Thursday, August 23, 2012
Associated Press
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Joe Haden’s training camp — and a stormy one for the Browns — ended before any of his teammates were finished.
Arguably Cleveland’s best defensive player, Haden was kicked off the practice field Wednesday by coach Pat Shurmur, who felt the third-year cornerback was being too physical with rookie wide receiver Travis Benjamin during a passing drill on the final day of workouts open to fans.
Haden was ordered to leave roughly an hour into the practice by an angry Shurmur, who declined to provide details of the incident during his news conference.
“I’m not going to talk about it,” Shurmur chirped. “That’s between me and the player. I have a great deal of respect for Joe. If you want details, you’re going to have to find it on Twitter. My only apology is that I used bad language and the fans were here to see it. Joe’s a great competitor and I appreciate what he does and who he is and that’s the last you’ll hear me talk about it.”
Shurmur didn’t even let a reporter finish a follow-up question.
“Don’t ask,” he snapped. “Don’t ask. You have to go somewhere else to find out.”
During 7-on-7 drills, Benjamin caught a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone when he was taken down by Haden, who unsuccessfully tried to strip the ball and then yanked on the back of Benjamin’s jersey. After being ejected by Shurmur, Haden removed his helmet and shoulder pads and quickly headed into the locker room.
Team president Mike Holmgren was watching practice from a nearby bench when Haden was excused.
The Browns denied interview requests for Haden, who was back on the field for the afternoon walkthrough.
After that session, Shurmur said he and Haden had cleared the air.
“Joe and I talked and everything’s fine,” Shurmur said. “It’s a dead issue.”
Shurmur’s annoyance with Haden could be understandable given the rash of injuries that have plagued the Browns since camp opened last month.
Benjamin recently missed time with an undisclosed injury, and 13 players, including rookie running back Trent Richardson, sat out Wednesday’s workout. Richardson recently underwent knee surgery. On Monday, running back Chris Ogbonnaya sustained a leg injury when he got tangled at the end of a play.
Shurmur said player safety is his primary concern.
“It’s important that we practice smart,” he said. “You have to be able to practice at game speed, and you win and lose in practice. I think it’s important that guys understand that. I want all of our guys to make it to the horse race. Safety, everything I do I think about these players and this team. I told them that. All my thoughts revolve around our players and our team. I think it’s very important that we practice fast and we’re smart.”
Wide receiver Josh Cribbs chalked it up to just another day for the Browns.
“Boys will be boys,” he said. “It’s like fights in training camp. Then when you get in the locker room, you joke and laugh and sing songs together.”