<
>

Best of 'Hard Knocks': What Browns said to Antonio Callaway

play
Max approves of Browns' punishment of Callaway (1:08)

Max Kellerman says coach Hue Jackson's decision to play rookie Antonio Callaway almost an entire preseason game was a "good punishment" and Callaway learned his lesson. (1:08)

The Cleveland Browns' eventful training camp is under the microscope on the HBO series "Hard Knocks." Here are a few highlights from the second episode Tuesday night:

Dealing with Callaway: Off-field issues knocked receiver Antonio Callaway to the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft when many believed he had first-round talent. The Browns took a chance on Callaway, who was suspended for his final season at Florida in 2017 and then tested positive for marijuana at the scouting combine. Their trust in him was soon tested after they found out he had been stopped by police last week and cited for marijuana possession and a suspended license.

Callaway, who looked shaken during the first practice following the incident, was asked by coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley what was wrong.

"You look like a puppy dog," Haley tells Callaway. "Come on, we need you. This is very important. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to. You can't try to control all that. The guy upstairs is controlling that. You just try to be the best you can possibly be."

Callaway keeps quiet until he is called into general manager John Dorsey's office once the news of the incident breaks. After being asked to explain what happened, Callaway is told by Dorsey that he has to be smarter because everyone is watching.

"This isn't college football. This is the National Football League, and just to put it out there plainly, you're under the microscope," Dorsey says. "They want to see you f--- up. You've got to prove to them f---ers that you know what, I've learned from my past, I've learned from my mistakes and we're moving forward."

Jackson tells Callaway he can't slip up again.

"All of this can be prevented. ... You can't take a chance. You can't put yourself in this situation and you can't put us in this situation," Jackson says. "Listen, you've got talent, but talent ain't everything I'm looking for. I want you to become a man. Be responsible and accountable to John and me and your teammates or else I wouldn't keep you on the team. I'm just being very honest with you. If s--- comes up, you have my number, you've got John's number, you call us ASAP. That's what I expect from you from here on in. I believe you, but if I'm wrong on this one, then I'm going to have your ass."

Jackson makes a public show of support for Callaway during a team meeting and calls the rookie up to apologize to the team. "I gotta carry myself like a professional. It won't happen no more," Callaway says.

The Browns choose to punish Callaway by playing him on every offensive snap during their preseason opener against the New York Giants. He wears down during the game but still manages to shine with a 54-yard touchdown reception and earns respect from teammates, including Baker Mayfield.

"He's got so much talent," says veteran quarterback Drew Stanton. "Everything I heard about him is he is a really good kid. You've just got to realize, 'OK, how do you transition and become a pro?'"

Exit for Coleman: One receiver was earning respect from teammates and another was on the outs in Cleveland. Corey Coleman, a first-round pick in 2016 by the Browns, reached the end of his underwhelming run as a Brown, but not before he let his frustrations be known to Jackson.

"Why am I running second team?" Coleman asks as he walks into Jackson's office. "If y'all don't want me to play, why won't y'all just trade me?"

And that's exactly what the Browns did on Aug. 5, sending Coleman to the Buffalo Bills for a seventh-round pick in 2020.

Garrett, the poet: Myles Garrett revealed a different side of himself when he discussed his love of poetry. Crediting his grandmother and Muhammad Ali for getting him into it, the No. 1 pick of the 2017 draft said he writes at night and sometimes during lunchtime.

But don't expect him to write about football.

"Most people want me to write about me sacking the quarterback, but that's not what goes through my mind when I'm trying to get away from football," Garrett says. "I was a boy who liked to write long before I was a man who liked to hit people. I'm not going to change for anybody else; I'm not going to hide who I am. I'm just going to stay true to myself."

Best quote: "This is kind of fun, I'll be honest." -- Mayfield on the field during a break in his strong preseason debut against the Giants in which he passed for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

What's next: Episode three airs Aug. 21 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.