COURTESY OF CLEVELAND BROWNS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
On the disappointment seeing LB Mack Wilson go down in practice and if he has talked to Wilson since the injury:
“Definitely, I have been in touch with him. I do not know his status or anything. You would have to get that from the coaches. It is definitely disheartening to see a teammate, and for me a brother, go down like that. Hopefully, we will get him back soon.”
On Wilson’s spirits was when they talked:
“He is in good spirits. He is staying positive, and I am on top of him on staying positive.”
On how the Browns LB will respond if Wilson misses significant time:
“We will hope that he does not [miss significant time], but if he does, it is an opportunity for somebody to step up, and someone has to step up. Next man up, it is kind of that saying. Definitely have the young guys that have to step up.”
On how well Wilson was playing before sustaining the injury:
“Doing great. Moving well. Learning the defense well. High hopes. There is no ceiling.”
On the Browns LBs not having a lot of experience and how he can help them as a veteran:
“Just have to keep leading them and steering them in the right direction. With not having the experience of a guy like myself, just have to keep pounding and grinding a day at a time with them and let them know that the little things are not big in the end result.”
On if he feels similar to Wilson that the Browns LBs are taking unjustified criticism from outsiders:
“Me personally, I do not pay attention to the rest of the world so the noise, I do not really hear it and I stay away from it. I focus on the things that I can control and what we can control. As far as my brother’s feelings, I am definitely behind him 100 percent on whichever way or however he feels. That is my stance on that.”
On the ultimate identity of the Browns defense:
“I do not really want to talk too much on end result, what I see or how good things may look on paper or may not look. I just want to work at it a day at a time, execute with these and making sure that everyone is playing hard and executing.”
On if it may be dangerous to try to speculate on a team’s ultimate potential on paper instead of seeing what happens:
“I have been a part of a team that looks real pretty on paper before, and it did not pan out to be what it was expected to be before. I know how that can and how that will lead to going down a path that you do not really want to go down. Just chipping away at it, working a day at a time and just getting better.”
On the Browns defense’s energy in the first two padded practices and if he feels the defense has had the upper hand in team drills:
“I am not one to discern on anyone. I just look at it as earning something. Our offense is doing a great job, and we are doing a great job of giving them the looks that they need and they are doing a great job of giving us the looks that we need going forward.”
On if padded practices have added more energy to the Browns defense:
“The game is played in pads. I think we are all just fired up to have the opportunity to go out and play. It is a privilege for us to go out and play. I think that is what fires us up.”
On the reaction the LB Mack Wilson’s hard tackle of RB Nick Chubb and he felt the need to say something to defensive players after it:
“I spoke to Mack about that. It is a solution that we keep in house. I definitely spoke with him about that, we cleared the air with that and everything is squared away.”
