Saturday Dawg Chow: Browns news (1/27/24)

More of the latest Browns news and notes from around the web in today’s dose of the Saturday Dawg Chow.

Dawgs By Nature:

• Browns LB Charlie Thomas III tells DBN about his rookie season, hopes and plans (Barry Shuck) – Going into the 2023 training camp, Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry wanted some quality depth at linebacker and brought into the fold several players, including undrafted rookie free agents Charlie Thomas III of Georgia Tech. Dawgs By Nature caught up with the young linebacker to find out how to cover a larger tight end, what it’s like being a rookie in a veteran-dominated room, and if he has any political aspirations.
• Browns finalists for 4 big NFL awards (Jared Mueller) – The Cleveland Browns won 11 games and had the top wild card spot despite season-ending injuries all over the roster especially on offense. A lot of credit went to HC Kevin Stefanski, DC Jim Schwartz, QB Joe Flacco and DE Myles Garrett. It makes sense that those four are also finalists for major AP awards at the NFL Honors program on February 8.
• Browns to interview Kellen Moore for vacant OC position (Matt Wilson) – The Cleveland Browns have officially requested to interview Kellen Moore, with the Los Angeles Chargers expected to let him speak with other teams this offseason. Cleveland has undoubtedly been doing their due diligence so far in their search for a new OC, as they’ve interviewed all types of people with different coaching backgrounds.
• Browns DE Myles Garrett honored at 24th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards (Chris Pokorny) – The Cleveland Browns also won for sports moment of the year by clinching the playoffs against the New York Jets.
• Community Convo: Pick a team to root for or just enjoy the Championship games? (Jared Mueller) – Sunday, the NFL world finds out which two teams will face off in this year’s Super Bowl to decide the champion for this season. While we know that Browns fans, almost universally, cannot root for the Ravens in the AFC game, the NFC Championship is a different story.

Cleveland Browns:

• Cleveland Browns’ continued rise hinges on Deshaun Watson (ESPN) – It has been nearly two years since the Cleveland Browns sent the Houston Texansthree first-round draft picks for quarterback Deshaun Watson. Yet in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs, Houston and its new franchise quarterback – and surefire NFL Rookie of the Year – C.J. Stroud had torched the Browns on the way to a victory, ending Cleveland’s season. Watson, meanwhile, was in street clothes still recovering from surgery on his right shoulder.
• The Browns special teams taught us these 3 things this season (cleveland.com) – The Cleveland Browns went into 2023 with a revitalized special teams unit, and their on-field results showed it.
• Ravens’ continued success just more pain for Browns and their fans (Browns Zone) – There will always be something aggravatingly annoying to Cleveland about the Baltimore Ravens — and Sunday provides still more fuel for that seemingly inextinguishable fire. In the AFC Championship game Sunday, it’s Kansas City vs. Baltimore, in Baltimore. Sigh.
• Browns Mailbag: How is Nick Chubb progressing in his recovery process? (clevelandbrowns.com) – As the Browns begin the offseason, there is time for reflection on the 2023 season, and preparation for what’s to come in 2024. So, as we begin this offseason, we opened up the mailbag and answered a few of your questions.

NFL:

• Is no one going to hire Bill Belichick? (The Ringer) – With just two open jobs remaining, it’s looking increasingly likely that there’s no spot for a 71-year-old coach with eight Super Bowl rings. How did Belichick end up the loser in this year’s head-coaching cycle?
• AFC title game is validation for Ravens’ Jadeveon Clowney (ESPN) – Ten days before the Baltimore Ravens will meet, then pound, the Texans 34-10 in the AFC divisional round, Jadeveon Clowney is tucked into a gray leather armchair in a quiet nook of Baltimore’s practice facility. Though it’s a perfectly normal-sized armchair, he’s entirely too big for it, like a giant stuffed into dollhouse furniture, and his knees practically knock into his chin. He’s 6-foot-5 and has always loomed even larger than that. For a spell, he seemed larger than life.
• Niners DC Steve Wilks on Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: ‘I don’t know if you can contain him’ (NFL.com) – Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs enters Sunday’s NFC Championship Game as an X-factor for the underdog Detroit Lions facing off against a high-powered San Francisco squad.