The Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings were largely well-behaved during their competitive but controlled joint practice on Wednesday.

If you’re here for a series of offensive highlights, you’ve been to the wrong practice. A good defense — particularly the seemingly relentless pass rush from both sides — certainly helped. Touchdowns were few and far between, although Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold did throw a deep hit that All-World wide receiver Justin Jefferson caught despite what appeared to be good coverage from two Browns cornerbacks, Martin Emerson Jr. and Kahlef Hailassie.

A fight against the Browns.#School pic.twitter.com/2yko5NugVm

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) 14 August 2024

On the play before Jefferson’s bomb, Darnold rolled out to avoid pressure and flagged a throw that Hailassie intercepted on the sideline. The Browns’ defensive unit on the second practice field had been loud all afternoon, but celebrated this play especially loudly. Minnesota’s defensive end got loud toward the end of practice after linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. hit Cleveland running back Pierre Strong Jr. hard — probably harder than practice guidelines allowed. At one point toward the end of practice, it looked like Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell went to Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to talk about the extra physicality some of Cleveland’s defenders were showing.

At various points during practice, young Browns cornerbacks Cameron Mitchell, Hailassie and Myles Harden made impressive interceptions, with Harden and Hailassie recording interceptions. Right now, the Browns defense is shorthanded but has been disruptive throughout. The offense has had some moments but still has a long way to go.

The Browns love to create pressure, and they did that consistently on Wednesday. On the other practice field, quarterback Deshaun Watson seemed to be under constant pressure as the Browns offense had another unremarkable day. On the second (and final) day of joint practices on Thursday, the teams are adding more situational work — including red zone and something like a 90-second drill. We’ll see if the offensive scripts are adjusted to account for the problems each team’s pass rush caused on Wednesday.

Watch Watson

As he has done all camp, Watson started with mostly short throws. Although his first attempt missed deep, he recovered with an impressive throw over the middle to David Njoku after a play-action fake for about 20 yards of gain. On the next play after another fake, he hit Njoku again. Njoku has been the offensive star of camp and looks like he will continue to be a focal point of the offense.

Another Watson sideline pass to Cedric Tillman would have been prevented by an illegal formation. The teams did not have a full team of referees on every field, but each team had its plays derailed by penalties. The Browns’ offense was sloppy — at least somewhat understandably so — and several plays were ended by perceived sacks or penalties.

Although the Browns use backups James Hudson III and Germain Ifedi as left tackles in rotation, which is clearly not ideal, much of the offense seemed to come from the middle on Wednesday. With no full tackle and no one allowed to touch the quarterbacks, it was often hard to tell if Watson could have extended a play or if he had taken a sack he didn’t see coming.

“We have to get a lot better offensively from an operational standpoint,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “It wasn’t good. Part of it was the cadence, some of the penalties … (some) weren’t false starts, some of it was the tackles being too deep at times. So those are all things that are correctable and we’re going to correct them.”

“Not a good day for our (passport) protection, but more from the point of view of miscommunication.”

Watson and Jameis Winston have taken full reps in competitive situations. Stefanski said the plan for the two practices together was to focus on significant reps for the starters and key backups, and then use some of the second-team players and all of the third-team players in Saturday’s preseason game. So that looks like we’ll get our next gauge of how things stand in the battle between Tyler Huntley and Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the third quarterback job.

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Browns rookie defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. was arrested on domestic violence charges Tuesday morning, but was back at the facility and participating in practice Wednesday.

Stefanski told reporters he couldn’t say much about Hall’s situation for legal reasons. When asked what led to the decision to let Hall practice, Stefanski said, “I can’t go into all the details. I’ll just tell you we’re going to let the legal process play out.”

Hall played on the second line of defense before suffering an injury in the middle of practice. Hall lay on the field for a few minutes before members of the team’s medical staff helped him up and eventually led him off the field without a helmet. Stefanski also declined to say anything about Hall’s injury.

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Injury report

The Browns have struggled with injuries throughout training camp. All seven players who entered training camp with various injury reports remain on those lists. That list includes running backs Nick Chubb and Nyheim Hines, offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin, cornerback Greg Newsome II, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson and safety D’Anthony Bell. Stefanski said Wills is close to returning.

New to the inactive list on Wednesday were Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward (concussion protocol), defensive end Isaiah McGuire (illness) and wide receiver/kick returner Jaelon Darden (unknown). Although Ward was spotted on the field catching before practice, his concussion history, which includes at least four concussions in six NFL seasons, is a concern.

The linebacker position has been hit hard by injuries. Veteran Jordan Hicks (unknown) is out at least another week and Tony Fields II (foot) has been out for nearly two weeks. Rookie Nathaniel Watson (quad) has been out since being injured in last weekend’s season opener. When the Browns lined up their nickel package on Wednesday, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Mohamoud Diabate were the first linebackers to suit up. Owusu-Koramoah finalized an agreement on a three-year extension that includes $25 million in guarantees on Wednesday. This deal was always just a matter of timing; the Browns view Owusu-Koramoah as a core player for the future.

JOK is here to stay!@j_owuu | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/UZbYU9ot32

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) 14 August 2024

Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (unknown) participated in a full practice for only the second time in camp on Wednesday, making Wednesday the first time Watson has had his entire team of pass receivers in the same competitive practice. Although Cleveland rotates its offensive players frequently during camp, Amari Cooper is always on the offensive line No. 1, followed by a group of Tillman, Jeudy and Elijah Moore. Jordan Akins is the top backup tight end behind Njoku, and backup tight end Giovanni Ricci was on the field at fullback in some of the Browns’ offensive sets on Wednesday. Wide receiver David Bell, who is likely on the fence but had some big moments last season, is out at least a week with a hamstring injury.

Browns running back D’Onta Foreman was hospitalized during the first week of training camp after taking a direct blow to the head, but Foreman did not suffer a concussion and returned to practice on a limited basis earlier this week. Foreman was back Wednesday to return kicks in a semi-live special teams period, a sign he was cleared to return. The Browns released running back John Kelly Jr. earlier in the week and likely would have kept Kelly had Foreman still been limited. Kelly landed with the Baltimore Ravens, who have injury issues in their backfield.

Teams are not required to report specific injuries during training camp. Browns veteran offensive lineman Michael Dunn has been unable to practice for over a week, but he was on the sidelines Wednesday watching his teammates. The Browns were able to get veteran defensive lineman Shelby Harris back to practice earlier this week, but veteran edge rusher Za’Darius Smith remains out after suffering a knee contusion last week.

(Photo of Justin Jefferson and Martin Emerson Jr.: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)