Training camp so near for Browns, you can almost smell their sweat | Jeff Schudel

Jul. 19—The start of training camp for the Browns is so near, you can almost hear the clashing of shoulder pads and smell the sweat pouring off the players' bodies in the hot July and August sun.

Rookies report to the team complex in Berea on July 22. The veterans report July 26. The first practice, albeit without pads, is scheduled for July 27.

The real fun begins at 2 p.m. July 30. That will be the first practice open to the public and the first time players will be in pads since the final game last season.

Rookie defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey, a fourth-round draft pick from Oklahoma, is the only player on the Browns' roster yet to sign his contract.

At the moment, the Browns do not know how long they might be without quarterback Deshaun Watson when the regular season begins. They and everyone else concerned — including oddsmakers in Las Vegas — are awaiting a ruling from disciplinary officer Sue L. Robinson on an expected suspension for Watson for violating the league's personal conduct policy.

Twenty-four massage therapists sued Watson, alleging sexual misconduct during massage sessions in 2020-21 when he played for the Texans. Watson settled 20 of the cases, but the settlements have no bearing on how Robinson might rule. Once Robinson announces her decision, the NFL and the players' union would have three days to appeal.

The Browns have been down Suspension Road before, though not with the current regime in charge. Wide receiver Josh Gordon was suspended for the first two games of 2013, his second season with the Browns, for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Gordon learned of his suspension June 7, 2013. Significantly, he was allowed to participate in training camp and the preseason with his suspension looming.

It will work the same way for Watson if his situation is resolved before the regular season starts regardless of how many games he might be banished. Watson would be allowed to practice and play in preseason games. The suspension would begin on the Monday before the first regular-season game — Sept. 5.

While the unknown surrounding Watson might seem to create a problem for Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff as to how to divide practice time between Watson and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, you can rest assured knowing Stefanski won't be caught off-guard when a decision on Watson is reached.

Coaches and players are not as obsessed as fans and reporters about Watson's conundrum. Tunnel vision is one of the qualities that makes them successful. Kareem Hunt's answer to a Deshaun Watson question at Hunt's youth football camp at Willoughby South High School last month was a reminder of that attitude.

"We do (talk about the Watson situation), but we're more worried about ourselves," the Browns' running back said. "It's a business, man. That's the biggest thing. You've got to worry about yourself, because if you don't, you might not be here.

"I really don't know too much about the whole (Watson) situation. If he misses (the season), it's a next-man-up mentality. I'm going to be ready to play, and I know the rest of the team is still going to be ready to play. We didn't have Deshaun last year or the years before."

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas are not so unconcerned. There currently is no over-under for how many games the Browns are forecast to win in 2022 because no one knows how many games Watson will be forced to miss.