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'There's stuff to polish': Browns defense wants to maximize reps in preseason finale
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- 'There's stuff to polish': Browns defense wants to maximize reps in preseason finale
SEATTLE — The preseason is for preparation and fine-tuning. The results of the games couldn't be less relevant in the grand scheme of things.
The key members of the Browns defense have spent the first two preseason games, for the most part, standing on the sidelines. There have been a handful of players who have gotten a handful of plays — handful meaning, literally, five or less plays for most —but it's been mostly watching for the majority of the most important players on that defense.
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That's going to change ever so slightly Saturday when the Browns wrap up the preseason at the Seattle Seahawks . Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has already said all of the starters who can play — Myles Garrett one large likely exception — will play, which has typically been his standard operating procedure for the last preseason game.
That's one more opportunity to put a little shine on what has already been a fairly good month of preparations for a defense that is coming in looking to replicate its top-of-the-league performance from a season ago.
"Of course, there's stuff to polish," safety Grant Delpit said this week. "Our confidence level is always there. Like I said, we've got one more week, a little half week of practice and then go into that full game mode. But I don't see anything that's not installed or anything like that. We're right on track."
Cleveland Browns safety Grant Delpit (9) reacts during practice Aug. 5 at the Browns training facility in Berea.
Delpit is one of the few Browns defensive starters to play this preseason. He was on the field for 10 plays in the opener against the Green Bay Packers , which was similar to what fellow safety Rodney McLeod , cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. and defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr . played in that game.
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Defensive tackle Shelby Harris , who didn't play in the Packers game, played 10 snaps against the Minnesota Vikings last Saturday. The reason for that was because he had missed multiple weeks of camp due to an still-undisclosed injury.
"The guys went out there first weekend, got like 10 plays and so I need to get mine," Harris said this week. "I need to be able to get that game feel under my belt. I'm not one to be like, I need to miss all preseason. I need to do all this. I need to get game reps before the season."
Harris hasn't been the only Browns defensive player to say they either appreciate the preseason reps they've already gotten or acknowledge they need to get a few in Seattle. Defensive end Za'Darius Smith said Tuesday he was champing at the bit to get out on Saturday and run around against the Seahawks.
Smith's reasoning was the same as Harris's. Both players have missed time in camp because of injuries, with Smith being out for more than a week with a knee contusion.
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The Browns had the two joint practices with the Vikings last week to provide some reps for the first unit defense. Even those, however, were somewhat controlled and limited, meaning Saturday could be a chance for many to really shake off the cobwebs.
"This is obviously my first time going out there because of being injured," Smith said, "but a lot of guys will hopefully get a chance to play this weekend, and I wouldn't say that it'll be rust, you know what I'm saying? It's just hopefully just keeping guys away from injuries. We all know how that's been going on this preseason, but hopefully, man, we'll just pray and stay prayed up and nobody get injured and we can go out there and have a ball this weekend."
The injuries will still be an issue, even before kickoff. Garrett likely will be a healthy scratch, but there will be a number of key Browns defenders who won't play because they're still dealing with injuries.
While the official list of players not playing won't come out until 90 minutes before kickoff Saturday, it's easy to foreshadow the ones who won't be on the field. That includes cornerbacks Denzel Ward (concussion) and Greg Newsome II (hamstring), linebacker Jordan Hicks (undisclosed injury), safety D'Anthony Bell (shin/physically unable to perform list) and defensive tackles Hurst (undisclosed injury) and Dalvin Tomlinson (knee/PUP list).
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For those playing, though, Saturday's a final chance to get themselves game snaps without the outcome of those snaps impacting their season. That makes them very important, even within the very irrelevant reality of the preseason game.
"We're progressing, we're getting into that regular season mode," Delpit said. "One week left to kind of tidy everything up but everything's pretty much there. So hopefully we can go out there and put on a good performance and build some confidence going into Week 1."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns defense looks to 'polish' in preseason finale vs. Seahawks
