BEREA, Ohio — Jarvis Landry watched the OTAs from the sidelines on Thursday, and will likely do the same next week during mandatory full squad minicamp, coach Freddie Kitchens said Thursday.
Landry is nursing a minor injury that has sidelined him for all of OTAs, but Kitchens said he hasn’t undergone a surgical procedure.
“No, it is just more precautionary than anything," he said.
Still, Landry deemed it important to be here for the installation of the offense, to get to know his new coordinator Todd Monken, and to continue developing camaraderie with his teammates.
It means Landry probably won’t practice until training camp begins at the end of July, although Baker Mayfield said he plans to work out with some of his teammates again this year in Southern California between minicamp and training camp.
Kitchens expects Duke Johnson at minicamp
Kitchens doesn’t mince words when asked if Duke Johnson will attend minicamp next week.
“It is mandatory,’’ he said. “Next week is mandatory. He should be here.”
Johnson, who’s asked to be traded, has skipped the entire voluntary offseason program. A source told cleveland.com that Johnson planned to attend OTAs, but he didn’t. It remains to be seen whether he’ll actually show up for minicamp. GM John Dorsey said last week that he hasn’t spoken to Johnson.
In Johnson’s absence, second-year running back Dontrell Hilliard has gained ground, literally and figuratively.
“I liked his versatility, his acceleration, speed, hands, his ability to make moves, cuts, avoid defenders,’’ said Kitchens. “Dontrell is a good football player. He’s a special guy on special teams, too.”
Gerald McCoy in Carolina on Friday; Ravens optimistic about signing him
Free-agent defensive tackle Gerald McCoy’s visit to Carolina was delayed until Friday, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. They’re clearing cap space to try to sign him, according to Field Yates of ESPN, including a paycut for receiver Torrey Smith.
Freddie Kitchens remains optimistic the Browns can sign him, and the Ravens are confident too. On a Wednesday conference call with season ticket holders, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said the club would welcome him with open arms.
“I hope McCoy wants us,” Bisciotti said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. “I hope he goes home and tells his wife that he needs to play for the Ravens. I think he can do some damage in the backfield.”
The Ravens had the No. 1 defense in the NFL last season and want to keep it that way.
“Do I think that he’s a need? I think that everybody out there has seen what he can do,” Bisciotti said via Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun. “I think he’s a bit of a game-wrecker, and in this day and age, you need that kind of presence on the inside.”
Kitchens on Austin Corbett splitting right guard reps
In each of the last two OTAs open to the media, Austin Corbett worked at backup center while Kyle Kalis took the first team spot at right guard. But Kitchens said not to read too much into it.
“As a football team at this time of the year, when else do you have to judge somebody’s versatility or whether they can do this?’’ he said. “You don’t know who you’re going to lose. You don’t know who’s going to play bad, if you just want to speak the truth. The more you can do, the better off you are.
"We are not trying to get anybody comfortable right now. We are wanting to see where they fit best for the Cleveland Browns and how they will help us win the first football game.”
Corbett, the leading contender to replace Kevin Zeitler, played center in practice last season when JC Tretter was struggling with his high ankle sprain. But Kalis, from Michigan and St. Edward High School in Lakewood, has looked good too.
“I like Kalis a lot," said Kitchens. “He’s aggressive. He’s strong. Just like everybody else, we’re continuing to get better from a mental standpoint and from assignment and alignment. If you can’t get lined up, you can’t know what to do. It’s hard to play fast, and we want to be able to play fast. He’s in the boat with everybody else in that standpoint.”
But Kitchens said Kalis hasn’t jumped ahead of Corbett.
“All those guys are legitimate contenders," he said. “They rotated every day. It just has not been the days that you guys have been out here.”
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