BEREA: Browns rookie defensive end Myles Garrett won’t terrorize quarterbacks from the sideline, so the team is keeping the No. 1 overall draft pick out of organized team activities this week in hopes of him being 100 percent healthy in the fall.
“They’re just being cautious,” Garrett said Wednesday after the second practice of OTAs and the first session open to reporters. “I want to be out there. They’re holding me right now. But I’ll be out there full tilt next week.”
Neither Garrett nor the Browns provided details about the injury. Garrett described it as “a little nick.”
Coach Hue Jackson said the injury stems from rookie minicamp, which was held May 12-14.
“He’ll be fine,” Jackson said after Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, I’m just going to be very cautious with guys. Anytime guys have a little soreness, I want to make sure we’re totally healthy. I think when we had the rookie minicamp there was a little soreness. I just wanted to make sure that was out before we stuck him out there again.”
Garrett isn’t the only big-name Browns player who’s hurt.
Wide receiver Corey Coleman, the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, left practice with an undisclosed injury after catching a deep pass from quarterback Brock Osweiler as cornerback Jason McCourty applied tight coverage along a sideline during a seven-on-seven drill.
Coleman fell as he secured the ball and spent a few minutes on the ground while an athletic trainer talked to him. Jackson eventually approached Coleman and helped him rise to his feet. Then Coleman, flanked by the athletic trainer, walked off the field without a limp and into the team’s training facility.
Jackson downplayed the injury.
“He’ll be fine,” Jackson said. “He came down I think on the ball a little bit, too, but I think he’ll be OK.”
Rookie strong safety Jabrill Peppers, the 25th overall pick, and wide receiver Kenny Britt, a free-agent acquisition, were among the players who didn’t practice.
“I don’t think it’s anything major,” Jackson said. “I think all those guys will be hopefully out performing next week and competing. They’ve been in some practices, and we just had some slips and bumps and bruises here and there. So I think we’ll be OK.”
The other players who didn’t practice were left tackle Joe Thomas, who typically receives days off to rest; guards Joel Bitonio and John Greco, both of whom are trying to return after suffering Lisfranc injuries last season; defensive end Desmond Bryant, who missed the entire 2016 season with a torn pectoral muscle; center Austin Reiter, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament last season; and rookie cornerback Howard Wilson, who suffered a fractured kneecap May 12.
Right tackle Cameron Erving, a first-round pick in 2015, practiced but sat out team drills. He suffered a medial collateral ligament injury in the 2016 season finale.
On a brighter note, a few notable players who came back from injuries were on the field.
Cornerback Joe Haden practiced after undergoing surgery on two groin muscles this offseason. Safety Derrick Kindred (broken ankle) and defensive end Nate Orchard (high-ankle sprain) participated after ending this past season on injured reserve.
Exec added
The Browns hired former Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson as a senior personnel executive.
Grigson, fired by the Colts in January after five seasons with them, will report to Browns vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry. Grigson was Berry’s boss in Indianapolis when the latter served as a pro scouting coordinator for four seasons.
“We are excited to add Ryan to our personnel department,” Berry said in a news release. “Having worked with him for four years with the Colts, I know Ryan is an individual with a palpable passion for scouting, a tireless work ethic and an insatiable competitive drive. His experiences as an NFL player and executive will prove valuable to the mission of our group, while his team-orientation and personal integrity will continue to strengthen our department’s culture.”
Grigson, 45, will replace Lake Dawson, who worked as a national scout for the Browns the past two seasons before becoming the Buffalo Bills’ assistant director of college scouting last week.
The Colts went 11-5 and made the playoffs in each of Grigson’s first three seasons as their GM. They went 8-8 the past two seasons, failing to reach the postseason.
Grigson was named NFL Executive of the Year by Sporting News for the 2012 season after he drafted quarterback Andrew Luck first overall. A year later, Browns fans got to know Grigson when he traded a first-round pick for running back Trent Richardson, a bust who’s no longer in the NFL.
Before Grigson joined the Colts, he worked for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2004-11, rising from a scout to director of player personnel. He also spent five seasons as a scout with the St. Louis Rams (1999-2003).
The Cincinnati Bengals drafted Grigson, an offensive tackle from Purdue, in the sixth round in 1995.
Picking it up
Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer has impressed Jackson with how he has learned the coach’s system thus far.
“There is a lot thrown at him now, but he is doing a good job,” Jackson said. “He has been better than some guys I have been around.”
Kizer made the throw of the day when he hit wide receiver Rashard Higgins with a laser on an out route while running the first-string offense during team drills.
“When I’m out there and completely content with what’s going on on defense, I can go out there and just let that ball rip,” Kizer said. “But then there’s other plays that you’ll see me out there where I’m still fluttering around in the huddle and I get out there and I don’t have that confidence to go let it rip. So the more I learn, the better I’ll [be].”
Jackson said, “He can really throw the football. He has to learn how to play the game the way we want it played in our system. He is growing every day.”
Some of Kizer’s growing pains were evident when he threw an interception. Safety Ibraheim Campbell picked off a short pass from him in team drills.
“As soon as I told [Kizer] what the mistake was, he goes, ‘Got it,’ ” Jackson said. “Now, he is like that. He does pick things up pretty quickly.”
Kizer reiterated knowledge is vital.
“We were in a blitz period today and they were sending a couple of different looks at me,” Kizer said. “I’ll go back and watch film, and I bet you won’t see that same pick ever again. That’s the part of the growing process.
“I look forward to continuing to compete with them and continuing to have [defensive coordinator Gregg] Williams throw the kitchen sink at us and figure out how I can combat that, so when it comes time to go out there one day, hopefully I’ll have the right tools to be successful.”
Extra points
• Undrafted rookie tight end Taylor McNamara made the catch of the day, a leaping one-handed grab of a pass thrown by Kevin Hogan during a seven-on-seven drill. “That was awesome. Big, athletic guy, can move around, very physical,” said quarterback Cody Kessler, who spent one season with McNamara at the University of Southern California. “He can make great catches.”
• Jackson is happy running back Isaiah Crowell joined the Browns for OTAs after skipping other voluntary workouts earlier in the offseason. “He has done a great job,” Jackson said. “He is in great shape. He looks like Crow — fast, explosive, can catch and is tough. A little rusty, but I am excited he is here. He is one of our better football players.”
• Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle Anthony Munoz visited practice and had a lengthy conversation with Thomas. “I have a relationship with Anthony,” Jackson said. “[Offensive line coach] Bob Wylie does, too. Anytime we can get guys who have played football at a high level to come in and help with our players, I am all for that.”
• Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith is expected to stop by for a practice at some point this offseason, but Jackson said he doesn’t know when. Smith wants to mentor Garrett.
“Bruce is a straight shooter and one of the best players to have ever played the game at his position,” Jackson said. “When you have a mentor like that, it is sensational. Hopefully, Myles will take advantage of that.”
• The Browns presented the Maysville High School football team with new helmets after practice.