CLEVELAND, Ohio– For once, the Cleveland Browns are not entering training camp with a plethora of camp battles. The team returned most of their starters, leaving just a few lead roles up for grabs. 

Offensively, there really is not a single job in question outside of wide receiver depth behind Amari Cooper. Defensively, however, there are a couple. First, Anthony Walker and Jacob Phillips have to duke it out to see who will be starting at MIKE linebacker. Phillips has been starting thus far in camp with Walker out most of camp.

However, the battle of most interest can be found in the cornerback room. The starting jobs are not up for grabs, and there is not even a question mark next to the names of Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome. 

Ward, fresh off of a new deal, has solidified himself in the upper echelon of cornerbacks in the entire league. Some even have him within the top five at the position. Newsome is entering his sophomore season off of a dynamite rookie year where he left little question as to why he was taken in the first round when on the field. 

With the departure of Troy Hill, however, a gaping hole is up for grabs in the Cleveland secondary. A year ago, Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods opted to stay out of base as much as possible as he continues to adapt to the pass-heavy nature of the NFL. With that being said, the Browns have to replace Hill’s 471 snaps played a year ago.

The assumption is that Newsome will kick inside in nickel (as this is what Woods did when Hill was hurt a year ago), and then the Browns will bring on an outside cornerback off the bench to play opposite Denzel Ward.

This is the case for that cornerback to be third-year player A.J. Green as he battles it out with both Greedy Williams and Martin Emerson.

Quotes included in this article were pulled from Fred Greetham's coverage of the press availability of Green, Stefanski, and others.

“Something I learned just from being around is the best ability is availability... Just being able to be available and at a service to those guys when they go down, might need a break, a rest or anything." -A.J. Green

A good place to start with the cornerback conversation is with the number of injuries this room seems to sustain over the course of a season. 

While Ward played in nearly all of his games a year ago, he did have a pattern of missing four games each of the past three seasons. Newsome’s injury woes are well-documented as well, missing more games than he played in college and then missing five games as a rookie a year ago. Williams is no stranger to missing time either as he missed four games as a rookie, his entire sophomore season, and one game a year ago.

So even if Green does not win that starting job as the first guy off the bench on the majority of the defensive snaps, there is a good chance he will see the field regardless. A year ago, Green was more than willing to step up to the plate and keep the secondary playing at a high level when thrust into action. In 2021, Green made appearances in 12 games and even made one start for the Cleveland Browns as he forced his way onto the field. 

How did Green perform when called upon a year ago? That is where we head next.

“My experience last season was just going out there, and in the DB room, we have a thing of holding up the standard so whether it is (Denzel) Ward out there or me, we all know we have to play our best. I feel like I just had to rise to the occasion.” -A.J. Green

Green only saw significant snaps in just three games as he went at it against the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cincinnati Bengals. The catch is that most of his snaps came in the last two weeks of the season when the season was all but already lost for the Cleveland Browns. 

However, this should not be minimized as he graded out with elite marks in coverage in both of those games to end the season. He even came away with an interception in the loss to the Steelers as he continued to put himself firmly in the future plans of the Browns. Even in the Chargers game, with Mike Williams pulling him down to get a call late in the game, Green proved to be sticky down the field. 

According to PFF, Green’s coverage grade on the year stood tall at 90.3, with his defense grade falling in line at 86.2 as well. His tackling and run defense grades fell well below the average line, as it suffered in the last two games of the season. Analytically, Green's grades were a few ticks more worthy than those of Williams, but on far fewer snaps.

His athletic profile does not live up to that of Williams’ as this was the main reason Green went undrafted. However, his play speed is much quicker than the 4.62 40-yard dash that he ran at the combine back in 2020.  Overall, Green flashed in limited action a year ago, and as he continues to put together day after day in training camp, there is hope this play could translate to a larger workload.

“I said it last year, and I’ll say it again... I feel like if he wasn’t on this team, he can go and be a starter anywhere else in the league. He’s that good. He’s that talented, and he’s been having a great camp. Whenever we need him to be on that field, he’s always there, ready to go, and we don’t miss a beat with him on the field.” -CB Greg Newsome

There was a bit of shock to see Emerson ahead of Green on the initial depth chart released ahead of the preseason opener against the Jaguars. But hey, more depth and competition at a key position is never a bad thing. This leaves the door wide open for all three cornerbacks to go head-to-head as live-action against players in other uniforms vastly approaches.

Last year it was Williams who saw starting snaps when Newsome, Ward, and Hill all missed time respectively. He certainly has the inside track to continue to win the job as training camp rolls around again in 2022, in need of a big season in a contract year. 

However, Green has fans in the building given his play a year ago and by all accounts has been having a dynamic camp in Cleveland and is not backing down from the fight. The Browns have a key philosophy to identify talent early as well, meaning Emerson is going to get his chance as well. This head-to-head-to-head is going to be exciting to watch play itself out.

The margins may just be razor thin. When considering the financial ramifications beyond the 2022 season, this also has the ability to act as a tiebreaker should Williams not pull away and win the job outright.

“He could be a starter on a lot of teams in this league, and I just like being out there competing with him." - S John Johnson III

Emerson is under contract with the Cleveland Browns over the next four years, so his pathway to the field and to remain on the roster is pretty self-explanatory after being selected in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

However, neither Green nor Williams are under contract after this season for the Browns, entering crucial seasons for their future financial success. Entering the offseason as a restricted free agent though, the pathway to retain Green is much more manageable than that of Williams.

As Green is set to be a restricted free agent, all the Browns have to do is offer him a tender for him to sign. There is an avenue where Green decides not to sign it in hopes of signing a long-term deal, but someone with little starting experience does not hold many cards at this point. Expect that tender to be a day-two tender if his current trajectory of play continues, which puts a very manageable price tag on Green’s head for the Browns to ink him to. A second-round tender is just below $4 million for the year.

Williams on the other hand is set to hit the open market where he is free to sign with whomever he likes. There is also a pathway for him to return to Cleveland after the 2022 season, but should a team give Williams an offer he can’t refuse (which tends to happen on an inflated open market), the Browns may find themselves willing to let him walk.

Long story short, Green has a much less murky pathway towards remaining with the team after the 2022 season than Williams does. And that matters to who may see more opportunities to prove their worth in 2021; follow the money as it usually leads to priority with playing time.

“At the end of the day, I know what I’m capable of... I believe in myself. If 10 people turn their back on me, I’m going to still have myself. At the end of the day, I knew I could come in, I knew I was way faster than that, I knew I could cover. I felt like I put the stuff on film, it was getting back to the football field. The whole track meet thing was over. It was getting back on the football field.” -A.J. Green

Regardless of who the first guy off the bench is, both players will see significant snaps in 2022 barring an injury. However, who Woods and the Cleveland Browns choose as that starter opposite Ward in nickel and dime packages absolutely matters. And while Emerson deserves to be a part of the conversation, the likelihood of a large role early on is minimal as they will more than likely give him time to get his feet wet.

Analytically Green has the advantage over Williams. Experience and preference a year ago goes to Williams over Green. Returns from the first week and a half of training camp seem to indicate that Green is following up on a great year with limited reps with a dynamic summer as well. This is not a job that will just be handed to Williams by default because he was the player they rode with a year ago. 

We finally get live action this Friday night as well, as the Browns travel to Jacksonville. It is a safe assumption that Green will see a hefty amount of playing time as guys like Ward and Newsome will probably sit this one out. 

This is where the real battle begins for Green to prove he can be that reliable first guy off the bench for Woods and for the Browns.

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