BEREA: Browns cornerback Justin Gilbert explained he feels as if he’s a different player this year.
“Most definitely, yeah,” Gilbert said Sunday after the 12th practice of training camp. “I’m not going to elaborate on it too much, but yeah.”
Where has he improved the most?
“Mature,” Gilbert replied.
The eighth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Gilbert has been a colossal disappointment in his first two NFL seasons partly because of maturity issues and an undisclosed personal problem that plagued him as a rookie.
The Browns effectively suspended him for the 2014 regular-season finale after he showed up late to a team meeting the previous day. Then two days before the 2015 regular-season opener, Gilbert was involved in what Brunswick police described as a road rage incident.
Gilbert, though, has supposedly been on his best behavior so far under the new coaches.
“Justin Gilbert has done everything we’ve asked,” defensive coordinator Ray Horton said recently. “We came in — I came in — and we talked about having a clean slate. I remember Justin in college [at Oklahoma State University], coming out, what kind of player he was. I said, ‘I want you to be that type of player.’ He’s done everything we’ve asked, and I’m very happy with him.”
Gilbert added, “That’s what I’m supposed to do. So I feel like whatever they ask me to do, that’s my job to do it. That’s what they pay me to do.”
The franchise also pays him to make plays, and that’s still a work in progress.
Two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden, who’s coming off March 16 ankle surgery, participated in team drills Sunday for the first time since camp opened July 29. But coach Hue Jackson ruled out Haden for the Browns’ preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
So Gilbert is expected to start opposite cornerback Tramon Williams just like he did Friday in the team’s 17-11 preseason-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers. Gilbert had also practiced with the No. 1 defense in Haden’s absence.
The Browns want Gilbert to benefit from the experience.
“Most of the time when you watch the film, he’s only a step away here or there, and he’s not in bad position,” Williams said recently. “So I think he’s progressing as a player. He’s really growing from a mental standpoint.
“He needed to grow mentally for sure. That’s the toughest part of the game. Physically, we all can do it. It’s who can do it mentally. Who can stay in the game mentally enough to come out and be able to make a career out of it ’cause a lot of guys can’t do it.”
Whether Gilbert can ever turn his career around remains to be seen, but the new coaching staff has granted him a fresh start in hopes of finding out.
“It just feels different when I walk in the building now,” Gilbert said.
Inching closer
Wide receivers Josh Gordon (quadriceps) and Corey Coleman (hamstring) didn’t practice, but they donned helmets and ran around while participating in a walk-through beforehand.
“They’re closer to being out there than they are further away,” Jackson said.
Jackson added Gordon is “very close. Hope to see him soon, and I think we will.”
Jackson and Gordon’s former college coach, Art Briles, have said the 2013 All-Pro selection who was suspended for the better part of the past two seasons needs to lose weight.
“Some of it’s come off already,” Jackson said. “I can’t give you the number, but it has come off. He’s working hard. He is a big man, and we’ll get him to where he needs to be. I feel good about that.”
Gordon’s teammates have noticed him working during his comeback attempt.
“He’s busting his butt on the cardio, trying to do whatever to lose weight or whatever he’s trying to do,” Pryor said. “He’s focused in meetings, always asking questions. He’s great. He’s been a great teammate.”
Roster moves
The Browns signed undrafted rookie wide receiver Ed Eagan.
They also waived injured wide receiver Rannell Hall, who suffered a fractured fibula Friday in the preseason opener. They reached an injury settlement with undrafted rookie defensive lineman Kyle Rose, who was waived Aug. 8 with a hamstring injury.
Eagan, 5-foot-10 and 192 pounds, signed with the Dallas Cowboys in May out of Northwestern State University. The Cowboys waived him Wednesday.
He finished his collegiate career as Northwestern State’s all-time leader in catches (177) and receiving yards (2,228).
Extra points
• The Browns have three healthy quarterbacks after Austin Davis suffered a concussion in Friday’s game, but Jackson doesn’t plan on adding another one in camp. “I think we’re OK,” he said. “I don’t think that is needed at this point.”
• Pryor’s jersey now reads “Pryor Sr.” on the back instead of just “Pryor.” His 2-year-old son is a junior, but Pryor didn’t feel comfortable making the demand about his uniform last year. “A lot of times you want to show that you’re busting your butt and you’re a team player before you start trying to ask questions,” Pryor said.
• Running back Raheem Mostert revealed he texted special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and asked to audition as a punt returner after wide receiver Travis Benjamin left in free agency. Mostert has struggled to catch punts in camp, and he muffed one against the Packers. He vowed to fix the problem.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.