BEREA — Safety Grant Delpit returned to practice Tuesday after missing two weeks with a hamstring strain.
He exited early Wednesday after aggravating the injury.
The Browns have a little more than three weeks until the regular-season opener against the Chiefs on Sept. 12, and time is running short for Delpit to be ready to make his NFL debut.
A ruptured Achilles tendon robbed him of all of his rookie season in 2020. A strained hamstring early this month limited him to about 10 team reps through almost three weeks of training camp.
Delpit returned to practice Tuesday, was immediately inserted into team drills and felt confident when he talked to reporters Wednesday before practice.
“I felt good,” he said. “It was a good first day back, and hopefully today is better.
“It felt like second nature. I didn’t really miss a step.”
Delpit didn’t feel like he had any catching up to do, which should serve him well if he’s out again for an extended period.
“I’m not behind at all,” he said. “I’ve been preparing and working hard every day, making sure I’m working two times harder than the next person. That’s the mentality you gotta have, so I’m not behind at all.”
Delpit, the No. 44 pick, was a two-time All-American at LSU. He was drafted to be a starter and playmaker, but given his time away from the field is fighting with Ronnie Harrison Jr. for a starting spot and playing time alongside John Johnson III. Harrison was with the starters Tuesday and Delpit with the second team. The plan is to have all three safeties on the field together in the dime package coordinator Joe Woods likes to use.
First, Delpit has to stay healthy.
While fans and even coaches may have become exasperated with Delpit’s lack of practice time, he said he hadn’t gotten frustrated. The key is keeping the focus on what’s important, and that’s being ready for Week 1 in Kansas City.
“I’ve been taking it slow, just making sure I come back 100 percent,” he said. “It’s frustrating not being out there with my teammates, but when the time comes, I’m available.”
Delpit doesn’t seem fazed by much. He’s only 22 but has gained wisdom — he has an owl tattoo on his left calf — through life experiences, including his family getting uprooted by Hurricane Katrina when he was young and relocating from New Orleans to Houston.
So he isn’t dwelling on, or moping over, his lost season
“It’s a part of the game. It could be worse. It definitely could be worse,” Delpit said. “I was able to experience that for one year and I leaned on my family as my support system so it was a learning experience.”
He stayed in Northeast Ohio after the injury, rehabbing, attending meetings and watching practice. He credits being around the veterans and taking the mental reps for having him ready this season.
“Year 2 player. Everybody asks me does it feel like I’m still a rookie? No,” he said. “I’ve been here for a while it feels like.”
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STEPPING IN
With Delpit likely to be sidelined again, Harrison is the favorite to open the season as the starter. He started seven of 11 games last year, totaling 38 tackles, an interception he returned for a touchdown, a sack, seven passes defensed and a fumble recovery.
He also returned Tuesday after straining a hamstring July 30 and said he made the most of the time on the sideline.
“If anything it probably just helped me out a little bit and gave me a little boost because I was able to focus more on the football side of things instead of my body,” he said. “It allowed me to focus on that.”
Harrison arrived in a trade from Jacksonville shortly before the start of last season and expects bigger things in Year 2.
“Way more comfortable,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been here for a while now. Just being a year, with this offseason and being able to go through the playbook again and being out here for the extra reps, it helps a lot. So it should be great this year.”
INJURY REPORT
Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. came up hobbling during a team drill, tried to walk off the apparent leg injury and watched the rest of practice. The team didn’t provide an update.
** Offensive lineman Michael Dunn (back) joined those not practicing and working on the side.
** Defensive ends Myles Garrett (hamstring) and Jadeveon Clowney (undisclosed), cornerbacks Denzel Ward (soreness) and M.J. Stewart Jr. (hamstring), linebacker Tony Fields II (foot), safety Sheldrick Redwine (ankle) and receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley (neck) remained out.
** Receiver Anthony Schwartz (hamstring) returned to team drills, and receiver Alexander Hollins (hamstring) returned to practice.
A GRAND TIME
Run game coordinator/running backs coach Stump Mitchell thought Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt would each reach 1,000 yards rushing last year. Chubb got to 1,067 and Hunt 841.
“It was mostly due to health,” Mitchell said. “Once Nick got hurt, the amount we ran the ball was reduced 10 or 15 times a game because we did not have that guy who could come in and take the place of Nick.
“Coach Stefanski was going to have Kareem have a limited amount of touches that he thought would be successful both run and pass. We have to keep both those guys healthy and if that be the case and we improve some on our reads from last year, it will happen.”
** Mitchell said backups Demetric Felton and D’Ernest Johnson must prove they can succeed on special teams in order to earn a roster spot.
Stefanski said the plan is for Felton to be a running back this week after playing receiver in the preseason opener.
EXTRA POINTS
FirstEnergy Stadium will host the U.S. Women’s National Team for its first match after the Tokyo Olympics on Sept. 16. The soccer match against Paraguay is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
** Fifty-three puppies were adopted during camp.
** Case Keenum connected with receiver Davion Davis on a deep out and hit receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones over the middle for a touchdown.
