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Live Updates: Browns continue OTAs in Berea

The Cleveland Browns are in their second week of organized team activities in Berea.
Credit: Matt Florjancic
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is working hard to build off of a strong rookie season.

BEREA, Ohio — 10:45 a.m.-Priefer talks kicking competition

The Cleveland Browns have placed an added emphasis on special-teams play throughout the first offseason program with Freddie Kitchens as head coach, and coordinator Mike Priefer is putting that time to good use, continuing the kicking competition between fifth-round pick Austin Seibert and second-year incumbent Greg Joseph.

While on their own during offensive and defensive periods last week, Seibert and Joseph struggled with accuracy, but Priefer has liked what they have shown in the team drills.

Over 54 games in four years with the Sooners, Seibert converted 310 of his 315 extra-point tries (98.4 percent) and 63 of his 79 field goals (79.7 percent) for a career total of 499 points. Additionally, Seibert punted 179 times for 7,457 yards, an average of 41.7 yards-per-punt.

During the 2018 season, the 5-foot-9, 213-pound Seibert converted 87 of his 88 extra-point tries (98.9 percent) and 17 of his 19 field goal attempts (89.5 percent). By percentage, it was Seibert’s most successful season as a collegiate kicker.

Seibert is the all-time leading scorer in both Oklahoma and Big 12 Conference history and ranks first among kickers in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in career points, passing the old mark set by former Browns kicker Zane Gonzalez while he was at Arizona State (2013-2016). Additionally, Seibert has the most career extra points attempted (315) and made (310) among all kickers in FBS history.

Seibert is competing with Joseph throughout the remainder of the offseason program and during both training camp and the preseason for the Browns’ kicking duties heading into the 2019 regular season.

Joseph was signed in the early part of the 2018 season after Gonzalez missed four kicks in a one-score loss at the New Orleans Saints in Week 2.

In 14 games with the Browns last season, Joseph converted 17 of his 20 field goal attempts (85 percent), with all three of his misses coming at distances over 40 yards. Also, Joseph made 25 of his 29 point-after tries (86.2 percent).

10:30 a.m.-Wilks expects growth from Garrett

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett had a franchise record-setting first two years in the National Football League, and new coordinator Steve Wilks is expecting the 2018 Pro Bowler to elevate his game in 2019.

Speaking to the media prior to Wednesday’s OTA (organized team activities) practice in Berea, Wilks let it be known that Garrett has only scratched the surface with his talents.

Garrett earned selection to his first Pro Bowl after a standout second season with the Browns in 2018.

Riddled with injuries as a rookie in 2017, Garrett emerged as a leader for the Browns’ defense in 2018 and registered 44 total tackles, including 35 solo stops and nine assists with three forced fumbles while playing in all 16 games for the team who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Additionally, Garrett registered 13.5 sacks for 75.5 lost yards and finished the year just short of the franchise’s single-season record for sacks.

With 20.5 career sacks, Garrett registered the most by a Brown in his first 27 games, as well as the most by a defender in his first two professional seasons. Last year, Garrett ranked sixth in the NFL with the 13.5 sacks.

For his efforts, Garrett became the Browns’ first front seven defender to reach All-Pro status since linebacker Jamir Miller in 2001 and first defensive lineman to earn such acclaim since Michael Dean Perry made the AP All-Pro Team in 1994.

9:35 a.m.-Work continues for Cleveland Browns

Even in the offseason, the work never stops in the National Football League, and the Cleveland Browns are back at it on the practice fields outside of team headquarters in Berea.

The Browns began their second week of organized team activities practices Tuesday and continue their on-field work Wednesday.

The Browns’ coaching staff is taking this time to install systems and schemes on both sides of the ball.

“We continue to have installs and build our installs each week,” coach Freddie Kitchens said prior to the 2019 Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament Monday. “This Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be different from last as far as plays and the situations that we’re working on will be different, and then, the following week will be different than that.

“You’ve kind of built your library of situations, plays that you’ve installed and defenses that you’ve covered and game-type situations. You build, and then, go back and hit some other ones during the mandatory minicamp, and then, take a break and come back and everybody feels like they have a base of everything we’re going to do.”

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