CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Myles Garrett’s candor about his experience with COVID-19 and the effects he continues to deal with in the aftermath of the virus seems concerning but not to defensive coordinator Joe Woods.
“I think he is fine,” Woods said Thursday morning. “He missed a few weeks, and I think he is just getting back into football condition. He is fine.”
During Sunday night’s 20-6 win over the New York Giants Garrett was caught by NBC’s cameras struggling to breathe on the field between plays.
After the game Garrett revealed he had just had a coughing fit in the locker room, but Woods isn’t worried about Garrett’s stamina.
“I think he has gotten in better football shape the last couple of weeks,” Woods said. “I do not notice it as much in practice because we rotate guys. In the game when you get those long series and it gets into the fourth quarter, a lot of those guys look winded. Just based on our conversations, he is fine.”
Receiver Jarvis Landry backed Woods up when he mentioned what a problem Garrett is during practice.
“He continues to work hard. Even today, he was getting back to the quarterback and we are having to stop practice pretty much because he is so disruptive,” Landry said. “That is part of who he is. He is a tough player, he loves the game of football, he loves this organization and he loves this community. That is something he has a lot of pride in. Him playing through whatever he is going through, it does not surprise me. Again, we are grateful to have a guy like that who is willing to put the team before himself in a sense, but mostly, we want him to be healthy to be able to help us.”
Garrett, who split a sack with Larry Ogunjobi in the final minute to give him an even 11.0 on the season, played 49 of 54 defensive snaps against New York plus four more snaps on special teams.
While the Browns plan to keep an eye on Garrett to be safe, he won’t be on a snap count this week.
“Obviously, you would like for him to be in there all of the time, but we have to be smart in terms of what we are exposing him to physically,” Woods said.
Off the Bench – Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski refuses to say much about why linebacker Mack Wilson was inactive Sunday.
There has been speculation that Wilson didn’t practice well last week which led to his not playing against the Giants.
“I would not characterize it that way at all,” Stefanski said. “Just my decision in that last game. He is locked in and ready to roll.”
Woods said Wilson will play this week.
“He is fine,” Woods said. “I know it was a decision we talked about that Kevin made, but he has practiced well this week. He is part of the plan just in terms of playing this Sunday.”
Rookie Jacob Phillips took Wilson's spot in the lineup and played well assisting on three tackles.
“Jacob gave us good reps,” Stefanski said. “He is a young player so never perfect, but he is a physical player and ran to the ball. Obviously, needs to clean some things up. We will just work this week and work everybody in there and then make a decision towards the end of the week, but I really like that group in total. We play a lot of guys in that position. That is important, keeping people fresh.”
Put the Pads Away – Stefanski used Wednesday’s practice for the final padded work of the regular season.
“We had one left on the regular season,” Stefanski said. “Just have tried to be mindful of when we use them. Coming off of a short week last week, did not use one. Just planned it out. You have to see how your team is.
You have a plan and then you have to take it each day and realize where your team is. Yesterday the pads were on, and I thought the guys had a really good day.”
Might Stefanski have been trying to send a message about proper preparation for the 1-13 Jets?
“No, I kind of had that slated this way for a while. We had it ready. We wanted to use it. Again, the guys, it looked like a Wednesday practice to me flying around and the pads were popping so that was good.”
Richardson Returns – Defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson returned to practice Thursday after being idle Wednesday due to a neck injury.
Richardson got hurt in the second half of Sunday’s 20-6 win over the Giants and did not return to the game, but the injury was not serious.
Woods praised the season Richardson, who assisted on a key fourth down stop against the Giants, has had in 2020.
“He is a Pro Bowl player for us, I will say that,” Woods said. “How everybody else views him, that is always up to the vote and however the coaches see him.”
Harrison Not Ready – Although the Browns designated safety Ronnie Harrison to return from inured reserve on Wednesday, don’t expect to see him on the field Sunday in New York.
“I would say it is unlikely,” Stefanski said.
The original diagnosis for Harrison’s shoulder injury suffered against Jacksonville Nov. 29 was reportedly 4-6 weeks but Harrison’s return to the practice field this week is a positive step.
“He looked good,” Stefanski said. “Good to have him back out there moving around. We will see how it shakes out.”
Injury Report – DNP: RG Wyatt Teller (knee); LIMITED: DT Sheldon Richardson (neck), LB Malcolm Smith (hamstring), RT Jack Conklin (knee), WR KhaDarel Hodge (hamstring), RB D’Ernest Johnson (groin), CB Kevin Johnson (groin/knee), LB Sione Takitaki (knee), C JC Tretter (knee), CB Denzel Ward (calf); FULL: WR Jarvis Landry (hip), S Andrew Sendejo (concussion)