COURTESY OF CLEVELAND BROWNS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
On the importance of establishing himself with a new team before the season:
“I think it is always important to come in and put your best foot forward. That is really what I am trying to do. What I am focusing on is coming out there, putting my best foot forward and doing the best I can each and every day and trying to improve.”
On why he signed with the Browns:
“It was just a feeling I had. I liked the new culture that was coming in with the new management and new coaching staff. The team has a ton of talent. It was a team that I just wanted to be a part of. It was a feeling I had.”
On his role in the defense and if he is comfortable playing in the slot:
“Just play wherever they want me to play – playing inside, playing outside, whatever that may be. Like I said, coming in here, putting my best foot forward, doing whatever they ask me to do and trying to do it to the best of my ability.”
On if the one-year deal brings any added pressure:
“Doing a one-year deal, I believe in myself as a player. I had a lot of injuries early in my career. I want to come in here and be the best player that I can be for the team and for myself and just do the very best that I can. Whatever happens after that happens. I can’t control that. I want to come in here and be the best player I can be for the Cleveland Browns.”
On if joining a new team during the pandemic made him nervous:
“No, I wouldn’t say nervous. It is just what is going on in the world right now. Things happen in life, and you just have to adjust. It was just one of those things where everybody was going through the pandemic at the same time. Coming to the Browns during it was just what it was. It was a pretty smooth transition, and things are going pretty smooth so far.”
On what he knew about QB Baker Mayfield before signing with the Browns and his impressions of Mayfield thus far:
“Before I came here, I knew he was a top pick, a very talented player. I had seen him on film over the course of my career and seen the talent that he has. Once I came out here, seeing him practice and seeing him throw the ball, the same things are there. He is extremely talented. He has that feel for the game at the quarterback position. He can make all the throws. He has this swagger this come with it. I have been very impressed with Baker.”
On if he will primarily play slot corner and his role as a veteran on the defense:
“I am taking a lot of reps at the slot. I am also taking reps outside, as well. Like I said, it is only the second day of training camp so what my role is we will see moving forward. As far as me being a veteran, I feel like I have been in this league for six years now, I have that experience and I want to be able to lead these guys to the best of my ability, just using my experiences and helping guys the way I can. I want to come here and be the best player I can be for the Cleveland Browns most importantly.”
On working through injuries early in his career and how the adversity shaped him:
“It was a lot for me. I never had been hurt in my career at that point. My rookie year, I break my foot. My second year, I re-break the same foot. The next year, MCL. The next year, concussions. I had to go on IR twice. It was hard for me because I have high expectations for myself. It was hard to adjust to what was going on. Through it all, I feel like it made me mentally stronger. It showed me that I am still hungry, and I still believe in myself and what I want to be as a player. It definitely shaped me. I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder. That is very obvious there is a chip on my shoulder and that I just want to be the player that I think I should be. It motivates me every day to continue chasing the dream that I had when I was a little kid.”
On if he has the mindset that people have not seen him at his best yet:
“Yeah, most definitely.”
On the Browns CBs’ potential:
“I think we have great potential. Obviously, the names that you just said, (CBs) Denzel (Ward), Greedy (Williams), T. Mitch (Terrance Mitchell) and myself, I think there are a lot of talented guys that you just named. Every day us coming out in practice, competing and trying to be the best we can be, it will elevate all of our games. I am excited to get to work with these guys and to try and be the best that we can be, for sure.”
On if he still views himself as a starting-caliber CB:
“I believe in myself, and I believe in my talent. Do I see myself as a starter? Yes, but I control what I can control, and that is coming out here and putting my best foot forward every single day. I am not really concerned about what I can’t control, but what I can control is coming out to practice every day, putting my best foot forward and doing the best that I can. Whatever happens after that, happens. I have faith in God and a belief in myself. I want to win. I want to be the best teammate and player for this organization. The rest of the things will just take care of themselves from there.”
On defensive coordinator Joe Woods and the defensive scheme:
“It is a great scheme. He is a great coordinator and a great leader. He has a great feel for the defenses that we are running and really just showing us the details of it, and us understanding the ‘why’ behind everything that we are doing has been very important and very critical to the progress that we have had thus far. I am excited. Today is the first day in pads. We are just instilling that culture and just trying to turn this thing around. This is going to be a process, a day-by-day process.”
On if Woods has asked him to change any techniques:
“Yeah, that is for everybody. Certain ways, coaching techniques and things like that. I think we are all good athletes and all good players, and we can adjust to it.”
On if he came into the NFL with the same quality of being a pro’s pro, given Head Coach Kevin Stefanski gave him that compliment earlier this week:
“I think I came into the league just kind of with those qualities, but like I said, going into my sixth season so all those qualities I think have evolved just as far as my football IQ, my instincts and what I am seeing on pre- and post-snap and all those things that they have evolved over the years, but I definitely pride myself on a step ahead when I am out there on the football field.”
On how dangerous the Browns offense can be:
“Very dangerous. There is talent everywhere you look on the offense when they come out there. The receiver position, tight end position, running back position, quarterback position and offensive line has been very impressive to me this far, and it is just exciting that we just are just getting started. Like I said, every single day, everybody has to come out here, earn their keep and put their best foot forward. We have goals as a team and what we want to be. We have to work for it every single day.”
On how much stress an offense with good, versatile RBs and TEs can put on a defense:
“Like you said, it is a lot of stress. It is a lot of stress. It is a lot of things. You have to be sharper in every aspect of the defense and on every aspect of your game and everybody else’s game. Everybody has to be sharpening tools to be able to go up against an offense like that, but at the end of the day, if you are a good player and you are a good defense, then you think you can go against anybody. It is just a mindset and a competitive kind of way to look at it, but you have to go out there and compete.”
On how competing against the Browns offense every day will help the Browns defense improve:
“Most definitely, it is going to make us a lot better. That is another exciting thing about going against an offense like what we have. Going against them every single day is going to make us all better. By Sundays when the games come around, I have a feeling that we will be very prepared for what we see out there.”
