The Cleveland Browns headed to Charlotte this week with plans to sharpen their execution and test roster depth against live competition.
What unfolded during Wednesday’s joint practice with the Carolina Panthers revealed a different story entirely.
Mental mistakes overshadowed talent evaluation as Cleveland struggled with basic fundamentals.
ESPN Cleveland’s Je’Rod Cherry highlighted the team’s ongoing penalty issues after watching the session unfold.
“That was a problem. It was way too many penalties, way too many pre-snap penalties. So, what did we see? We see that’s still in our system. We talked about it just this week, the need to get rid of it, to get it out of our system because we can’t afford to deal with that,” Cherry said.
.@JRCherry3 says he saw WAY too many offensive pre-snap penalties from the Browns during their joint practice with the Panthers today. https://t.co/hJKP9ToBY6 pic.twitter.com/Lve5p9eDHw
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) August 6, 2025
The penalties weren’t limited to the offense. Special teams units also saw repeated infractions.
False starts disrupted drives during full-team periods.
Cleveland’s offensive line faced additional pressure from Carolina’s defensive front.
The disruption led to hurried snap counts and breakdowns in communication between the offensive linemen.
Joint practices serve a purpose beyond evaluation. They expose weaknesses that need addressing before meaningful games arrive.
For Cleveland, the frequency of mental errors has become concerning rather than instructive.
Time is running short to clean up these fundamental issues. What happened on Wednesday cannot become a pattern if Cleveland hopes to compete in a tough division.
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