey) would be the 16th-highest-paid quarterback on an annual level. It's also almost certain that Ward will not touch Ramsey's $20 million average salary, and he's expressed a desire to stay in Cleveland his whole career.

"In a perfect world, I'd definitely want to be a Brown for my entire career," Ward told reporters in June.

Mayfield, meanwhile, may have seen his market skyrocket in his eyes after Josh Allen signed a six-year, $258 million deal. While Allen's 2020 performance dwarfs anything Mayfield has accomplished, it was also the Buffalo Bills star's first good NFL season. Mayfield, by contrast, can point to an excellent 2018 and solid 2020, all while writing off the 2019 campaign as a loss because of coaching.

Mayfield was asked Sunday if he'd like to hold contract talks with the Browns and told reporters, "I'm not doing the negotiation, so quite frankly, I don't give a damn."

At the very least, Mayfield likely considers himself a $40 million-per-year player. Dak Prescott's four-year, $160 million deal set the market earlier this offseason for non-Mahomesian quarterbacks. Every other young, good-but-not-MVP-caliber quarterback now probably envisions a payday somewhere below Mahomes' $45 million average but above $40 million.

The Browns may be smart to let the situation play out and see if Mayfield plays himself up to that level. They can feasibly hold team control over him for at least the next four seasons because of the franchise tag and his fifth-year option.