BEREA, Ohio — In his research after taking over coordination of the special teams back in January, Cleveland Browns assistant coach Mike Priefer felt the previous regime limited the players who could participate in return and coverage plays.
During the offseason program, Priefer said he had assurances from Browns coach Freddie Kitchens that starters on both sides of the ball would be eligible for special-teams coverage and returns units in the 2019 season, and thus far in training camp, that has proven true.
That list of eligible players includes two very prominent members of the wide receiver corps, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr.
“He might be the starting punt returner Week 1, I don’t know,” Priefer said of Landry after Thursday’s practice. “That’s up to Freddie and if we trust him back there, which I think we can to catch the ball and if he’s explosive enough.
“I wouldn’t throw Odell out of the mix, either. Obviously, he’s had some tremendous punt returns in his career, and if we trust him to go back there and do what he’s supposed to do, that might be an end-of-game type thing, too, but both of those guys are extremely talented and they’ve done it before.”
In his four years with the Miami Dolphins, Landry returned 89 punts for 804 yards and one touchdown and 47 kickoffs for 1,270 yards. During his first season with the Browns, Landry returned two punts and two kickoffs.
Landry returned one punt for nine yards in his lone playoff game with the Dolphins.
During his 59 regular-season games with the New York Giants, Beckham Jr. returned 41 punts for 297 yards and two kickoffs for 46 yards. Also, Beckham Jr. had two kickoff returns for 48 yards in his only career playoff game.
“Everybody is on the ready right now,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said. “You always have to factor in the offense, defense and special teams in every decision you make. We are going to try to put our best 11 offense, best 11 defense and best 11 special-teams guys out there every time.”
With three weeks remaining in training camp, nothing is set in stone as to the plans for special teams, but Priefer is very much looking forward to formulating a rotation of players auditioning for the punt return role.
“I’m still trying figure out who are going to be the guys that we can trust to go out there next Thursday night,” Priefer said. “That’s the challenge I’ve had since the spring. Antonio Callaway is a guy that can do it.
“Obviously, we talked about the No. 1 and No. 2 receivers. Dontrell (Hilliard) can do it. We’ve got some other young guys D’Ernest Johnson’s doing it. He tried a little bit in college, so that’s been my challenge. Sheehy’s been back there, too, and he’s gotten a lot better in the spring as well.”
