GATES Mills, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The last two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been trying for everyone.
Including Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
Saturday morning on a high school football field filled with a few hundred kids, things started to feel normal again for the three-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro defensive end, who is doing what he can to make up for lost time.
“It’s been a tough time during COVID,” Garrett said in an exclusive interview with 92.3 The Fan. “These last two years have been a real blur.
“I’m just doing my best to try and bring a sense of normalcy back not only to my team but to these families in Cleveland, and when I go back home, same thing in Texas.”
Garrett made his way around the field at Gilmour Academy to the various groups where he threw passes and coached the participants through drills.
“I’ve got enough playing experience to show that I can coach a little bit,” Garrett said with a smile. “See, I know what I’m doing…. I just try to do the best I can and to get out there and show them a good time.
“Seeing all the smiles on their faces having a good time, getting out here, meeting kids, making friendships and just being able to play the game that they love. We can all bond through that.”
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett offers instruction at his Pro Camp held at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio on June 11, 2022Daryl Ruiter-92.3 The Fan
Since being selected first overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, Garrett has taken on several charitable causes, including serving as an ambassador for the Waterboys program at home and abroad.
“[We’re] Working on getting clean water to places like East Cleveland and spots in Texas that need it and trying to help where I can,” Garrett said. “It’s tough, we’re trying to get more players in, more donors but if we can knock down one door, we can get this ball rolling and I don’t think it would be stopped and we can make change for more than just these two communities. More than just Kenya and Tanzania [in Africa]. We can keep expanding, providing help, providing water.”
Friday night, Garrett treated some of his campers from this weekend along with a few teammates, families from United Way Greater Cleveland and YWCA Cleveland to a screening of ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ in Valley View.
Garrett’s love for Dinosaurs is well known and the Jurassic Park franchise fueled his love of the ancient creatures that roamed the Earth over 200 million years ago.
“I’m a little bit biased, I can’t lie,” Garrett said when asked to give us a review of the latest movie. “I’ve always loved the Jurassic Park series and if you’re going to do it, you gotta do it big and I feel like with every movie they come out with they’re trying to come up with something more extravagant, more extreme, more creative.
“Bringing back the old cast, the trio everyone loved in the first movie and that natural chemistry they had on screen, that hits a part of nostalgia I’ve always had. I don’t know if they’ll continue to make movies for that franchise, but I’ll be happy to watch them and maybe one day be part of it.”
Aside from being an aspiring future movie star, Garrett has also taken the lead to reconnect with his teammates this offseason, including springing for a trip to South Beach for most of the defense a week after Deshaun Watson took the offense to the Bahamas.
There’s a reason Garrett stayed stateside.
“I don’t know of any good gyms in the Bahamas. I’ve been [there] and I didn’t see any,” Garrett said. “I know I wanted to get it in and to be able to work, but also have these guys be able to relax and kind of get off their mind and try and get some activities together where we all could get to know each other and have a good time, but not lose sight of what we wanted to do.”
Kevin Stefanski, who has encouraged his players to get out in the community since taking over as Browns head coach in 2020, stopped by to support Garrett and the campers Saturday morning.
“I really appreciate it,” Garrett said. “He always said that he was there for us and any causes or anything that was near and dear to our heat he would be a part of. That’s him coming through and showing it.”
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski looks on during Myles Garrett's Pro Camp held at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio on June 11, 2022.Daryl Ruiter-92.3 The Fan
Stefanski is also doing his part to present opportunities for his team to forge bonds this offseason be it a basketball hoop set up on the practice fields in Berea or taking them to the Cavs practice facility for a workout or next week a trip to Canton – to the Pro Football Hall of Fame during minicamp.
Garrett is a little superstitious about the Hall of Fame. He prefers to stay away until he’s enshrined among the all-time greats of the game, and should his career remain on the current trajectory, he will be.
Canton will likely be unavoidable for Garrett next year though when Joe Thomas is eligible to be inducted. Superstition aside, there’s no way Garrett would no show for his friend and former teammate, right?
“I might have to see him beforehand or afterwards,” Garrett said with a laugh. “I know pride is the devil, but I know what I have in mind [for my career] and I’ve got to keep that goal. It’s something that’s kind of out there like the stars, you gotta reach for them. I want to be able to keep it so far out of my mind where I’m not comfortable seeing it and be like, yeah this is something I can do. I want it to be like the pearly gates.
“This man was an iron man. He was the ‘First offensive lineman ever.’ He’s a great guy, a great human being and was a great teammate. I’m just hoping that I can reach that pinnacle one day.”
Should Thomas be elected as a first ballot Hall of Famer, which feels like a foregone conclusion at this point, the Browns would be a prime candidate to play in the Hall of Fame Game for the first time since the franchise made their expansion return during the 1999 preseason.
Garrett found a loophole to allow his participation if needed.
“The Hall of Fame game is on the field,” Garrett said. “As long as I don’t have to walk into the building or see [the hall of busts] I’m alright.”
The pearly gates will have to wait.
