4 HRS AGO - BEREA: Browns 10-time Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas isn’t worried about the occasional memory loss he’s experiencing at age 32, but he’s not ignoring it, either.Thomas is seeking medical advice and following scientific studies such as the one the New York Times reported Tuesday.A neuropathologist, Dr. Ann McKee, examined the brains of 202 deceased football players, including 111 who played in the NFL. Of those 111, all but one had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease found in people who have suffered repeated blows to the head.“I can’t wait to see the study on the average population to see how much CTE is in the average population,” Thomas said Wednesday on the eve of the Browns opening training camp. “Because to have a study where almost 100 percent of the people have what you’re looking for is pretty amazing.“Until they study the general population and find out what the likelihood of CTE in a soccer Collapse

11 HRS AGO - BEREA: Cody Kessler will enter Browns training camp first in the quarterback rotation, but he’s far from a lock to start the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.And rookie DeShone Kizer is the better bet to win the starting job.The truth is this competition is wide open, with Kessler, Kizer and Brock Osweiler legitimate candidates to start Week 1.So coach Hue Jackson revealing Kessler will open camp Thursday atop the depth chart isn’t paramount.“Cody will walk out there first, and we’ll give him an opportunity there,” Jackson said Wednesday, appearing alongside head of football operations Sashi Brown during a news conference. “Obviously, Brock and DeShone and Kevin [Hogan], all those guys will get reps. This is a competition. Somebody has to walk out there first. We’ve made a decision it will be Cody.“He’s still the guy who demonstrates, who knows the offense the best. He’s the guy that’s Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Summer is over for the Browns and the reporters who cover them.The notorious NFL grind will be back in full throttle Wednesday, when veteran players are scheduled to report to training camp in Berea and take conditioning tests and coach Hue Jackson and head of football operations Sashi Brown are set to address the media at noon. Rookies reported earlier this week, and camp will open to the public Thursday with practice scheduled to run from 3-5:30 p.m.So as football returns to Browns Town, here are 10 burning questions about the team and the best answers I can provide without a crystal ball.Is coach Hue Jackson on the hot seat entering his second season?Short answer: It’s warm.Owner Jimmy Haslam hasn’t kept a head coach for more than two years, and the Browns went 1-15, the worst record in franchise history, during Jackson’s first season on the job.So it’s hard to believe Jackson would be immune from being fired if the Browns failed to win a few more games Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Former Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins announced his retirement from the NFL Tuesday on Uninterrupted.com and wrote a thank you letter to Cleveland. The Browns granted Hawkins’ request for his release in February, and he signed with the New England Patriots in May. Hawkins, 31, who spent the past three seasons with the Browns, explained in a video on Uninterrupted.com that he retired because his body didn’t respond well to offseason training. “Basically it just started breaking down on me,” he said. Hawkins said he has opportunities to work in football on the business side and will pursue a Ph.D. in business and economics beginning in February. He graduated from Columbia University this year with a master’s degree in sports management. Below is his letter to Cleveland. “Dear Cleveland, “In May of 2008, I loaded up my Chevrolet Impala, and made the roughly two hour drive from the University of Toledo to Berea, in hopes of not returning any time soon. Unfortunately, I Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - If the Browns are going to convince the masses they have extinguished last season’s 1-15 dumpster fire, they’ll need several players to meet or exceed expectations this year.Obviously, nobody will determine the team’s success or lack thereof more than the starting quarterback(s) — whether it’s rookie DeShone Kizer, Cody Kessler or Brock Osweiler.But there are also several non-quarterbacks who’ll play significant roles in making or breaking the Browns in 2017, and with training camp kicking off Thursday in Berea, this is an appropriate time to examine which players the franchise desperately needs to answer the bell.Yes, left tackle Joe Thomas plays a vital role at a premium position, but this isn’t a discussion about the team’s most valuable players, so the 10-time Pro Bowl selection isn’t on this list.Think of players (some established, some not) with something to prove who could really help spearhead a turnaround with the best Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - No Browns player’s stock had risen as rapidly or dramatically by the time the team broke mandatory minicamp June 15 than rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer’s.A serious temptation to start Kizer right away is clearly something coach Hue Jackson faces with training camp opening Thursday in Berea.Cody Kessler entered organized team activities in May as the first-team quarterback. He took the majority of the repetitions with the starters in the three OTA practices open to media (there were nine total). Kizer and Brock Osweiler received some snaps with the No. 1 offense as well, but usually only a series or two per practice.Then during the three-day mandatory minicamp in mid-June, an eye-opening change took place.Kizer rotated with Kessler as they worked exclusively with the first unit. In the second of the three practices, Kizer actually took his turn with the starters before Kessler, the first such occurrence in practices open to reporters. Osweiler, in the meantime, faded Collapse

3 DAYS AGO - The Browns have their entire rookie draft class under contract after signing strong safety Jabrill Peppers to his four-year deal Sunday.Browns rookies were scheduled to report to team headquarters Sunday for training camp, and Peppers avoided a holdout when he became the last member of the 10-man draft class to sign. The deal is projected to be worth $10.342 million and include a signing bonus of $5.661 million, according to the contract website Spotrac.com. It contains a team option for a fifth year.Peppers was one of the last draft picks in the entire NFL to sign this year, with negotiations for the amount of guaranteed money in his deal creating a holdup. Only four picks have yet to sign.The Browns selected Peppers in the first round (No. 25 overall) out of the University of Michigan after they traded down from No. 12. They’re counting on him to become their starting strong safety and return punts and/or kickoffs right away, so getting him to camp on time is an encouraging Collapse

4 DAYS AGO - The photograph of David Njoku in his elementary school yearbook included a prophetic caption: “Future Career: Football Player.”At the time, no one other than Njoku believed his dream would come true.The chiseled, 6-foot-4, 246-pound tight end who’s scheduled to report to Browns training camp Sunday with other rookies looks as if he were built in an NFL factory. Fans will get their first peek at his comic-book physique and flashy style when camp opens Thursday in Berea.But the first-round draft pick (No. 29 overall) from the University of Miami was a late bloomer, a long, gangly kid whose freakish athletic ability remained concealed for most of his childhood.“He was kind of awkward because he was so tall and so skinny,” Jose “Pepi” Garcia, Njoku’s mentor, said in a recent phone interview with the Beacon Journal. “The development is like going from a young colt to Secretariat.”Garcia knows the history of Njoku’s Collapse

6 DAYS AGO - BEREA: The Hue Jackson Foundation will provide much-needed refuge for victims of human trafficking in Northeast Ohio.Browns coach Hue Jackson launched his foundation Thursday night during an invitation-only event at team headquarters and announced a partnership with the Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland to help fund safe housing for women who are victims of trafficking.An existing facility will be upgraded and called the Hue Jackson Survivors of Human Trafficking Residence.Jackson and his wife, Michelle, parents of three daughters, made it known combating trafficking is a cause they hold close to their hearts.“There are elements of this that we’ve seen firsthand. A lot of different areas in this realm that we’re talking about we’ve witnessed and have been privy to,” Hue Jackson said. “So it’s something that me and Michelle really discussed at length about what direction to go in and this is where it led.”Speaking to a crowd of about Collapse