What we're watching at Browns minicamp and looking back at David Njoku's softball game

Talking about "Hard Knocks" can be "contagious" for Browns fans. On Monday, news came out that the Browns will be featured on “Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North," and on this episode of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast, Mary Kay Cabot and Ashley Bastock are offering a preview and their thoughts on what to expect. The two discuss how this is the first time "Hard Knocks" has focused on an entire division, as well as all the storylines that make the AFC North compelling -- particularly with each team's quarterbacks. They also go through the Browns' schedule and try to piece together some of the key games the cameras will chronicle, as well as go through the difficult logistics of filming during the season. Finally, it's a trip down memory lane with a look back at the last time the Browns were featured on "Hard Knocks," which was during training camp in 2018. Ashley and Mary Kay go through the drama that came to light at the time, the different highlights -- including Jarvis Landry's "contagious" speech -- and how the organization is in a very different place six years later. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re starting the week on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast by looking ahead to The Greenbrier and the start of training camp. Sure, there’s a break between the offseason program and training camp, but it doesn’t mean that players can’t have momentum coming out of the spring. Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe spend the podcast by listing Browns players who had strong springs and could carry that momentum into the summer and training camp. They cover a bunch of areas of the team, moving from the back end of the defense to names who stood out on offense. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Browns are off for the summer but the business side of the league doesn’t stop. They have a situation to figure out with wide receiver Amari Cooper, who held out of mandatory minicamp, seeking a contract extension. Mary Kay Cabot and Dan Labbe start Friday’s Hey, Mary Kay! edition of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast by answering a question about what a reasonable number would be for Cooper. They also discuss if the Browns could consider trading Cooper and get into the ins and outs of the situation. Then they talk about OTAs and the vibes around them, why Myles Garrett has struggled to finish strong in recent years and the left tackle situation. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson had one of his best days of the offseason program on Thursday and his best day of all the practices open to the media. It was an encouraging spring for the team's starting quarterback coming off of major shoulder surgery. Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe discussed Watson's performance on Thursday's Orange and Brown Talk podcast recapping the day at minicamp. First, they talk about Myles Garrett pulling up with a hamstring injury and if it's something to worry about. (Spoiler alert: It's not.) They also discuss the strong spring second-year wide receiver Cedric Tillman had and his opportunity in minicamp with Amari Cooper not reporting and Jerry Jeudy not practicing due to injury. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wide receiver Amari Cooper was once again not in attendance during Wednesday's Browns minicamp practice, which is where Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe begin Wednesday's Orange and Brown Talk podcast. They discuss what it means that Cooper wasn't there for Day 2 and if it only adds to the feeling this could drag out longer. They also talk about what terms the Browns could cook up to make an extension with Cooper work for both sides. Then they talk about Myles Garrett, who spoke on Wednesday. How can he make sure he finishes the 2024 season strong, right as the Browns schedule toughens up? What standard should Garrett be held to after winning his first Defensive Player of the Year award? We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper didn’t show up to mandatory minicamp and head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed his absence is unexcused. Cooper is holding out and the Browns will have to navigate a tricky situation. Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe start Tuesday’s Orange and Brown Talk podcast by discussing Cooper’s holdout and how the Browns will approach the situation with their No. 1 receiver. Then they discuss what Deshaun Watson had to say after practice about where he’s ranked in the league and if it means anything to him. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Browns are all back together this week for their three-day mandatory minicamp, featuring three practices open to the media. Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe start Monday's Orange and Brown Talk podcast by looking ahead to minicamp and what they're watching. What will Deshaun Watson be able to do? How will all the receivers line up? What about the defensive line with some of the new additions on the interior? Then they look back on their experience at David Njoku's celebrity softball game, which featured a collision between Watson and tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden that gave everyone in attendance momentary pause. Mary Kay walks us through her thoughts as she chased the story before they all recap a day that featured lots of security and a promise from Ronnie from Jersey Shore. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Browns signed GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski to extensions and Mary Kay Cabot and Dan Labbe start Friday's Hey, Mary Kay! edition of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast by giving credit to the people who write the checks. They discuss how Dee and Jimmy Haslam have grown as owners and why this is such an important milestone in their tenure, as well as Paul DePodesta's role in all of this. Then they turn their attention to on-field questions. Thye start with the play calling and what they think will happen on that front. They get into the defense in Year 2 under Jim Schwartz and if it can actually be better this year than last year. They end the podcast by answering questions about kickers and get into their role in the new kickoff and discuss the the Browns stadium situation. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We spent our Wednesday Orange and Brown Talk podcast focusing on extensions for Browns GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski as well as what running back Nick Chubb had to say. Thursday, we're cleaning up some of what we left behind on Wednesday's podcast from our final day at OTAs. Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe start Thursday's podcast by discussing if Myles Garrett has another level and if new defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire can coax it out of him in 2024. Are there other pass rushers Cesaire can help? Then they discuss the addition of Duce Staley and what they've seen and heard from the Browns' new running backs coach. How is he different from Stump Mitchell and how will the running back room shake out behind Chubb, whether he's ready to go Week 1 or not. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wednesday started off with news the Browns had agreed to extensions with GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, the long-awaited deals getting done after the Browns made the playoffs for the second time in four years with the two together. Mary Kay Cabot, Ashley Bastock and Dan Labbe start off the Wednesday edition of the Orange and Brown Talk podcast by discussing the extensions and what they mean for Berry and Stefanski moving forward. They also talk about Nick Chubb, who spoke to the media on Wednesday and what stood out about what Chubb had to say and when they might see him on the field again. Then they wrap up by talking about the day on the practice field or, more specifically, who wasn't on the practice field on Wednesday. We were Voted best podcast by Cleveland Magazine readers! Want to become a Football Insider subscriber? Get more info here. Music credits: Ice Flow by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3898-ice-flow License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices