BEREA: NFL training camps are almost always stressful for rookies, and Browns outside linebacker Nate Orchard had more to worry about this past summer than a typical first-year player.
Orchard left camp for a couple of days and missed a practice in late August for personal reasons. Fans and media didn’t think much about it at the time.
But Orchard revealed Thursday he was absent because his wife, Megan, fell ill during the early stages of her pregnancy. She had to be treated at University Hospitals. Orchard said his wife is well now, and the couple is due to have their second daughter in April. But the situation was worrisome for some time.
“She’s good, as happy as could be, on the proper medication, has her routine down,” Orchard said. “So she’s taking care of herself and handling it like a champ.”
Her husband should be commended, too.
“Everything’s good right now,” said Orchard, whose daughter, Katherine, is 2. “I’m just taking it one day at a time. Like they say, happy wife, happy life. She’s good. Everyone’s good at home. It hasn’t been the season we wanted it to be record-wise. But it’s a team sport. We’re going to lean on one another.
“I don’t focus too much on the social media or the media, but everyone’s going to have their own perspective and opinion on why he missed [time] or this and that. But at the end of the day, folks in house know what’s going on. My teammates know what’s going on, and that’s all that matters.”
The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Orchard has become more productive in the second half of this season as his situation at home has become more stable. He also has managed to overcome some minor injuries, including a back problem that caused him to miss the final two exhibition games and the regular-season opener.
According to ProFootballFocus.com, Orchard has pressured the quarterback five times in the past two games and seven the entire season. The recent production is what the Browns (3-11) expected from Orchard when they drafted him in the second round out of the University of Utah, where he had 18.5 sacks last season.
After Orchard tallied the first two sacks of his NFL career in a 24-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 13, he said, “Words can’t describe it. It is a huge monkey off my back. It has been a long time. I work so hard, and it is such a long season, but to finally get those [sacks], not the first, but my second one as well, was a great feeling.”
It wasn’t a thrill just for Orchard, but for his wife as well.
“She’s my No. 1 fan,” Orchard said. “So she was proud of me.”
Injury updates
Left tackle Joe Thomas (knee), center Alex Mack (calf) and rookie running back Duke Johnson (hamstring) returned to practice Thursday on a limited basis after sitting out Wednesday. Coach Mike Pettine said they’re expected to play Sunday on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs (9-5).
Wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (personal reasons), running back Isaiah Crowell (personal reasons) and running back Glenn Winston (concussion) didn’t practice Thursday. Pettine said Gabriel and Crowell are expected to play Sunday. Winston is not expected to play.
Nickel cornerback K’Waun Williams (shoulder) continued to be limited in practice. He sat out Sunday’s game after testing the injury in pregame warm-ups.
“It might come down to the wire again with K’Waun,” Pettine said. “He’s going to practice again today in a red shirt. He’s hopeful he can go as are we, but we will have to see.”
O-line set
The Browns have settled on starting rookie Cameron Erving at right guard and Austin Pasztor at left guard Sunday, Pettine said.
So Erving will fill in for John Greco, who suffered a season-ending knee injury Sunday. Pasztor will start the third consecutive game in place of Joel Bitonio, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
Of course, the Browns remain curious about Erving’s ability to play center. The first-round draft pick has struggled mightily this season, and he was supposed to be the franchise’s contingency plan at center because Mack can opt out of his contract after this season.
“We have a lot of college tape of [Erving] playing center, and we have a lot of practice reps doing it,” Pettine said. “We feel that potentially — we don’t know it for sure — is his best position, but just time will tell.”
Feeling the love
Veteran wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is on the verge of returning to Kansas City, where he spent the first eight seasons of his NFL career before signing a two-year, $12.5 million contract with the Browns in March.
Bowe has just five catches for 53 yards in just six games this season. He has been inactive in the other eight games and a healthy scratch in seven of them.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, have nothing but great things to say about Bowe. The fewest amount of catches he had in a season with them was 47 in 2009.
“I loved Dwayne Bowe as a player and a person, probably the most humble, big-time receiver that I had been around,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said during a conference call. “He did a good job for me here. Every situation is different. That’s how it works. He’s working through this right now, and hopefully it turns around, just not this week.”
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith also praised Bowe.
“I can’t speak to anything this year, but obviously when he was with us, I loved Dwayne, a guy that practiced every day, came to work, brought an energy about him, loved being around the guys and loved football,” Smith said. “For me, obviously a guy that I really felt good about that I could trust out there throwing contested throws.”
Convinced it would work
Reid was convinced mentor Mike Holmgren would reverse the fortunes of the Browns as their president, but it never happened. The Browns went 12-31 during Holmgren’s tenure. He was ousted in 2012 after owner Jimmy Haslam bought the team and gave former CEO Joe Banner control of football operations.
“I said this when I worked for [Holmgren]: I said I had a hard time believing any head coach did it better than him,” Reid said. “Now that I’m a head coach, I still feel the same way. He just had a way about him. He and [former Green Bay Packers General Manager] Ron Wolf worked great together. They built really a dynasty there. Very intelligent guy that’s got great feel for the game. I just figured all of that would [translate to success in Cleveland] before he got caught in the middle of an owner transition and that whole deal. That’s a tough thing.”
Extra points
• Defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil on rookie cornerback Charles Gaines pushing strong safety Donte Whitner on the sideline Sunday: “I love that. I want our guys to be emotional and into it. Two emotional players, they want to win. It’s an emotional game. Unless you’ve been on an NFL sideline, it’s hard to explain it. There is a lot of emotion. Those guys want to get off the field on third down. They want to stop touchdowns. They want to make plays. They want to win football games. You can’t do that if you’re not emotional.”
• Pettine on cornerback Justin Gilbert’s development: “There was progress there, but he’d be the first to tell you it wasn’t enough. At least he’s still trending in the right direction. The injury stuff was a setback, but we’re all hopeful that he can use what momentum he has from this season.” Gilbert has missed the past three games while recovering from a concussion.
• Offseason renovations to Browns headquarters will force players to train elsewhere. “The weight room will be open for a stretch of time, but that will get shut down for a little bit,” Pettine said. “The training room will likely have to move down to the stadium to rehab the guys that are coming off of season-ending injuries, surgery, whatever it is. The rehab guys will be down at the stadium for a chunk of time because the majority of this first floor is going to get gutted when the season ends.”
• Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will face one of his mentors, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub. Tabor was Toub’s assistant in Chicago. “I have a lot of respect for him,” Tabor said. “He is a guy that I learned under. He has had a couple head coaching opportunities. I believe he is a guy that should be a head coach in this league.”
• The Browns had a field goal blocked in three consecutive games, but they snapped the streak Sunday. Asked what the key was, Tabor quipped, “Well, they didn’t touch the ball.” In all seriousness, Tabor said kicker Travis Coons got better lift on his kicks and the protection improved during successful attempts of 34 and 37 yards.
• Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo on Thomas: “You just can’t say enough great things about Joe. He does everything right. From his play to his preparation to the way he treats people to the way he approaches each day, there is a reason why he is going to be a first-ballot hall of famer.”
• The Browns won’t practice on Christmas. Pettine said he lengthened practices on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday to compensate for the day off.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.