Day 1 of Cleveland Browns training camp kicked off for the 2026 season on Wednesday, July 29. As we do every year, we will compile a summary of what happened before, during, and after each practice, based on notes from the local media and the team.
Cleveland Browns Training Camp Report – Day 1 (7/29/26)
1. Construction Changes: I hope to cover this more in-depth if I get the chance to go to Berea for a training camp session next week, but the construction changes in the neighborhood outside of the Browns’ headquarters continued. Daryl Ruiter provided this shot
as a re-configuration of Pearl Street:
Inside the walls of the outdoor grounds, the Browns also have added permanent bleacher seating going across the entire west side of the field. If you imagine the tall grandstand bleachers you’ve seen for years, then the picture you see below is what you’d see on the complete opposite side:
2. Cleveland Maintains Commitment to Secondary: The Browns have been busy showing a commitment to their secondary over the last two days. On Tuesday, the Browns extended CB Denzel Ward, making him a top paid cornerback in the NFL. Ward told reporters that he is ‘Cleveland’ through and through, despite seeing DE Myles Garrett get traded away. Ward says him not participating in offseason programs was related to him seeking an extended contract with Cleveland.
Then, right before practice today, the Browns extended S Grant Delpit. Delpit gets a 3-year extension worth $48 million, including $35 million guaranteed. You can read more on the extension here, but it looks like GM Andrew Berry gave him the good news or another congrats as practice was starting:
3. Clean Bill of Health: There aren’t any injuries to report this year as the Browns head into training camp, except for veteran DT Maliek Collins, who begins camp on the PUP list as he recovers from his torn quad suffered last season. However, head coach Todd Monken said that Collins has looked great and “hopes he’ll be ready for camp.” The rest of the guys should be a full-go, although we’ll see if the team takes it slower with anyone like RB Quinshon Judkins or TE Harold Fannin, who are coming off of surgeries.
4. Starting Offensive Lines: According to Zac Jackson of The Athletic, here were the starting offensive lines for Cleveland to begin Day 1 of camp:
- First Team: LT Spencer Fano, LG Zion Johnson, C Elgton Jenkins, RG Teven Jenkins, RT Tytus Howard
- Second Team: LT Dawand Jones, LG Zak Zinter, C Parker Brailsford, RG KT Leveston, RT Austin Barber
Jackson notes that this was just the first rotations, and that someone like Jones was working with the starters later as Fano went with the twos. Nonetheless, it’s always a bit of a camp tradition to look at some lineups and over-read into things.
5. Deshaun Watson First Up: Head coach Todd Monken has made it clear that both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders will see work with the ones in the quarterback competition, but for the first day, Watson was up first…and it did not go well. Early on in practice, he was picked off on back-to-back throws. Here is the first one, which was picked by CB Denzel Ward:
On the next throw, he was picked by CB Damarri Mathis. Unfortunately, later in practice, Mathis went inside with a trainer.
6. Things You Like to See: It’s good to see QB Shedeur Sanders connecting down the sideline with WR KC Concepcion. The quarterbacks were working initially in 7-on-7 drills, and both rookie receivers were working with the second team (Sanders), not Watson. During 11-on-11 drills later, Watson had some work with other receivers like Concepcion.
7. Camp Speed: It’s Day 1 of training camp, so sometimes, you have plays like this that are going at…less than half speed. Either that, or it’s a really bad throw. I’ll try to be optimistic and go the half speed route, as Watson connects with WR Jerry Jeudy at the end of practice.
And then yeah, after seeing this Shedeur Sanders throw in a similar drill, it’s definitely half speed:
8. Brownies: WR Cedric Tillman was starting off with the third-team offense. … QB Dillon Gabriel worked with the third unit in 11-on-11 drills. … DT Kalia Davis left practice early with a member of athletic training staff. … TE Joe Royer did not practice for a personal reason. … If you’re interested in the ESPN QB stats tracker, that is here … Talking about Watson’s two interceptions early in practice, Monken said the following about them on radio after practice:
9. Up Next: The Browns will practice on Thursday at 1:15 PM ET. The first session open to the public is on Friday.
