After the NFL Draft in late April, teams have a little over four months to prepare for Week 1 of the regular season in early September. Most of that work is done privately, but not all of it. More and more, teams are getting a better measure of themselves by holding joint practices and scrimmages with other clubs.
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The Cleveland Browns announced in late March that they would hold joint practices with a couple of teams this year — a tradition they started in 2021. They will begin with the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, leading up to Week 1 of the preseason. Then, they will hit the road again ahead of Week 2, spending two days in Philadelphia with the Eagles.
And the Browns-Panthers joint session will hold a little extra meaning for Cleveland QB Shedeur Sanders. His wideout buddy from Colorado, Jimmy Horn Jr., was taken in the sixth round of the Draft by the Panthers. So, when the two teams train together, it’ll be an earlier-than-expected reunion for the Buffs alums.
Horn Jr. had transferred from South Florida to the Colorado Buffaloes ahead of the 2023 campaign. That was the same time Shedeur, Travis Hunter, and many other players arrived in Boulder along with head coach Deion Sanders.
Horn, who stands 5’8″ and 175 pounds and runs a 4.46 in the 40, received offers from Penn State and Houston after departing South Florida. But he decided to team up with Shedeur and Hunter in Colorado.
Horn Jr. was a short-yardage go-to for Sanders in 2023, hauling in 58 receptions for 567 yards and six TDs. He slowed down somewhat in 2024, grabbing 37 receptions for 441 yards and a TD. Horn Jr. will need to work hard to make the team in Carolina.
The Panthers spent their top pick on a wideout in each of their last two drafts: Xavier Legette in 2024 and Tetairoa McMillan No. 8 overall this year.
This will be Cleveland’s fifth straight year running joint practices during the summer. The first time they did it, in 2021, they matched up with the New York Giants. Browns CB Troy Hill came to blows with Giants WR Sterling Shepard at the time, which created a massive scuffle between the two teams.
Considering how that one went, it was surprising that coach Kevin Stefanski elected to keep doing it. But Stefanski and Co. were unfazed. If anything, the added competition and aggression were welcomed during the long summer.
They hosted the Eagles for two days in 2022, then went to Philly for a pair in 2023. In 2024, they had the Minnesota Vikings over at their facilities prior to a matchup in Week 2 of the preseason.
