Browns quarterbacks turn to the deep ball as two-minute drill headlines Day 13 of camp

Cleveland’s training camp cadence reached its last open-practice checkpoint on Wednesday as the Browns wrapped up Day 13 with a two-minute drill emphasis that showcased the quarterback room’s willingness to attack downfield. According to the team’s daily camp observations, Shedeur Sanders took all of the first-team reps during the final practice, a sign the Browns wanted the offense operating at tempo with the ball moving quickly and throws needed to carry.

The session’s focus was unmistakable: deep-ball work under pressure. In the two-minute setting, quarterbacks were tasked with compressing the field and executing quick decisions, and the Browns highlighted Sanders’ role as the primary driver of that late-drive look. The emphasis matters beyond the session itself, because preseason games often reveal who can consistently manufacture scoring chances when time is short.

The practice also carried a public-facing component. Fans filled CrossCountry Mortgage Campus for what the Browns described as the team’s final open practice before traveling to Chicago. That crowd atmosphere adds a layer of scrutiny that is different from closed practices, especially in a period when coaches can control the script but quarterbacks are still expected to make accurate throws in front of live evaluation.

The timing of Wednesday’s work places it directly on the lead-up to the Browns’ first preseason game. Cleveland will travel for its Aug. 15 matchup against the Chicago Bears, the team’s first opportunity to translate camp timing into game-like decision-making. With the two-minute drill installed as the closing exercise, the Browns’ coaching staff essentially used the day as a final checkpoint on late-drive execution before the evaluation shifts to a live opponent.

For fans and roster watchers, the most immediate takeaway is how the quarterback looks aligned with the last stage of camp. Sanders taking every first-team rep in the closing practice suggests the Browns were prioritizing cohesion with the starters in an end-of-half, end-of-drive scenario rather than lingering on longer, slower play designs.

Still, it is important to keep perspective. A single practice, even one that ends with first-team reps, is not the same thing as a depth-chart decision for an entire preseason slate. The relevant next step is what happens once Cleveland’s quarterbacks face live coverage and rotation patterns against Chicago, when communication, protections, and the risk/reward of downfield throws become harder to script.

Watching what quarterbacks do in similar late-drive moments during the preseason will be the clearest continuation of Wednesday’s theme. If the Browns maintain the deep-ball intent while keeping decisions sharp, it would confirm that the Day 13 emphasis was more than a highlight drill and instead part of the team’s overall offensive tempo plan heading into the preseason opener.

In the short term, Sanders’ leadership of the first-team two-minute workday gives the Browns a concrete image of what they want from their primary quarterback unit when the clock tightens. Now the focus turns to Chicago, where the Browns’ first preseason game will test whether the deep-ball aggression and timing built in camp hold up against a game plan built to counter it.