Kenny Pickett returns to practice, won't participate in team drills

BEREA — Kenny Pickett never left the quarterback competition even when he wasn't on the field.But Pickett, 27, cleared a hurdle Friday in his quest to win the starting job, returning to practice after missing three days. He was limited to individual drills and sat out team drills as he recovers from an injured hamstring sustained Saturday.Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger making eye-opening plays in camp"He continues to progress," coach Kevin Stefanski said before practice. "Obviously disappointed that he's not full go, but he's very much involved in everything we're doing."Stefanski said it was too early to say if Pickett will be cleared to participate in team drills Wednesday for a joint practice vs. the Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina.Pickett and Joe Flacco, 40, are the favorites to win the starting job for Week 1 vs. the Bengals. It's a close competition, with rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders the other candidates. They've gotten increased reps in Pickett's absence.Quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave said Pickett was "stellar" in the early days of camp.Greg Newsome II healthy and off to strong start in pivotal year, ready to embrace larger role"I hate it for Kenny because he played really well the two or three days before he got hurt," owner Jimmy Haslam said Tuesday. "And there's nobody that wants to be part of the team more than Kenny. He's working hard and I know he'll get back quickly."Pickett has gone 15-10 as a starter in three years in the NFL. Stefanski said the experience should help him quickly make up for missed time."He's a player that's had a good amount of NFL game exposure," he said. "He's had a lot of reps going back through the spring and what we've gotten accomplished so far through training camp. So, yeah, of course, you don't want anybody to be missing action due to any injury or that type of thing, but he's done a nice job of staying very much engaged."Training Camp Log, Day 7: Shedeur Sanders takes first reps against No. 1 defenseThe post Kenny Pickett returns to practice, won't participate in team drills first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.