Here’s what happened on the second day of the Browns’ joint practice with the Vikings

The second day of joint practices went a bit better for the Browns, as the offense found room to operate and the defense continued to dominate overall. Overall, it was a solid two days of practice between Cleveland and their Week 2 preseason rival, the Minnesota Vikings.

This is what happened on the second day of joint practices in Berea.

Kevin Stefanski described a number of new injuries to key players simply as “soreness” after the second day of joint practices with the Vikings. That applied to veteran safety Rodney McLeod, who was a new absentee from Thursday’s practice. The same applied to David Njoku, who participated in one-on-one play and got up a bit slowly after getting down on his knees to try to catch a ball in the end zone. He sat out the rest of the practice but didn’t play any more snaps. A similar thing happened to Amari Cooper, who appeared to sprain something while making a catch during 11-on-11 and ended up walking inside with a trainer.

One thing that became abundantly clear over the course of the two days of joint practices is that Ja’Marr Chase wasn’t lying about how much the Browns’ secondary talks. They’re a confident group, and they showed that against Minnesota. After any big play by the defense, they had something to say about it. Even Greg Newsome on the sideline was pretty animated.

Speaking of the secondary, it was another solid day from MJ Emerson, who had the opportunity to go up against Justin Jefferson on many occasions these past two days. In one-on-one drills, Jefferson outran Emerson twice for touchdowns. But Emerson also responded with an interception. Later in the two-minute work, Emerson made a nice play to deflect a pass intended for Jefferson on a deep pass down the left sideline.

Other defensive backs who made some nice plays today included rookie Myles Harden for the second straight day, safety Faion Hicks who made a pair of plays during two-minute drills and even Kahlef Hailassie who finished the Vikings’ two-minute drive with an interception in the end zone.

The offensive process was better on the second day of joint practices than it was on Wednesday. There were a few plays where Deshaun Watson clearly had more time to throw than he did the day before. After starting the day by throwing an intercepted pass to Ivan Pace on 7-on-7 plays, he made up for it later with an impressive touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy during 11-on-11 plays (more on that later). The running game also had more room to operate today with a highlight-reel play from D’Onta Foreman during the same period.

That said, the offensive line’s issues reappeared throughout practice and in particular during the two-minute drills. Watson was sacked three times during the session and thrown out of the pocket two other times on seven total plays as they fumbled on fourth down. Dawand Jones and James Hudson were both teased during those two days. Jones deserves credit, though, for working to get himself back in shape after his MCL surgery.

I’m going to give it to Jeudy. Whenever he’s out there, he seems to have a real connection with Watson. He caught two touchdowns today, one during 7-on-7 and one during 11-on-11. He’s been impressive during camp when he’s practicing.

As mentioned above, it was Watson’s touchdown to Jeudy during 11-on-11. The former Broncos wide receiver was running a corner route toward the left side boundary of the end zone. Watson threw a dart to put it in a perfect spot for only Jeudy to catch as he aimed the ball high and dipped two feet. It was one of Watson’s most impressive throws of training camp. Every time Jeudy practices, he and Watson seem to display some really impressive chemistry.

Did not practice: David Bell (quad), Jaelon Darden, Michael Dunn, Tony Fields II (ankle), Mike Hall Jr. (burn), Ronnie Hickman (back), Jordan Hicks, Rodney McLeod (soreness), Denzel Ward (concussion protocol), Nathaniel Watson (quad)

List of puppies: Nick Chubb (knee), D’Anthony Bell (shin), Dalvin Tomlinson (knee), Jack Conklin (knee), Jedrick Wills (knee)

NFI List: Greg Newsome (hamstring), Nyheim Hines (knee)

Injured during practice: Maurice Hurst (pain), David Njoku (pain), Amari Cooper (pain)

“I think we come from similar but different backgrounds. He’s played a lot of football, he’s been at the highest level, he’s been around other pro quarterbacks. So for me it’s being able to learn and develop the knowledge and then vice versa, he learns from me and what I see in different schemes and different offenses and the success that I’ve had. So we kind of feed off of each other and not just the two of us but the whole room, Snoop, DTR, we’re a brotherhood so anytime you see us move it’s probably one of us on each other. So that’s the chemistry and the love that we have in that room is definitely one of the best I’ve ever had.

– Deshaun Watson on his relationship with Jameis Winston and the entire QB room

The next time you watch the Browns, they’ll be back on the lakefront for their Week 2 preseason game against Minnesota on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m.