Getty Images Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
The Cleveland Browns rookie wide receiver Michael Woods II is expected to miss some time after suffering a hamstring injury during training camp.
Woods, a sixth-round pick, was having a strong camp but aggravated his hamstring during practice this week. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski broke the bad new prior to Saturday’s practice that Woods would be missing some time.
“It’s something that affected him back in the spring, so we’re just going to be smart,” Stefanski said.
Woods missed a chunk of the offseason program due to the injury. The Browns’ first of three preseason games is on Friday, August 12, against Jacksonville.
Woods was taking advantage of some extra reps in camps thanks to a bevy of injuries to Amari Cooper (ankle), Anthony Schwartz (knee), David Bell (foot) and Javon Wims (illness). Browns wide receivers coach/pass game coordinator Chad O’Shea had some high praise for the Oklahoma product after seeing his work during camp.
“He has tremendous work ethic,” he said. “He is very smart. He is mature. He is taking the coaching. Certainly, for a rookie, I think he has been very professional in his development … He has made the most of his opportunities, and it has been very positive for Mike Woods so far.”
Browns Get David Bell Back From PUP List
It wasn’t all bad news for the Browns. The team got Bell back from the PUP list after he missed the start of camp, along with Wims and linebacker Anthony Walker.
The Browns selected Bell with pick No. 99 in the draft and were pumped they were able to snag the Purdue pass-catcher in the third round.
“You were the first guy I watched, and right away I was like ‘we need to get this guy,’” Stefanski told Bell in on a recent episode of “Building the Browns.” “You can ask our GM, I was like, ‘This day needs to end with David Bell on our team. Just your ability to catch the ball, which I think is the best in the draft, your ability to get open and just who you are as a person fits who we are.’”
While Bell wasn’t in pads in live action, he was doing some work behind the scenes that has O’Shea confident that he can jump right in.
“We do enough with him from a walkthrough standpoint, we’re very intensive in a meeting room setting with him, so we spend as much time as we can to make sure we close that gap so when he does get on that field, he’s in position to know the information and go out there and try to execute,” O’Shea said on August 3.
Browns Add Pass-Rusher Chris Odom After Injury
The Browns signed USFL defensive player of the year Chris Odom to a deal on Friday to beef up their pass rush after losing DE Stephen Weatherly for the year due to a knee injury.
Odom is a large, athletic presence at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds and will learn from two of the best in Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney.
Odom gets a chance to catch on after some scattered stints in the NFL. He has 16 tackles and a pair of sacks in 11 games played, the majority of that production coming with Washington in 2019. He also spent time with the Salt Lake Stallions of the now defunct AAF. Odom notched a league-high 12.5 sacks in 10 games with the Houston Gamblers in the USFL.