CLEVELAND -- Rookie wide receiver Antonio Callaway had a featured role in the second episode of the HBO Sports documentary miniseries, “Hard Knocks” Training Camp with the Cleveland Browns” Tuesday night, and it had far more to do with an incident off the field than it did with him moving up to the first-team offense after Corey Coleman was traded to the Buffalo Bills.
Callaway did not inform team officials that he was cited for possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 5, and instead, general manager John Dorsey and coach Hue Jackson found out when reports surfaced two days later.
Callaway had to meet with Dorsey and Jackson when the incident became public, and they implored him to handle himself as a professional, in and out of the building.
“This ain’t college football,” Dorsey said. “This is the National Football League, and just to put it out there plainly, you’re under the microscope. They want to see you (expletive) up. You know what, you’ve got to prove to those (expletives), ‘You know what? I’m a man. I’ve learned from my past. I’ve learned from my mistakes and we’re moving forward.’”
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While Dorsey was encouraging despite expressing his disappointment, Jackson was stronger with his message.
“You know your history,” Jackson said. “You can’t take a chance. You can’t put, first, yourself in that situation, and you can’t put us in that situation. Listen, you’ve got talent, but talent ain’t everything I’m looking for.
“I want you to become a man here and be responsible and accountable for John and me, this organization and your teammates, or else, I wouldn’t keep you on the team. I’m just being honest with you. If (expletive) comes up, you have my number, you’ve got John’s number. You call us ASAP. That’s what I expect from you from here on in. I believe you, but if I’m wrong on this one, then I’m a have your (expletive).”
Following his meeting with Dorsey and Jackson, Callaway was called to the front of a team meeting and apologized to his teammates. Then, Jackson used the incident as a teaching moment for the entire team.
“Everybody gets one mulligan, and it better be a mulligan where you’re telling the (expletive) truth,” Jackson said. “Then, I’ve got your back. If you’re not, I’m done with you because it’s too hard trying to do what we’re trying to do and have all the other (expletive) going on too.”
As a form of punishment, Jackson kept Callaway in the lineup for almost all of the 2018 preseason opener.
Jackson kept Callaway on the field despite early struggles holding onto the ball, as he had multiple passes ricochet off of his hands and fall incomplete, but something changed after halftime. After shaking off the drops, Callaway ended up leading the team with 87 yards on three catches, one of which went for a game-best 54-yard touchdown.
“Hey, you need to take that kid on,” Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley said to wide receiver Jarvis Landry. “I don’t care if he’s (expletive) living at your house. We can’t have him (expletive) up.”
Jackson added to Callaway, “Handle your business, you hear me? You’ve got to get this right. We’re depending on you. There’s some things I want you to do as we go through this. You’ve got my support, but I don’t want any more bull (expletive).”
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