Read More: Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams

With it looking more and more certain that the 130 Day-long NFL Lockout will come to an end this afternoon, word is beginning to come down of when teams will report for Training Camp.  For the Cleveland Browns it is looking more and more like that day could be Friday, July 29.

Matt Pomeroy is the head of Research for NFL Network, so he is as plugged in as it gets.  What the schedule will be for the public remains to be seen.  The day above could be when workouts start or it could be when players have to report.  We all will find out soon enough.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Jake Delhomme didn’t become a starting NFL quarterback until he was 28, but has still managed to put together an admirable career — highlighted by his steering of the 2003 Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl.

Delhomme was nearly a champion, completing 16 of 33 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns (two in the fourth quarter) and no interceptions in Carolina’s 32-29 loss to the New England Patriots on Adam Vinatieri’s next-to-last-play-of-the-game field goal.

Now, though, Delhomme projects as the Cleveland Browns’ third-string quarterback in 2011. Colt McCoy, about to begin his season season, is the likely starter, and veteran Seneca Wallace recently signed a three-year contract extension. He figures to back up McCoy.

Delhomme is scheduled to make $5.4 million in the second and last year of his contract with the Browns. If he stays behind McCoy and Wallace on the depth chart, Delhomme might have to accept a pay cut to remain in Cleveland.

James Walker writes about Delhomme and the Browns for ESPN.com:

The Browns like Delhomme’s veteran presence and leadership. But the past two years — including the 2010 season in Cleveland — proved Delhomme, 36, is no longer a starting NFL quarterback. The Browns paid Delhomme $7 million last season to throw for 872 yards, two touchdowns and seven interceptions in five games. Comparing dollars and production, it was one of the worst investments last year in free agency.

After signing a two-year deal last offseason, Delhomme is now one of the AFC North’s prime candidates to be released whenever a new collective bargaining agreement is reached. Delhomme said immediately after the season that he wasn’t sure he will be back, and Cleveland’s front office has been elusive on the topic.

The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com continue Browns coverage. A feature on cleveland.com is the Browns history database, which includes the game stories of every regular season and playoff game in Browns history.

Browns banter

Browns left offensive tackle Joe Thomas ranks 43rd on the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2011 list, writes Matt Florjancic for clevelandbrowns.com.

Thomas, though, would rank even better than No. 43, but he lets his play do most of his talking. By Vic Carucci for NFL.com.

The NFL Network thus far has announced numbers 41 through 100 on its top 100 list. 

Pat Shurmur is the Browns’ new head coach. Dave Kolonich, for Scout.com’s Orange and Brown Report, looks at how some NFL head coaches did in their rookie seasons.

Former Steelers and Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, just released from prison, shouldn’t draw a lot of interest as a free agent. By Len Pasquarelli for the Sports Xchange on Scout.com’s Orange and Brown Report.

Read More: Carson Palmer (QB – CIN), Cam Newton (S – CAR), Julio Jones (WR – Alabama), Da’Quan Bowers (DE – Clemson), Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams

DraftCountdown has another 2011 NFL Mock Draft on offer, and St. Louis Rams fans will be marginally excited to learn that they present another scenario in which the Rams might end up with wide receiver and white whale Julio Jones. It involves A.J. Green falling out of the single digits, Cam Newton slipping to No. 4, and the Cleveland Browns deciding they want one of the numerous defensive ends available in the 2011 NFL Draft, which begins April 28. 

The draft kicks off with Blaine Gabbert getting the Jimmy Clausen Heartbreaker role as the Carolina Panthers’ first overall pick. Von Miller’s upward ascent keeps the Buffalo Bills from choosing a quarterback at No. 3, which means that the Cincinnati Bengals, who need to replace dearly not-yet-departed quarterback Carson Palmer, can select Cam Newton and cause their fanbase to spontaneously combust. 

Perhaps the most important pick is the Cleveland Browns selecting Da’Quan Bowers at No. 6. The Browns are a major player for A.J. Green and have picked Jones in some recent mock drafts; if they go defense-first, Green might fall all the way to the primary Jones spoilers, the Washington Redskins at No. 10. From there the St. Louis Rams find the sailing relatively smooth, but that’s a lot of NFL Mock Draft machinations it would take to get to that part of the ocean…

Cleveland, Ohio — As far as most fans are concerned, NFL owners and players right now are acting like two little kids, one with a pail and one with a shovel, who both want sole ownership of the sandbox.

Federal Judge Susan Richard Nelson has said it’ll take at least a couple of weeks before she’s willing to rule on the players’ request to force the owners to lift their lockout. That means no OTAs, no interviews asking Browns coach Pat Shurmur how Colt McCoy is doing learning his West Coast offense.

On the plus side, the NFL and the players both seem to be pushing for a resumption of the talks, according to ESPN.com. The question is who mediates and where. The owners want to go back to Washington, D.C., and George Cohen, who was overseeing the talks when they broke off. The players want Nelson to assign a mediator.

Really, it sounds to us (and we admit we’re old enough to remember this) like the days when an accord on the shape of the table was big news during the talks to end the Vietnam War.

So what’s a football fan to do?

Talk about the draft, of course. Which is OK because there are almost as many mock drafts out there as there are Red Sox fans going, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?”

