BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – A day after finishing 3-14 with a 35-10 loss in Baltimore, the Browns were back home Sunday morning cleaning out their lockers and going through the end of season process, including physicals and interviews.
Here’s the top Brownie Bites from locker cleanout day.
Quick change – Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson were both fired. You can read about that news HERE.
We’re No. 2 – The Browns will pick second in the 2025 NFL Draft after New England beat Buffalo 23-16 and Tennessee lost to the Texans 23-14. The Titans move up to the top pick while the Patriots slipped to fourth behind the New York Giants.
Kobe and Shaq – Cornerback Denzel Wards can’t imagine playing without Myles Garrett and is hopeful the six-time Pro Bowler will stay in Cleveland. “I look at me and Myles like Shaq and Kobe,” Ward said. “So I really appreciate and love Myles and his game and I love playing with them and I want to continue to play with him for sure. I mean he's a dominant force for this team and one of the leaders for this football team and so definitely going to be in communication with him and just seeing where his head is at and the plans there.” Garrett, who has two years remaining on his contract, wants to know the Browns’ plans to contend before committing to another contract extension or requesting a trade this offseason. “That's not something I want to imagine,” Ward said. “Me and Myles, like I said we go hand in hand. He's putting that pressure on the quarterback and I'm trying to cover guys as long as I can to help him get a sack, so I feel like we're a dominant tandem and I enjoy it. I want to keep it going.” Ward was named to his fourth Pro Bowl as the two first round picks were selected in consecutive years. “Just because Shaq's the bigger guy, I'm going to give him Shaq,” Ward said. “I'll be Kobe to his Shaq, but I say I just feel like we're a great tandem and just love being on the field with him.”
What’s next – Left guard Joel Bitonio is contemplating retirement after 11 seasons, six of them as a Pro Bowler and this year he was named an alternate. “We’re going to take some time and kind of see where we're at in a little while and see how we're feeling and what the plan is and what we want to do in our future,” Bitonio said. Like Garrett, Bitonio is also curious as to the plans to win in 2025 and he met with Andrew Berry and Browns ownership Sunday morning. “They didn't get into super detail,” Bitonio said. “Obviously, we saw some of the stuff, but it's just good to hear that in season you're playing week to week, you don't have that ability to if they know you're not on the same page or do they understand what kind of went wrong and stuff like that. And to hear it from their perspective and kind of what their thoughts are on the team and where we need to make improvements at, it's good to hear those things.” Bitonio plans to let them know before the new league year begins in March. “You don't leave the team high and dry, wait until August and be like, 'Yeah, I'm going to stay on the golf course,'” Bitonio said. “So there's some things like that, but I don't have a timetable. I really want to decompress and just feel it out and give myself a chance to rest the mind and the body and see where we're at.” Whatever decision Bitonio makes, he knows he can still play at an elite level. “I still feel like I can play in this league, you know what I mean? And it's just the burden of playing in this league is tough,” Bitonio said. “I feel like the last six to eight weeks I really played my best football this season. But, no, I do still think I can play in this league. It's just there's other factors, as well.”
Newsome deal – Cornerback Greg Newsome, a 2021 first round pick, hopes to return on his fifth-year option. “I hope so,” Newsome said. “That's my goal, but at the end of the day, you kind of never know. Each year can be different, especially when you have a season like this, you don't know what can happen. But I hope I'm back here next year.” Ideally Newsome would prefer a contract extension this offseason. “That's always the hope to get something long-term in the city that I love,” Newsome said. “It's the NFL. It is a quick business. You kind of don't know what's going on, especially when a team has a season that we felt like we weren't supposed to have, we don't know what's going to happen, but that's definitely a goal of mine.”
Going away gift – The entire team signed Rodney McLeod’s jersey as he hangs it up after 13 seasons. In Baltimore, McLeod was on the field for the final snap of the season. “It meant a lot,” McLeod said. “It just showed the level of respect that everybody possesses for me here, from the locker room of players to coaches, to everybody upstairs and around this building, so it was special.”
