Here's to health

We're mere days away from the beginning of Browns training camp for the most eagerly awaited season in more than a generation.

A starving fan base with tentacles that reach far and wide around the planet is more than ready to deal with all the bumps along the way to an anticipated second straight post-season appearance in an era that promises to be just as exciting as when Bernie Kosar Jr. commanded the huddle 35 years ago.

A few questions still linger, though, as the 90-man squad begins with closed practices Wednesday and Thursday before opening it up to the public. Most fall into the "what if" category and deal with injuries.

Like, for example, what if Baker Mayfield for the first time in his National Football League career suffers an injury? He has come close on occasion and it's only a matter of time before he misses a game for the first time in his pro career.

Questions like this have to be taken into consideration. They cannot be ignored or taken for granted. Football is not a contact game. It's a collision game. Quarterbacks, unless they are blessed, eventually pay a price to throw the prolate spheroid. Mayfield is due.

Then there's cornerback Denzel Ward, who has missed 11 games in his three-year career. Will he -- can he -- play a full season for the first time? Same with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who has proved somewhat brittle and was absent for a lot of games the last couple of seasons with two different teams.

Guard Wyatt Teller missed five games last season. And running back Nick Chubb needed five weeks to heel a knee injury. To be determined: Will cornerback Greedy Williams and rookie safety Grant Delpit, who both missed the entire 2020 season, be heathy enough to become major contributors to the secondary?

Luck is a key factor in the sustenance of a football team, especially one like the very talented Browns. Avoid injured reserve or the dreaded game-to-game designation, where the length of an injury seems to drag out seemingly forever, and you're golden.

Everything being equal, the team that stays healthy generally has a better shot at playing football in February than others less fortunate. The Kansas City Chiefs were one of the few outliers last season in this regard. They were beaten up, especially on offense, by the time they got to the Super Bowl and suffered the consequences.

The most important question with the Browns is whether they have the quality depth to overcome a rash of injuries, certain to be even higher this season after the league added a 17th regular-season game to the schedule.

That, as much as anything, should be an important consideration, particularly along the offensive and defensive lines. as General Manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski whittle the roster to the final 53.

It's a situation that bears watching since the culture of the club changed so dramatically and completely last season and winning it all, for the first time in a generation, is legitimately the primary goal. Training camp competition will be quite a bit different and much more interesting this season.