COURTESY OF CLEVELAND BROWNS MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
On how he feels, how close he is to 100 percent and at what point will he not be constrained at all during practice:
“I feel really good. I feel good. We have put together a great plan that is going to gradually work me back into normal practice schedule and normal everything. As of now, we have a good plan going forward, and I am excited.”
On if he will practice today and during the first padded practice on Monday:
“Like I said, it is a gradual ramp up. I have been practicing. I have been out there. I have been doing individual and things like that. As we move more toward team periods, offense versus defense, those will be more of the periods I work into a little bit slower, but that is also something that is the next step for my transition in being 100 percent.”
On his impressions of QB Baker Mayfield and what it means to have Mayfield come in fit, ready to go and his mindset:
“It means everything. He is the leader of our team. He will continue to be the leader of our team. His attitude towards this season is at a heightened level. It is fun to see him out here. It is fun to see him doing the things he loves with a smile on his face and making plays already. It is good to have him in the building and working with him.”
On how challenging the year has been for him with rehab and trying to get back to where he needs to be, in addition to other challenges this year:
“It has been very difficult. It has been very difficult being that this is my first major surgery ever and quarantine hits and everybody is stuck in the house for a month, two months before I could actually get back to someone getting their hands on me as far as doctors and the treatment that I needed. It was very difficult. A lot more went into it being more than just a physical thing, also mental. I am here now. I am at a stage where I am very close. I am so close to being where I know I can be in order to be able to go out there and help this team.”
On launching the Jarvis Landry Building Winners Foundation and his statement that it was part of him reevaluating his role and his role in the communities that shaped him:
“I think reevaluating it to me looks more like being present – being present, being in those neighborhoods, being in neighborhoods back home, being in neighborhoods in Cleveland, being in neighborhoods, as well, in Miami where I played prior to being here in Cleveland – and not just feeling like by giving school supplies away or having food drives and things like that are enough. Obviously, that is something that is a need in the areas that I have played a part in, but I think just being present and making sure that I am there, making sure that my face is seen and making sure I am more accessible to the public.”
On how different it feels in the building this year and how strange it will be without fans at training camp:
“It is the new norm. For us, we are not really paying attention to it. There are a lot of logistics going on from getting into the building to the things that you have to do as far as protocols and things like that. For us, the team has done an amazing job, and for us, every guy has done an amazing job of just abiding by that. Having the opportunity to come out here and step on the field and practice is something that we have been waiting a long time to do. We missed OTAs so we have an opportunity now to be able to come out here, and that is the fun part of it all.”
On how different he expects WR Odell Beckham Jr. and him to play this year after playing with injuries last season that required surgery this offseason:
“For us, it is an ongoing process. Staying healthy in this league is really hard to do for anybody. I think for us, it is an ongoing process to stay healthy. The more we can do that and have our attention and focus on being healthy, the more plays we can go out there and eventually make. It will come with being healthy and getting opportunities.”
On how Beckham and QB Baker Mayfield look early in training camp:
“Both of those guys look great. It is an ongoing process in this league of trying to stay healthy and trying to remain healthy. It is really tough to do. Both of those guys have been staying on top of the little things that I know they have bene working on in the offseason just from communicating back and forth. They have still been working on those things inside the building. That is going to allow them to be out there on the field playing as freely and as healthy as possible. I am excited to see what they are going to bring and what they are going to do, and do my part to help them.”
On how to keep playmakers happy when the team is divvying up touches:
“In reality, we just do what it takes to win, whether the ball is in the air or the ball is on the ground. There is nothing like having options, and some teams do not have as many as we do. We understand that, but we also understand that having as many options as we do have, if you look at last year’s season, it only got us what? Six games winning. We have to find a way to put it together as players and play together, play for each other, no matter who is getting the ball, no matter who is not getting the ball, and create this unselfish system that we will need to win. Put the pieces together at the right times. I am excited to see what this year brings.”
On how the team can create an unselfish system, given playmakers always want the ball:
“That is the beauty of it. You have guys that are chomping at the bit in a sense for an opportunity or for a chance. I think we all have to realize as players that one man can’t win the game, either. It is going to come down to other guys making plays and trusting that those guys are going to make plays and trusting that if the ball goes that way, then that is where it is supposed to go. For us, regardless of if that is an easy thing to handle or a hard thing to handle, if we want to win games and we want to be successful, we are going to have to have that type of attitude and mentality. It is just that simple. There is only one football.”
On if he feels Beckham has ‘bought in more’ than at the start of last season following the trade:
“He is continuing to grow. He is continuing to grow each and every day, each and every week. That is something that being here and being around the guys over time that gives you. You begin to get comfortable. You begin to be where your feet are. I think that he is really making this place home and accepting that. That is something that, I know for me personally, I am happy that he is here and hopefully can continue to be here for the rest of his career.”
On ow Stefanski has been like now that they can be together in person:
“He has been cool. Everything that he has been on the Zoom meetings, he hasn’t changes since guys have gotten into the building. Again, one thing that you talk to any player around the league that they want from the guy that is calling the shots is honesty, communication and trust – somebody that you can trust. I think he has earned the trust of a lot of guys, this whole team, this whole building and this whole staff. I am excited to see where we go from here.”
On if there is any concern that there will be hiccups once games start with a first-year head coach:
“Even if you have been coaching for 20 years, there are going to be hiccups. That is just something that comes with the game. That is the biggest thing, like I said, is just the trust factor and the communication factor. I really respect him because he does not hold anything back. Anything that he has on his mind I feel like needs to be said or addressed, he will, even if he makes a mistake. That is something that every man when he can look in the mirror and call out his flaws, as well, is something that is important.”
On if the Browns can be the ‘surprise team’ this year, given the team was a popular pick to be successful last season:
“I don’t know about that. I feel like everybody in the NFL understands that it is hard to win in the NFL no matter how much talent you have. I don’t want to refer to last year now that we have passed that. At the end of the day, I feel like it is about us buying in. It is not about what the expectations of anybody outside of this building has for us. It is for us as a Cleveland Brown team as a club to figure out what that is going to be, who we are going to be, what our identity is going to be and how people will address us. That is something that we have to take to heart and go out there and work on that practice field each and every day to go out there and prove it on Sunday.”
On if it was easy or hard to get last season out of his mind:
“It was easy. When you lose, it is cornerback mentality from that point on. Last year is in the past.”
On his thoughts on Mayfield saying he would kneel for the national anthem:
“Obviously, everybody hopefully recognizes the problem and understands that there is a problem that is going on. From a professional athlete standpoint, we understand our platform, and being able to use that on the biggest stage is something that can continue to keep conversations going, continue to raise awareness and continue to call things out. Much respect to him for that. Like I told him, I texted him and I told him respect for that.”
