BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Browns are back to work in Berea with phase one of the offseason training program underway.
Here are sone of the best Brownie bites from Tuesday’s media availability.
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1. Amari Cooper underwent core muscle surgery eight weeks ago and he continues to rehab from it. “I feel good. I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be,” Cooper said. The injury slowed Cooper during the home stretch of last season after Deshaun Watson returned from his 11-gae suspension. “It was very frustrating but you know, just got to roll with the punches I would say,” Cooper said. “But that all that's behind me. I'm excited to get the work to build, to get better chemistry with Deshaun and just continue to get better.”
2. Cooper is a fan of his two new teammates – Marquise Goodwin and Elijah Moore. “Goodwin, he's real fast, and then Elijah, I feel like talent makes talent better. So once we get to see everybody on the field, I think all the other guys will respect their talent and it just make the team better overall.” Moore and a third round pick was acquired in a trade from the New York Jets for the 42nd pick in the upcoming draft while Goodwin signed a one-year deal as a free agent. “I think it just gives us more opportunity as an offense,” Cooper said. ”You know, those guys being able to stretch the field, especially Elijah. He's a South Florida guy. So I already know what to expect. I've seen a lot of clips of him even before he got here with the route running and everything. Like I said before, it's just going to make everybody better.”
3. Myles Garrett is not a fan of the Pro Bowl Games after suffering a dislocated toe while running the obstacle course. “That didn't do me any favors, but it's been consistently good,” Garrett said. “It's been getting better a little by little and honestly I got more beef with the Pro Bowl and messing on my toe than I do with the shoulder right now. I think the shoulder will be just fine. The toe is the most nagging thing trying to get out there, do agility run and plant stuff that I can do. But it's a just nagging stuff…just it's just frustrating. But by the time season rolls around, I don't think any of that will be a issue.” According to Garrett the players aren’t thrilled with the new format either. “Who loved it? Garrett said. “Apparently there wasn't a single guy that I talked to [that was] like, yeah, let's run this back.” As for the obstacle course portion that saw him get injured jumping over a six-foot wall: “It's the run away from the cops obstacle course,” Garrett said. “Jumping over a wall or a fence and then ducking under a table. It didn't make sense to me. Doesn't make sense to me now. But I mean they're looking for new things to do and new activities and obstacles to try and I have to say that wasn't it.”
4. Cornerback Greg Newsome II was asked for his reaction to a report that he had requested a trade from the Browns. “I was mad,” Newsome said. “I really just don't think people really truly understand how much, first of all, Cleveland means to me. Like getting drafted here, the fans embracing me right away. Just things like that. So I really just don't understand something like that. I wouldn't do that. I truly adore Cleveland, so yeah, I was definitely mad.” As for changing agents again, this time re-hiring Rosenhaus sports, Newsome explained the move this way: “That's a personal reason. I didn't trade agents to try to get out of here that I traded agents because I think for my career it'll help me in the long run. So I traded agents just for personal reasons.”
5. Deshaun Watson was clearly eager to return to Berea and begin work on the upcoming season. “[Monday] was good to see everyone, the coaching staff, the front office, the players, teammates,” Watson said. “It's good to be around them, laugh a little bit, talk about our off season and things like that.” Watson still has two lawsuits pending in Texas but he does not have the specter of NFL discipline hanging over him. “Last year was just kind of a whirlwind, but it was a good learning lesson for myself and for me to be able to grow,” Watson said. “So coming in to this year, I’m definitely ahead of the game from where I was previously.”
6. While it is expected that the offense is getting a pass-happy makeover this offseason, Watson doesn’t know what it will look like yet. “That's still in the works of what Kevin and AVP want to do and myself, and once we get all the guys here and we kind of see how this roster is going to turn, then we'll have a decision on how that offense is going to look,” Watson said. “But we don't want to go in planning this is how it's going to look and if it doesn't work then we got to be open to be able to adjust all the time.”
7. Other than the Perrion Winfrey situation in Texas, there is no major crisis for head coach Kevin Stefanski to deal with this offseason. His first two years were COVID and last year the Watson uncertainty. How does he feel about things this year being “normal?” Stefanski just smiled and knocked on the wood dias.
8. Garrett and Newsome are both big Cavs and basketball fans. Garrett joked he was ready to go at it with famous Knicks fan Spike Lee Saturday night. Garrett offered to guard Julius Randle and Newsome joked he was happy to take on Jalen Brunson.