COURTESY OF CLEVELAND BROWNS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
On working out with RB Kareem Hunt in the offseason and his expectations for sharing the backfield with Hunt this season:
“We worked out sometime in the offseason. I can’t remember when. We were actually here in Ohio. It was in Westlake. We ran on some hill. I can’t tell you where it is, but we ran up and down the hill, got a little strength in, running and conditioning and things like that. I am excited to be back with him for a full season. Last year, it was half a season, but now we get to go at it in every game we play so I am excited about that. I look forward to it.”
On if he is OK with how carries may be distributed this year with Hunt playing a full season:
“Whatever happens, I trust in the coaching staff and I trust in the team. I know they will put us in the best position to win. However that looks, I am fine with it.”
On what he likes about the new offense and how it can help him:
“I think it just starts with the coaches and then it starts with us. No matter what is called, we have to make it work. We all have to buy in. We all have to trust in ourselves and trust in each other and just go out there and play. I am excited about the new offense, about the new coaches, about the new team and the new year. Whatever is called, whatever play he wants to run, we have to go out there, give 100 percent and make it happen.”
On his excitement about the opportunity to be on the field at the same time as Hunt for a full year and how that impacts the team’s gameplans:
“I am sure we will get to that soon, but we have been here for a week or two. We are not really that far into the gameplan and scheming right now, but we should be able to find a way to get us both on the field and both of us doing different things.”
On the wide-zone running scheme:
“We ran that a lot last year, too, so nothing is really different for me. I have been running that since college. I think it will be the same thing we have, just maybe a little bit different scheme and different guys up front touching things up. I have been running outside zone for a long time.”
On if barely missing out on the rushing title last year bothered him this past offseason:
“[It did] not really bother me. Just more motivation. Trying to do it this year. Just working out, as I always do, working hard and running hard. I believe everything happens for a reason, and you just keep working and striving and things will fall into place for you. That is my mindset.”
On challenges he has faced learning the new offense and what he likes most about it:
“For the most part, the coaching staff did a great job of teaching us during the virtual offseason. We got a head start so we got a jump on things. Now, it is just putting it together in person. They did a great job planning and getting us ready for what is happening right now. For the most part, I like that everybody is on the same page. No confusion, things are all in place and we are ready to get out there and get rolling.”
On possibilities when sharing the field with Hunt and Hunt’s versatility:
“It is exciting for sure. Definitely because he can do so many different things. It doesn’t have to be him running the ball. It can be catching it out of the slot, like you said. I think we have a lot of guys on this team and a lot of playmakers, and you can’t go wrong with who has the ball. Pick your poison. The coaches do a great job of dividing it up, even if they don’t have to divide it up. If one guy is our guy, then we can go to him – maybe he has a hot hand this game.”
On his confidence in Browns players following COVID-19 protocols and safety measures when outside of the facility:
“I think we are going to do a great job. (Head) Coach (Kevin) Stefanski has really told us, ‘Do your part. If everybody does their part, we will be OK.’ I think our guys on the team, we understand that. You have old veterans who know better and who have been in the game a while, and you have young rookies who want to make the team so they are going to do everything right. If everybody does our part right, just follow the protocols, the guidelines and things like that, I think we will have a season.”
On his biggest concern related to playing during the pandemic:
“My biggest concern is just one person messing it up for everybody. If one person gets sick, if somebody somehow gets on the field around a lot more guys, he can spread it through that. If everybody does their job, we have tests every morning so I think that wouldn’t happen anyway, but if somehow some guy slipped past the test and all that, then that would worry me.”
On the one part of his game that he worked on most during the offseason and hopes to improve this year:
“I don’t know. I stick to what I always do. I just go home, I work my tail off, workout, lift, grind and do football drills every day. There is not really one thing I try to get better at. I just try to do what I always do but get faster, bigger and stronger.”
On perception that teams with a new staff and scheme this season are at a disadvantage, given changes to the offseason, preseason and training camp:
“I think we do have more veteran coaches, too. Even though they haven’t been here, they have been around the league a while. You definitely feel that when they come to the building with Stefanski. His first time being a head coach, I feel like he has been a head coach for many years. We all trust in him. One of the things that stuck out to us when he came here, he said, ‘You have to embrace the suck.’ That is what we have been doing. Nobody wants to wear a mask all day, nobody wants to take all this time just to go out on the field and play football, but it is where we are. You control what you can control, and that is what we have to do for now. I think him being confident and telling us to embrace it has really led us all to see that this is the new normal for us and we have to get used to it. We want to play football so after this, we will.”
On the differences between Stefanski and his other head coaches:
“He has done a great job. He is very good at communicating, very good at expressing himself and how he feels. He is just a great coach and a great guy, and I am excited to get out there and get to know him more and get to play for him.”
On if he has talked to T Jack Conklin, who said he wants to block for another NFL rushing leader, and his thoughts on the additions the offensive line:
“I haven’t talked to him yet about that or anything, but I know what he has done in the past. He blocked for the rushing title champion last year so hopefully, we can do that again here. I am excited. We added some great additions to the O line, and I look forward to going out there and playing with them.”
On his expectations for QB Baker Mayfield this season:
“Baker looks good. He has come back and is saying all the right things and not saying some things. It is great. We are excited about Baker. I have believed in Baker from Day 1, and nothing has changed my opinion of Baker. I know he is excited to get out there and show the world who he is.”
