What’s next for the Browns with 2023 training camp kicking off this week

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns coaches, players and staff members are gearing up for the start of training camp Saturday at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, where they’ll conduct eight practices — closed to fans — over the course of nine days.

Their offseason is shorter than most NFL teams because of the Pro Football Hall of Fame preseason opener against the Jets Aug. 3 at Tom Benson Stadium, where tickets sold out in 36 minutes.

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With that in mind, Kevin Stefanski opted to pack up the entire operation and take it to White Sulphur Springs, West Va., where players can close ranks, block out the world, and get ready for some football.

“Hopefully, there’s no cell phone service,” Stefanski quipped at minicamp.

Some players are a little apprehensive about the change in routine not only for themselves but also for their families.

“Yeah, I don’t know how the weather is,” guard Joel Bitonio said during minicamp last month. “It seems probably hotter than here. So that was my main thing and my wife’s like, you’re going to be gone for 10 days now? So that’s a little bit tough too. But we’ll see. I was talking to the guys from the Saints that have been up there for training camp. For them it’s cooler, so they’re excited to go up there, and I was like, I think it might be a little hotter for us.

“Someone said the hotel might be haunted or something like that. So we’ll see how that goes. I wish it was like, ‘Oh, we go there for three days to play golf and then start training camp.’ But no, it should be an experience. It’ll be good to be around the guys for a little bit. We have a little extra time with Joe Thomas and the Hall of Fame game and everything like that, so we welcome the time to get to know each other.”

But Stefanski is confident that the players will see the method to his madness once they set foot on the 11,000-acre luxury resort, with more than 700 guest rooms, 20 restaurants, more than 55 indoor and outdoor activities and sports, and more than 35 retail shops. There’s a casino too, but that’s off limits to players and staff.

The Greenbrier has plenty experience hosting NFL teams for training camp and practices, with the Saints and Texans conducting full camps there from 2014-2018, and the Cardinals and 49ers practicing there before East Coast games.

“I think if you have the opportunity and luckily, fortunately, we have ownership that are so supportive of this, but if you have the opportunity to get your team away and really focus on football and kind of eliminate distractions — a crying kid at 2 in the morning — get everybody in one spot, I think it’s beneficial to your team,” Stefanski said.

Here’s what’s next for the Browns between now and the end of training camp:

• Rookies and quarterbacks report on Wednesday, with the rest of the roster reporting on Friday.
• On Saturday, the team will fly to The Greenbrier, and take the field for the first practice at 3:45 p.m. It will be a light walk-through, followed by interviews with Stefanski and select players.
• Over the next three days, they’ll have ramp-up practices in the morning, also followed by interviews. This acclimation period will be without pads.
• Their first off day of camp is Wednesday, July 26, with players getting a chance to rest or participate in some of the resort activities.
• They resume practice on Thursday, July 27th with the first chance to wear pads and engage in contact, which will be limited. It marks the first of four straight practices to close out The Greenbrier leg of camp.
• They’ll conduct one practice at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea — open to fans — on Aug. 1 before heading to Canton for the Hall of Fame game at 8 p.m. on Aug. 3. It’s the first of eight practices open to fans in Berea.
• The team will be off on Aug. 4 and Aug. 5, which enable players, coaches and staff members to attend Joe Thomas’ Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which begins at noon at Tom Benson stadium. Thomas is the last of the nine inductees to speak.
• The Browns will hit the road again for another extended trip on Aug. 14 for two days of joint practices against the Eagles in Philadelphia before their preseason game there on Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m. It’s part of a home-and-away series that began with the Eagles practicing in Cleveland for two days last summer before their preseason meeting in Cleveland. Stefanski views the joint practices as more valuable than games because of the controlled nature of the work and protection for the quarterbacks. They definitely feature more reps for the first-team players, most of whom will sit out the game.
• The two long road trips during camp are precursors to the Browns spending a week in Los Angeles before their game against the Rams there on Dec. 3. They’ll fly to L.A. after their game in Denver on Nov. 26, and practice at UCLA during the week. By the end of the season, the Browns should have developed some strong bonds, ones they hope will carry them deep into the playoffs.

– This post has been updated to correct the acreage on which The Greenbrier sits.

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