NFL Notes: Browns, Cardinals, Vikings

Browns

• Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com mentions that RB Duke Johnson has been lining up as a slot receiver and could replace Andrew Hawkins in that role this season.
• Cabot projects Corey Coleman and Kenny Britt to be the team’s starting receivers with Johnson being the top contender in the slot.
• According to Cabot, Ricardo Louis will also get playing time if he can build on his impressive showing during offseason workouts.

Cardinals

Cardinals WR John Brown said he’s added 12 pounds since last year and feels good at his current weight.

“That’s a lot compared to last year,” Brown said, via ESPN.com. “I feel good with the weight I’ve put on, so I’m ready to go.”

Brown had a cyst on his spine that was drained after the season and began doing a better job of taking care of his body.

“Once I got the cyst removed I was able to put on weight, take care of my body right,” Brown said. “I was doing a lot of lifting and working out, but somehow I maintain the weight.”

Vikings

Vikings QB Sam Bradford tells  Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune that he feels much more confident in the team’s offensive system after spending a year in Minnesota and getting a full offseason.

“Obviously last year was pretty unique, I have never been in that situation, and I don’t think many people have been in that situation,” Bradford said. “But just to be here this offseason, to be able to go through the program, go through the meetings, the installs, really sit down and learn this offense and what we’re trying to do, it’s a much better situation than showing up here however many days, eight or nine, before the first game last year and trying to learn everything on the fly.”

“I think the later we got in the year the better I felt with it,” Bradford said. “Obviously going through the change that we did kind of halfway through the season [the resignation of Norv Turner as offensive coordinator], having worked with [new offensive coordinator] Pat [Shurmur], I think that really helped me just because we have a really good relationship and I felt like we were able to communicate. Towards the end of the year I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on things.”