COURTESY OF CLEVELAND BROWNS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
Opening statement:
“I will start with today’s testing. We still have 12 players that we have not gotten the results from yesterday so they are trickling in. I am telling you that because you may see guys coming out to practice late. You may see some guys that are not out there that we are just awaiting their results or the results may come in the next 20 minutes and you will see everybody out there. We will communicate with you on that. Just wanted to make sure that you guys are aware. We are dealing with that as we speak. With yesterday, obviously, a very unique day. As you all know, we had multiple positive tests come in, and I was one of them. It was a very interesting morning. I will tell you that our organization mobilized immediately, got on top of it and followed the protocols. Ultimately, it was a fire drill, as it has been called, but it was a great reminder that we have to trust our protocols and make sure we are doing everything the right way and prepare as always.”
On his personal experience dealing with the uncertainty of initially presumed positive test results:
“It was not fun. I can laugh about it now, but truly, it was not fun to have that phone call very early in the morning and not get the news that it was potentially an error until later. It is something that I take seriously, and our whole goal with our players and our staff is to keep everybody safe. That certainly was not fun.”
On clarifying that he received test results that allowed him to return to the building, and if the 12 players he referenced are simply waiting to receive their test results from yesterday before returning to the facility:
“Exactly right, yes.”
On if he was able to coach practice yesterday:
“I was not, no. A good dry run for our contingency plans.”
On who ran yesterday’s practice and how he stayed involved:
“I was constantly on the phone all day, obviously, with everybody here. (Defensive coordinator) Joe Woods ran the practice yesterday and did a great job. Having (Chief of Staff) Callie (Brownson) here, obviously, she runs the show. Everything went off without a hitch. I was able to watch 7-on-7 on my iPad about 10 minutes after it ended. Very unique. It is kind of like a bad dream when you know a practice is going on and you are not there. It felt pretty strange.”
On the Browns running a two-minute drill in walkthrough yesterday:
“We are getting through our install so that is something that we are installing today. It is also something that we are revisiting with these installs. This is not the first time players are hearing this. We will have some two-minute situations today, and we will have some tomorrow. Really, once it is in, that is when we start to repeat those periods throughout training camp.”
On the Browns signing LB Malcolm Smith:
“Excited to add a player of Malcolm’s caliber and character. Really excited with his experience and his experience winning. There is a scheme fit here. We have multiple coaches on staff that have coached Malcolm. Excited to add him to the mix.”
On LB Mack Wilson’s status:
“I do not have an update on Mack. Hopefully, we will have one soon, though.”
On how long it took to learn yesterday that his initially presumed positive test result yesterday was not necessarily accurate:
“I think it was four hours. I think the call came in and around 4 a.m. and then [learned more] just before 9 a.m.”
On how dangerous it could be during the course of the season if multiple players on a team test positive for COVID-19 on Sunday morning and it potentially be due to an error:
“Yeah, I trust that we have the people involved that can get this thing right. I will just continue to control what I can control.”
On where he was located during the four hours of uncertainly before learning more about a potential error with the test results:
“I was at home, and then I quickly left home and got in the car. I figured that would be a good idea. I came down to the condo that I was staying at near work, where it was empty, and I figured I could isolate there.”
On what happens if something similar to yesterday occurs on a Friday or Saturday before a game:
“We are just going to follow the protocols. We got a dry run of it yesterday, and we will continue just to follow that. We have these contingency plans. That is why we laid them out. We will be prepared.”
On his reference 12 players awaiting test results from yesterday before they can join practice and if that is the total number of players who tested positive yesterday:
“[No]. The 12 players, that is the amount of guys that had not been cleared as of five minutes ago to enter the building today. That is not from myself and the group from yesterday.”
On the total number of Browns players, coaches and staff who were initially presumed to test positive yesterday:
“I will just tell you it was multiple.”
On what it was like waiting four hours after receiving the initial call he was initially presumed to test positive and if there was a sense of relief when learning what occurred with the tests:
“There was [a sense of relief]. Again, we have worked so hard in this building and on this team and what this organization has done to keep our players and coaches safe. When something like that happens, you immediately mobilize and make sure that we do everything in our power to continue to keep people safe. We jumped on the horn, a lot of phone calls, making sure that we were putting the protocols in place. The good news is that there is a level of preparedness that we have here.”
On what has he learned about WR Odell Beckham Jr. since the start of training camp:
“I do not know what I have learned necessarily. We spend a lot of time together out on the field. I finally have gotten to see up close and personal his physical talent. That has been great to get him out here on the grass through individual drills, routes on air and 7-on-7. You just see the guy’s skillset is very legit.”
On if he could tell Beckham was not 100 percent healthy when reviewing last year’s film:
“Honestly, I cannot remember the tape from last year. That was a long time ago.”
On how scary it was to receive the news about the initial presumed positive test while being around his family and his initial concern that he may have potentially exposed his family to the virus:
“Yeah, again, not fun, but it just reinforces my feelings – I told the team this – our mentality and my mentality is, No. 1, you do not want to get this, and No 2, you do not want to give it to anybody. That is why we are so strict about the protocols. That is why we follow everything to a T. That is why we act in an abundance of caution because we are trying to take care of each other – players, coaches, staff and their families.”
