BEREA, Ohio — Over the years, the Browns have received the same knocks on their NFL team report card, issued annually by players who give grades to different areas of the team, including food and nutrition, training, the locker room and the weight room.
The Browns' weight room has been the common denominator for low grades, with players giving it a D+ in 2023 and a D in 2024. So this offseason, the Browns took action and renovated their fieldhouse.
Now in use by players, coaches and staff, the new weight room sits outside of the fieldhouse, as compared to in the back taking up some of the available space in the enclosed turf facility.
Inside you'll find the typical equipment of any gym. Free weights, ellipticals, treadmills and Smith machines are in no shortage. But in every zone you enter, there's some kind of added technology that sets it above just a hunk of iron.
"It's all custom to what we want [in] our programming and everything," said Browns director of high-performance Shaun Huls. "It has the old school feel with a lot of flare of technology."
On some machines, 3D cameras from Elite Form can track bar speed and power outputs as players get their lifts in. Screens on those machines log that information so that a player can go back and track their workout and monitor any technical flaws they had and correct them immediately.
Other workout equipment is rooted purely in technology. The renovated facility houses several brand new OxeFit machines, AI-powered smart gym and training equipment with touch screen display, robotic digital weight systems, digital form tracking, customized settings for each player and more.
On the second floor, technology comes into play again. Two side-by-side rooms each feature projector screens that are 25-yards wide and create an immersive film experience. Any given play can be brought up and displayed on the projector to allow the players using the space to put them virtually on the field at the time of the play and walk through it.
Another setting of the screens allows trainers and coaches to plug information from the Zebra Technologies player tracking devices in games into their software to create Madden-type game simulations. Any play from the last four years can be plugged in and simulated on the projector, allowing players to work specifically and hands-on through their film-watching sessions.
It's not all football in the new facility, however. A room on the second floor features a golf simulator for those in the organization to use. That space has been popular in the short time it has been available, and perhaps to no one's surprise is very well-liked by the specialists and coaches in particular.
"Not me," head coach Kevin Stefanski joked. "It’s closest to my office. I did not request that I’ve not been in there, I promise. I think the specialists kind of have that room on lockdown right now.”
While getting new equipment and a fresh space to work in is a clear positive, these changes aren't just intended to give the Browns a higher grade on next year's NFLPA report card. The investment into the new weight room and facility upgrades comes with a bigger-picture view.
“In 1999, I was with the Titans, and we had lived in trailers for three years. The team had moved from Houston. I mean, literally double-wide trailers, that was our facility. Locker rooms, meeting rooms, everything else. The week before the regular season, we moved into a brand-new facility and I can’t tell you the emotional lift it gave the players. They felt first class," said defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. "It was really a big boost for us going that year as we made a Super Bowl run. And I think this can do the same thing.
"When it’s all said and done, 100 pounds is 100 pounds. But Shaun Huls did a great job, the designers, all those guys did a great job with making it player friendly, making it where it sort of forces camaraderie. The walkthrough rooms are amazing. I think it can give us a big boost in a lot of different ways. We’re trying to be as efficient teachers as we can. We’re trying to make the best use of our time. We don’t want to waste players’ time. We don’t want to be inefficient. Those walkthrough rooms, that weight room just dials that up a little bit. So, we owe a great thanks to Jimmy and Dee for making that commitment because that was a major commitment. It’s going to make a big impact in the season," Schwartz continued.