It’s always been amusing to us how one guy can start out as the bank-on-it, bet-your-mom’s-pension, double-down-on-the-kids’-college-fund No. 1 pick about two minutes after the final gun for the Super Bowl. By the time the actual draft rolls around, that guy will be lucky to carry Mike Holmgren’s mustache wax can.

Right now, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton is in the consensus catbird’s seat as the Carolina Panthers’ choice. It could work out, but for every Peyton Manning, there’s a Ryan Leaf … or a Tim Couch.

(OK, that was a cheap shot; really, what happened in Cleveland wasn’t Couch’s fault; you can’t can NFL-quality football with a Lingerie League line.)

Newton could be the next Manning (Peyton or Eli). But that’s Carolina’s pick, so really … who cares? This is Cleveland.

SBNation.com, the mock draft we’re talking about now, has the Browns picking Georgia receiver A.J. Green. But even then, the site seems to hedge its bets.

 Last Thursday, the easy projection here would have been Da’Quan Bowers. Now, it’s tough to see any pass rusher worth this pick; Nick Fairley would make sense for Dick Jauron’s 4-3, but adding a unique receiving talent to aid in Colt McCoy’s development makes more sense.

SBNation.com has Fairley going to the Titans two picks later. Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns went either way. Or, if Patrick Peterson from LSU happened to last that long, going with the corner whose skills are just about NFL-level already. Or if it’s Julio Jones of Alabama, whom ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper will be wearing Cleveland Orange. Interestingly enough, SBNation.com has North Carolina pass-rushing stalwart Robert Quinn slipping all the way to Miami, with the No. 15 pick. It’s interesting because Kiper’s fellow ESPN prognosticator, Todd McShay, says the Tar Heels’ star, who was suspended for 2010 by the NCAA for accepting expensive watches, will be the Browns’ pick.

Mama always said not to wish your life away, but really, we wish April 28 would hurry up and get here; we don’t know how many mock drafts we can read before our pea brain reaches max overload and shuts down.

Gridlock
* A blogger who writes for the site nicepickcowher.com (three guesses who its readers follow) is worried. Todd (apparently Steelers fans haven’t evolved to the last names part of humanity) mentions the Browns’ December 2009 win over Cleveland, but only to dismiss it. But …

Putting that frigid December night more than a year ago in Cleveland aside, it is safe to say the Steelers own the Browns right now.

That having been said, you cannot underestimate team president Mike Holmgren’s dedication to turning the Browns from pathetic to competitive. If his history is anything to judge by, Holmgren will not stop there. He has a knack for turning teams around, which is not good news for citizens of The Nation.

Anything that makes Steelers fans nervous is OK with Browns fans, right?

* Browns running back Peyton Hillis still leads Jamaal Charles of the Chiefs in fan voting to make it to the semis in an online vote to pick the cover player for the Madden 2012 video game. Vote here.

* Three men who’ve been mentioned as possible draft choices are from South Carolina, according to the Sporting News: Da’Quan Bowers, A.J. Green and Robert Quinn. What’s in the water there, anyway?

From The Plain Dealer
Mary Kay Cabot expounds Da’Quan Bowers’ knee issues, as we told you yesterday. A league source says that no teams have told the NFL that the pass-rushing dynamo from Clemson will need microfracture surgery on his knee. That’s the same surgery that Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore has been recovering from since last May. Bowers will visit the Browns next week and be examined, but the team can’t work him out because of the lockout.

 

The Cleveland Browns have quite a bit of choices for their choice at number six in the NFL Draft. They were a scrappy, tough team that was unfortunate enough to play in a division with two playoff teams. With both top name quarterbacks off the board, defense is probably the way to go. This is what Scott Howard was thinking as we now reveal his selection on behalf of the Browns.

Da’Quan Bowers, DE, North Carolina

For the Browns there seem to be two pretty well acknowledged needs — a rush end who can fit into their new 4-3 defensive scheme and a wide receiver to pair with second year QB Colt McCoy. If A.J. Green is here at six, then I think that winds up being the pick for Cleveland, but since he went to in-state rival Cincinnati in our mock draft that’s not an option. While I’m sure McCoy will be pushing new head coach Pat Shurmur to reach a little bit for Alabama’s Julio Jones — the pick here is Clemson DE Da’Quan Bowers.

Bowers had a mere 16 sacks in Clemson’s 13 games last season and is basically a monster off the edge. This is a guy who was a projected number one pick when mock drafts started popping up a couple months ago and if not for questions about his recovery from meniscus surgery he’d probably still be right up there. Provided Bowers isn’t damaged goods, the Browns will be thrilled to get to him at the sixth pick to help anchor their new D.

Certainly Julio Jones is a consideration here since McCoy will probably be sending Shurmur desperate late night texts all the way up until draft night and the Browns will also take a hard look at Marcell Darius if he continues to slip (although it’s not a huge need) but Bowers makes sense.

For tomorrow…the San Francisco 49ers and Jess Root will reveal the number seventh pick of the 2011 Draft.

2011 SBN AZ Mock Draft recap:

1- Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, QB, Auburn (Jess Root)

2- Denver Broncos: Von Miller, OLB, Texas A&M (Cory Williams)

3- Buffalo Bills: Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri (Scott Howard)

4- Cincinnati Bengals: AJ Green, WR, Georgia (JR)

5- Arizona Cardinals: Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU (CW)

6- Cleveland Browns: Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson