Donovan, 66, made the announcement May 31 on the Channel 3 news show “Front Row.”

“There is a story to the new look and hairstyle that I’m sporting here tonight,” Donovan said. “And I think tonight we’re going to take a couple of moments here to tell you the story behind the story behind the look. So we’ll start this way. It was about a year and a half ago that I noticed that something was amiss with my health.

“And if you’ve known me and if you’ve followed me through the years here at Channel 3 and with the Cleveland Browns, you know that I’ve had a long battle with leukemia to the point where I had a bone marrow transplant about 11 and a half years ago. Well, my concerns were confirmed, and by that I mean it was told to me that I had had a relapse of leukemia.

“So for the last year and a half, I have been getting treatment for that with various forms of chemotherapy — some with intravenous and others with oral chemo drugs. And for the most part, those worked pretty well. But things change and things have changed for me in my case. And so we’re going to have to go with a different treatment plan, a more aggressive treatment plan, which has already started. And I’m underway with that.

“That’s the badge of honor that you get in chemotherapy. You begin to lose your hair. So I’m underway with that. This is going to be kind of a long and winding road through this treatment plan because it is going to be pretty aggressive. But the goal is to get better, to get healthy, to move on. I know the deal. I’ve done it before and I plan to do it once again.”

Donovan thanked his wife, Cheryl, and his daughter, Megan, for their support. He thanked his colleagues at Channel 3, the Browns, and viewers plus listeners for their support and prayers, as well. He said he plans to continue working when his health allows.

“Now, as far as my availability through all of this, I will be here at Channel 3 and on the radio as much as I can be,” he said. “But there are going to be periods of time where I might not be with you. That might be for a day, it might be for a longer period of time. We’ll just have to see how the treatment plan goes and see how I react to it all this,”

The Browns issued a statement of support after Donovan went public with his condition.

“Our thoughts and the thoughts of the entire organization are with Jim and his family right now in this difficult time,” the statement from team owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said. “There is no better representative of the Cleveland Browns. He is as tough as they come and proved as much in his previous battle.

“We’re all behind Jim and will do everything we can to support him. We look forward to him winning this fight, being around the team and continuing to call our games during the season.”

Jeff Phelps from WKRK-FM 92.3 The Fan filled in for Donovan in the past when health issues made Donovan unable to do Browns play-by-play.

The Browns signed Goodwin, 32, as a free agent in mid-April because the offense lacked a wide receiver that could streak past defenders to catch deep passes from Deshaun Watson. His speed was on full display during a padless OTA session May 31.

Goodwin set the national high school record for the long jump in 2009 when he leaped 26 feet, 10 inches as part of the Rowlett (Texas) team while participating in the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The record still belongs to him. Goodwin started running when he was seven years old and hasn’t stopped.

Deshaun Watson goes deep to Marquise Goodwin during spring practice Wednesday in Berea. #Browns pic.twitter.com/4USvwuUEU7

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) May 31, 2023

“I have a sister (Deja) who has never walked a day in her life,” Goodwin said after practice. “She was born with cerebral palsy. I am 10 months older than she is and that’s my motivation. I’d be doing her a disservice if I were to not go and maximize my sport ability.

“If I’m not out-running and if I’m not out-jumping, if I’m not out catching footballs and I’m just sitting around being lazy or complaining, then I’m doing her a disservice.”

Goodwin said he grew up in an impoverished neighborhood in Texas. He began racing people for money — some were adults — when he was seven years old. He began playing organized sports when he was nine. He told of a life-changing experience when he was in middle school.

Marquise Goodwin says #Browns gifted quarterback Deshaun Watson has “God’s arm.” He attributes his own speed to aging “like fine wine.” pic.twitter.com/4Bh9rjB82h

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) May 31, 2023

“I woke up in the middle of the night, probably 3:30, 4 in the morning and I just hear somebody in the room and I go around the corner,” Goodwin said, “I’m listening and my sister’s like, ‘God, just please, please.’ And I just hear her saying, ‘Please, please.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ She’s like, ‘Please, just let me feel what it feels like to walk. I just want my feet to touch the ground.’

“You hear that, you ain’t going to be motivated? Come on.

“When I got drafted by the Bills, my third year, she came and lived with me. So did my brother (Rickey). My brother helped take care of her and one day I picked her up and I was showing her a picture on my phone. I’m like, ‘Who is this?’ She was like, ‘That’s mama.’ And I’m like, ‘No, who is this?’

“It was a picture of her. She didn’t know. And I’m like, ‘How do you not know who this is?’ And she’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ So she was like, ‘I don’t see myself.’ She doesn’t see herself in the mirror. She can’t walk. I bought a big mirror, put it up and I picked her up and I’m just weeping. I’m bawling because my sister is, at the time, like 25 and had never seen herself in the mirror.”

Players are not in pads during OTAs and quarterbacks are not throwing in the face of a pass rush. Myles Garrett doesn’t even bother showing up to these volunteer sessions. Still, Godwin opened eyes early in the May 31 session when he ran past the secondary and hauled in a pass from Watson that covered 50 or 60 yards. Toward the end of practice he made a fingertip catch near the back of the end zone. An official on the spot might have called it incomplete because it was debatable whether he got both feet down in the end zone with a firm grasp of the ball. But when asked about the play during his interview, Goodwin smiled and raised his arms to indicate touchdown.

“I think about Marquise Goodwin finally getting around Deshaun and running some routes — there are some guys that you really have to rhythm up,” head coach Kevin Stefaski said. “You have to understand how those guys run their routes. Quarterbacks have to understand how they come in and out of breaks. So all of the work that we’re doing, I believe it all adds up.”

Goodwin, 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, played four seasons with the Bills, three with the 49ers, one with the Bears and one with the Seahawks. He has 187 career catches for 3,023 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Watson would love to have DeAndre Hopkins in his huddle this season.

The Cardinals on May 26 released Hopkins, a 6-foot-1 wide receiver with 71 career touchdown catches over 10 seasons. He caught 31 of those touchdown passes from 2017-19 when he and Watson were teammates on the Texans. He caught 315 passes for 4,115 yards in that three-year span.

Deshaun Watson most definitely would like the #Browns to add free agent DeAndre Hopkins to their stable of wide receivers. pic.twitter.com/4LUdfMDJBZ

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) May 30, 2023

The Texans traded Hopkins to the Cardinals in 2020. Injuries and a six-game suspension for using PEDs caused Hopkins to miss 15 of Arizona’s 26 most recent games.

The Cardinals tried unsuccessfully to trade Hopkins this offseason. He turns 31 next week, and though he was limited to nine games in 2022, he still caught 64 passes for 717 yards and three touchdowns.

“He’s always been a brother of mine since I was coming out of high school,” Watson said. “Our connection, our relationship has always been great, and I know there’s a lot of things swirling around in the media about him possibly coming to Cleveland.

“For me, my answer to that is of course we would love to have him. He knows that we had a lot of connections, but that’s kind of out of my range of coordinating things. So all I can do is make a call and see what happens, and let A.B. (General Manager  Andrew Berry) do the rest.”

Watson said he has not appealed directly to Berry to sign Hopkins. The five-time Pro Bowl receiver has been linked to the Chiefs, Cowboys and Bills.

Fitting Hopkins into the Browns’ already crowded wide receiver room would be a tricky assignment for Coach Kevin Stafanski. Amari Cooper plus Donovan Peoples-Jones are back from last year. The Browns signed Marquise Goodwin in free agency, traded for Elijah Moore and drafted Cedric Tillman. David Bell and Anthony Schwartz are still on the roster.

“I really, really like our wide receiver room,” Stefanski said. “I love the guys that are in there. Andrew and his crew are always looking at every avenue and that type of thing, so I won’t comment specifically on the player other than to say I really like our roster.”

Moments later, Stefanski dismissed the notion that the Browns have too many receivers.

“Probably not,” he said. “I don’t think you have too many of anything, honestly. Coach Zimmer (former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer) used to say, ‘You can’t have enough corners,’ so you always want as many good players (as possible), but it’s got to be the right fit and all those types of things.”

Watson appears much more relaxed than he was a year ago. Last year at this time, he knew he would be suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy in connection to two-dozen massage therapists who accused him of sexual misconduct. He and the Browns learned simultaneously Aug. 18 that the suspension would be for 11 games. Plus, Watson was still getting comfortable with new teammates in a new city where fans were divided about the wisdom of trading six draft picks for a player facing the accusations Watson faced.

“I feel a lot better,” Watson said. “I think you guys (reporters) can see it, too, in just the way I’m speaking, the way I kind of react with other people around here.

“Last year was a weird situation where everything was new and a lot going on, but having a fresh start, having a year behind me and being able to be around people that support me and love me for who I am is definitely great.”

Watson and the rest of the Browns will be back on the practice fields May 31 in Berea when Organized Team Activities resume.

Clowney, you might recall, registered nine sacks on a one-year deal in 2021 and then signed another one-year contract in 2022 to bookend Myles Garrett at end on the defensive line. With one game to play in the 2022 season, Clowney revealed he refused to play on first and second down in a Week 7 game against the Ravens.

Clowney explained getting only two sacks last season by saying the defensive schemes last year favored Garrett because the Browns are “trying to get somebody into the Hall of Fame when all that matters is winning” — weird since Garrett is double-teamed on almost every pass rush.

Smith has shown none of that in his brief time with the Browns, although it should be noted he became unhappy with the Vikings one year after signing a three-year contract with Minnesota in March 2022. The Browns traded a fifth-round draft pick in 2024 and a fifth-round pick in 2025 to the Vikings on May 16 for Smith plus a sixth-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick in 2025.

“Za’Darius has been awesome, just having him in the building,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said after an OTA practice May 24. “He’s a ball of energy. He’s great around our players, our young players. He practices hard. He does a great job out here. When he’s in the building, in the weight room and the meeting rooms, on the field, he brings some juice to what we’re doing.”

Smith signed a four-year contract with the Packers in 2019 after four seasons with the Ravens. He had 13.5 sacks in 2019 and 12.5 in 2020. A back injury limited him to one game in 2021. The Packers released him with one year left on his contract.

Smith parlayed the 26 sacks in 2019 and 2020 into a three-year $42 million contract with the Vikings. He made the investment look like a good one with 8.5 sacks through his first seven games last year, but a knee injury suffered in a Week 10 game with the Bills limited him to a half sack the rest of the way.

Despite signing the contract with Minnesota, Smith less than a year later wanted a do-over. The Vikings wouldn’t satisfy him, so the Browns got him for a bargain price.

“(My contract) wasn’t set up right,” Smith said after practice May 24. “Going through Green Bay my last year, I had the (back) injury and a lot of teams started to say this and that about Z, but it wasn’t about that. I’m always a team guy. You can call any player from any facility that I’ve been in and ask them about who Z really is. But a lot of people make stories up and it just didn’t work out.”

Smith does have a reputation of being a team guy, but he is also a Za’Darius Smith guy. He played with the knee injury last year when perhaps he should not have because of the way his contract was worded after playing only one game for Green Bay in 2021 because of the back injury.

“I had a chance to rest,” he said. “I couldn’t rest last year, because every game I think I was making like $200,000 just to dress out. So you would dress out, too, right?”

Smith totaled 27 tackles in eight games before the knee injury and 15 in seven games afterward. Five of them were made in one game (vs. the Colts on Dec. 17).

Smith’s hang up last year wasn’t that he wanted more money than the original contract called for; he didn’t like the way it was structured.

“It was the guaranteed part,” Smith said. “Only the first year was guaranteed. So I mean now I’m basically in the same situation, but it’s OK now because I can get a chance to go into free agency next year.”

Smith, 30, signed a one-year, $11.25 million with the Browns after the trade.

The teams Smith has played for made the playoffs each of the last five years. The Vikings were NFC North champions in 2022. He says the Browns can do the same in Cleveland in 2023.

“That’s where it starts,” Smith said. “I feel like if you set goals, you have to start from there. If you don’t win the division, it’s really not a possibility of going to the Super Bowl. I’m not just going to say it like that, but that’s something that we need to focus on. A lot of guys don’t focus on that. They just talk about the Super Bowl, but the main goal is to win the division first.”

The Browns haven’t been division champions since they won the AFC Central in 1989.

• The Browns have surprised us before — trading six draft picks for Deshaun Watson, for example — but I don’t see them signing free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, even though Hopkins would easily move in as the No. 2 wide receiver behind Amari Cooper or supplant Cooper as No. 1.

The Arizona Cardinals released Hopkins on May 26. He caught 64 passes for 717 yards and three touchdowns with them last year. He played three seasons with Watson in Houston (2017-19) and caught 315 passes for 4,115 yards and 31 touchdowns.

The Chiefs, Bills, Cowboys, 49ers, Chargers and Lions are tantalizing destination possibilities for Hopkins.

I didn’t know that

… until I read my Snapple bottle cap.

Ancient Romans thought strawberries could cure bad breath and constant fainting. … Squids can have eyes the size of a volleyball. … At the deepest point of the ocean, the water pressure is the equivalent of 50 jumbo jets piled on top of you, … Birds can sleep with one eye open. … Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. … Hens do not need a rooster to lay an egg.

Thornhill used free agency to sign a three-year contract with the Browns in March after playing four seasons with the Chiefs. Those Kansas City teams won the AFC West all four years, were 52-14 over the span and won two Super Bowls.

The Browns haven’t won a division title since 1989 when they were in the AFC Central. The Chiefs won as many playoff games last season (three) as the Browns have in the last 34 years combined.

“They brought me in here to win,” says #Browns new starting safety Juan Thornhill said after practice Wednesday after OTAs. pic.twitter.com/izWsRebMUZ

— Jeff Schudel (@jsproinsider) May 24, 2023

Thornhill scrolled through Twitter upon joining his new team and discovered Browns fans, scarred by the past, are loyal but skeptical. He wants to turn frowns upside down.

“My tweets aren’t really anything negative,” Thornhill said May 24 after OTA  practice in Berea. “In Kansas City, those fans there, I wouldn’t say they were too cocky. They were just like, ‘We’re going to win this week.’ And the players can feel that. When you walk into the stadium, you know that you’re going to win and everyone is behind you.

“You don’t want to be walking around with fans saying, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to win or not. I hope we win this year.’ We don’t want to see that as a team. We want those guys to be behind us, pushing us every day. Once you have your fans backing you up, they make us want to play harder for you, as fans.”

Thornhill is a key part of the defensive overhaul made in the offseason, as is the addition of defensive ends Za’Darius Smith and Obo Okoronkwo, defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, signing safety Rodney McLeod and drafting defensive tackle Siaki Aki. Thornhill is the only one in the group that can boast about being a two-time Super Bowl champion.

PHOTOS: Browns organized team activities, May 24, 2023

“They brought me here to win,” Thornhill said. “They brought in a great guy to help go get the football, get turnovers, get the ball back to Deshaun (Watson) and the offense. So that's what they brought me here for, just to lock up any receiver that I'm going against."

Hill wore No. 22 in Kansas City. That number already belongs to safety Grant Delpit. Hill said he doesn’t like the concept of paying a player for a jersey number, so he chose to wear No. 1 instead, and in a play on words referred to himself as “the Chosen Juan” instead of “the Chosen One.”

Thornhill intercepted three passes with the Chiefs last year and has eight career picks. He will be replacing John Johnson as the starting free safety. The Browns need strong leadership at the back end of the defense after confusion in the secondary led to blown coverages and touchdown passes being thrown over the heads of cornerbacks.

“Juan brings good experience in playing some big football games and playing and performing at a high level,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said after practice. “So there's great experience there. I think he's very cerebral at that position. He's done a nice job."

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz at times will use a 4-2-5 scheme with four defensive linemen, two linebackers and Thornhill, Delpit and Macleod along with cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome.

Kevin Stefanski pays heartfelt tribute to Browns legend Jim Brown

Stefanski’s message went far, far beyond the trite 10-second “thoughts and prayers” remarks often uttered on such occasions.

“I want to start with my very sincere condolences to Monique, to the entire Brown family, to all of the friends and family and fans of Jim Brown,” he said. “As you all know, we lost somebody very important to our franchise, to our league, to our society. The impact that he had was immeasurable.

“I’m sure there are people that knew Jim as a player, as a friend, much better than I did. So I can’t add a ton to that. But my brief interactions with him are something I’ll never forget, just talking to him the first day I got hired.

PHOTOS: Browns organized team activities, May 24, 2023

"I got on the phone with him, which was a thrill. I was able to meet Jim over the years a couple of times, and just a mountain of a man in many ways. We lost a very big part of our family. There will be time over the next few days, weeks, months, years to memorialize Jim. And we'll let you know what the plans are as we keep moving forward. But obviously, I just want Monique and her family to know that we're thinking about them. And that's something that I know our players and coaches and staff here are constantly thinking about."

Stefanski grew up in Philadelphia. His father, Ed Stefanski, is a senior advisor with the Detroit Pistons. Kevin called his father soon after the initial phone call with Brown. It was like, "Guess who I just talked to?"

"My dad grew up in Philadelphia, but he was a huge Jim Brown fan, and that's not uncommon for a lot of people growing up at that age (69)," Stefanski said. "I don't care where you were growing up. You became a Browns fan. You became a Jim Brown fan early on in your life. So for my dad, he loved Wilt Chamberlain and he Jim loved Jim Brown.

"So, for me, after I hung up the phone with Jim, I very quickly called my dad, and he couldn't believe it. And then just having (Brown) in town, I think it was a couple of years ago, just spending some time with him, I mean, just unbelievable what he's been through in his life, and we educated our players on that last year. We took them down to the Hall of Fame (in Canton) and we watched "Jim Brown a Football Life." It's my job to continue to educate our guys on what he's meant to our franchise, to our league. You stand on the shoulders of giants, and that's Jim Brown."

Jim Brown, the Browns’ all-time leading rusher and holder of numerous other franchise records, passed away May 18 at age 87. Exactly 60 years earlier, Ernie Davis, the first pick of the 1962 draft and with the Browns for a very brief time, died from leukemia on May 18, 1963. Davis was born in New Salem, Pennsylvania about 21 months after Brown was born on St. Simons Island in Georgia.

Paul Brown was the coach and general manager of the Browns since their inception in 1946 until he was fired in January 1963. He made decisions on trades and draft picks without consulting the team’s original owner, Mickey McBride, and continued that practice when McBride sold the team to a group of Cleveland businessmen for $600,000 in 1953. Art Modell bought the Browns in 1961. He had no plans of being a silent owner.

The Browns drafted Jim Brown from Syracuse sixth overall in the 1957 draft (Brown was drafted on Nov. 26, 1956). Davis played at Syracuse from 1959-61. Brown wore “44” at Syracuse, and so did Davis. Davis in 1961 became the first Black player to win the Heisman trophy.

The Washington Redskins had the first pick in the 1962 draft. The Redskins’ owner, George Preston Marshall, had the reputation of being a racist. The Redskins were the last team to integrate. The only reason he finally did so was because he was pressured by the administration of President John F. Kennedy to sign a Black player or face eviction from D.C. Stadium, which was city-owned.

The Redskins used the first pick in 1962 on Davis. The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League drafted Davis fourth overall two days before the NFL held its draft.

Davis refused to play for the Redskins because of Marshall’s racist views. Davis demanded a trade. He had leverage because if the Redskins refused he could sign with the Bills and the Redskins would be left with nothing.

That’s where Paul Brown stepped into the picture. John Brown, a teammate of Davis’ at Syracuse, was drafted by the Browns in 1961. That meant Davis already had a friend with the Browns, plus Davis had respect for Jim Brown.

Without consulting Modell, Paul Brown traded flanker/running back Bobby Mitchell and running back Leroy Jackson, selected by the Browns with the 11th pick in the first round of the 1962 draft, to the Redskins for Davis’ draft rights. That same year the Browns drafted wide receiver/punter Gary Collins fourth in the first round.

Mitchell played four seasons with the Browns. His best year in Cleveland was 1960 when he rushed 111 times for 506 yards and five touchdowns and caught 45 passes for 612 yards and six touchdowns. Mitchell blossomed with the Redskins, posting 1,384 receiving yards and 1,436 receiving yards in back-to-back seasons.

A backfield of Davis and Jim Brown could have made the Browns the scourge of the NFL again, just as they were from 1950-55 when Otto Graham was the quarterback and Marion Motley (1950-53) was the running back.

But the Brown-Davis duo never played even one regular season snap together. Davis was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia in the summer of 1962. He was allowed to practice during training camp without contact and played in just one preseason game. He was gone by the following May.

The Browns retired Davis’ “45.” Ernie Green, drafted in the fourth round in 1962, became Jim Brown’s running mate.

Modell fired Paul Brown in 1963. A year later, the Browns drafted Leroy Kelly and that year won Cleveland’s most recent NFL championship.

Jim Brown retired after the 1965 season. He went out being named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. Kelly played 10 seasons, all with the Browns, in a Hall of Fame career.

The NFL draft was much different back then compared to the three-day spectacle of today. The first four rounds of the 1957 draft were held with three games left in the 1956 regular season. About a month later, the draft concluded with 26 more rounds.

The Browns and Steelers were 3-6 after games played Nov. 25, 1956. The draft was the next day. Since the rivals shared the same record, their position in the draft was determined by a coin flip. Which team called heads or tails and how the coin landed has been lost to history. Be that as it may, Pittsburgh won the coin toss and the privilege of drafting fifth. The Browns had to settle for the sixth pick.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, unknowingly, did the Browns a solid, and because they did the Browns were able to draft running back Jim Brown from Syracuse. Brown — considered the greatest player in Browns history and one of the greatest in the entire history of the NFL — passed away on May 18 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87.

Quarterback Otto Graham retired after the 1955 season with the impeccable record of taking the Browns to 10 straight championship games — four in the AAFC and six in the NFL. The Browns won the AAFC championship every year from 1946 to 1949 and three more in the NFL — 1950, 1954 and 1955 — with Graham at the helm.

Tom O’Connell, Vito Parilli and George Ratterman played quarterback for the Browns in 1956. The team finished 5-7 and for the first time under Coach Paul Brown, the Browns missed the playoffs.

Paul Brown needed a better quarterback. He had his sights on Len Dawson from Purdue with the sixth pick before the draft started, but the Steelers used the fifth pick on Dawson. The Browns drafted Jim Brown with the next pick and then selected quarterback Milt Plum from Penn State with the fourth pick in the second round.

Dawson is in the Hall of Fame, but not because of how he played for the Steelers. He was with Pittsburgh three seasons and started only one game.

A little more than three years after the Browns missed out on Dawson in the draft, the Steelers traded Dawson and wide receiver Gern Nagler to Cleveland on Jan. 1, 1960, for running back Preston Carpenter and safety Lowe Wren.

Plum, in his fourth season by 1960, easily beat out Dawson for the Browns’ starting job. Plum made the Pro Bowl that year and led the NFL with a 60.4 percent completion percentage (151 of 250 passing). In fact, Plum led the league in completion percentage in 1959 and 1961 as well.

The Browns released Dawson after the 1961 season. He completed 15 of 28 passes for 108 yards with one touchdown pass and three interceptions during his time with the Browns.

Dawson in 1962 signed with the Dallas Texans in the American Football League. The Texans head coach, Hank Stram, was an assistant coach at Purdue when Dawson played for the Boilermakers. Dawson’s career took off under Stram. A year later, the Texans relocated and became the Kansas City Chiefs.

Meanwhile, Jim Brown led the NFL in rushing as a rookie in 1957 with 942 yards in a 12-game season. He went on to lead the league in rushing seven more times in the final eight years of his career. He was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1957, 1958 and 1965.

Brown played in 118 games, all with the Browns, and averaged  104.3 yards per game. He is the only player in NFL history to average more than 100 yards a game.

All in all, an excellent return for losing a coin flip.