The Cleveland Browns started their OTA program today in Berea, Ohio. OTAs or Organized Team Activities allow players and the coaching staff to come together for the first time in months to work on their respective crafts. These are a great way for development and instruction of the young guys to occur in a team-based environment, getting the rookies around veteran presence also allows for a more natural way of learning/teaching. The coaching staff use this time to install their playbooks, teaching techniques to add to the plethora of skills they already have.
While these practices are not mandatory, it is a great way for teammates to build chemistry before the grueling NFL season begins. These practices are normally broken down into position-by-position drills and finishing each block of drills with a team period where all the position groups come together for 7 on 7 drills, 9 on 9 drills, and 11 on 11 drills (offense/defense-based drills.) OTAs are all considered “no contact” but 7 on 7’s, 9 on 9’s and 11 on 11’s are permissible.
Though the NFL does not make teams practice by certain dates, Cleveland is one of the 31 teams that have begun their OTAs, The only team that has not begun is the Cincinnati Bengals, who will be starting their OTAs on May 28. The Browns will have 3 OTA periods over the course of the off-season, Session 1: May 21-23, Session 2: May 28-30, Session 3: June 3-6, and the mandatory veteran minicamp begins on June 11-13.
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