BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry indicated Thursday that he doesn’t expect to see Quinshon Judkins on the field at training camp for a while.
The rookie running back remains unsigned after he was arrested on July 12 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a charge of battery and domestic violence.
“So in terms of those decisions, signing, being at camp and everything like that, it’s honestly probably too early to make any type of determination. So as we gather information, we’ll have a better view on that,” Berry said before the Browns held their second training camp practice. “Sometimes the information comes a little bit more slowly, but we’re still in probably the information-gathering stage with him.”
The Browns selected Judkins with the 36th overall pick in the draft after he rushed for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns at Ohio State last season.
Judkins and Cincinnati defensive end Shemar Stewart (the 17th overall pick) are the NFL’s only unsigned draft picks. Berry made it sound as if Judkins’ situation is related more to off-field matters than money.
“Obviously the second round was unique this year, now it’s pretty well slotted. So whether there’s a formal framework in place, maybe the technical answer is no, but in terms of where that slot should land, yes, that’s pretty straightforward,” Berry said.
The bigger concern for Berry and the organization could be their vetting process with draft prospects. This is the second straight summer Cleveland has had to deal with an off-field domestic violence incident.
Defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. — the team’s second-round pick in 2024 — was arrested during training camp on a domestic violence charge. He pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct but was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list because of the arrest and suspended five games by the NFL.
“You lose a ton of sleep over it not just because of the seriousness of the allegations, but also because of the amount of time and energy you spend really vetting any person who comes into your organization,” Berry said. “And then probably for us, in the past two years in particular, the amount of time and resources we spent on the education part of it with not just with our players but with our whole organization.”
Berry also wasn’t pleased that another rookie made news for the wrong reasons.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was ticketed twice in June for speeding.
He was stopped by the Ohio State Patrol on June 5 in Brunswick Hills for going 91 mph in a 65 mph zone. On June 17, the Strongsville Police Department stopped Sanders for going 101 mph in a 60 mph zone on Interstate 71 near the Ohio Turnpike.
Berry said he addressed the incidents with Sanders, one of four Browns QBs along with with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel.
“I think the thing is it’s not just about yourself. It’s not just about having a joy ride. It’s not just about driving a car really fast, but it’s about the fact that you can endanger other people,” Berry said.
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