C JC Tretter (9.9.20)
C JC Tretter:
On how his knee is feeling and if he plans to play on Sunday:
“Knee is feeling good. We have been on a pretty good pace, doing the right thing, taking it and ramping up the right way. We are just going to continue that this week and make sure that everything is going the right way. It will just to continue to progress as the week goes on.”
On if he will be a game-time decision or be known later in the week:
“We have been on a good pace so far. You have to continue to monitor it and make sure that it is doing everything you want it to be able to do.”
On if there was ever a time that he was unsure the season would begin on time, given COVID-19 and his role as NFLPA President:
“Obviously, when we were in a full nationwide lockdown for most, you are a little skeptical in how this is going to trend. I think so far we have done a really good job, but something to remember is previous successes do not mean anything in the future. We can do all the right things for these last six weeks to get this point, but being successful moving forward comes from doing the right things continually. Just because we have done really well for six weeks does not give us any advantage or anything moving forward. We have to continue to do all the things we have been doing these last six weeks in order to keep going. That is what we said from the get go. We felt pretty good about getting started, but you have to keep working to make sure we can continue the season and get all the way through a full year and crown the Super Bowl champion.”
On if the NFLPA will have a policy in place or recommendations related to national anthem protests:
“No, I think when it happened the first time, we made sure to protect our players’ rights and the right to do what they want, voice their opinions and have their rights protected. I think the main issue for me is making sure we continue to talk about it through the right lens. Too often, we get talking about who is kneeling and who is not kneeling and not talking about why we are kneeling. They are kneeling to bring awareness to social injustice and police brutality. Too often, we just talk about the action and not why we are doing this thing. Now, we have gotten to the point where you see a lot of clubs and their players working through kind of action items of how to make the situation better and improve. I think that is where the conversation should be talking about, not about what they are going to do or what they did but more of what they are going to do moving forward and not just sticking to what their actions were but we are going to continue to do to solve and help right these wrongs.”
On fighting so hard to hopefully be physically able to play Week 1 and throughout in his career:
“You do not want to miss games and you do not want to miss plays. Myself and (G) Joel (Bitonio) both have a nice little run going together being out there for every play since we got here together in Cleveland. You just want to take advantage of every chance. You are not going to play forever. You want to make sure you are out there and taking advantage of all the chances we get. A lot of it is a pride thing of making sure you are out there and available. That is the one real statistic you can have as an offensive lineman is availability. You always want to be available for your team to help your team win.”
On if he and Bitonio have a goal of keeping their offensive snaps streak going:
“If we are up 30 against a team, I think we will be OK breaking that streak and coming out rested (laughter). We want to be out there as much as possible.”
On his decision to have a procedure on his knee and his rehab process:
“The knee flared up early on, and you have to make a really tough decision because there is no obvious answer. You can sit with it and try to manage it the rest of the year, and there is no guarantee that you are able to get it under control or you go and get fixed, correct the issues and then rehab as hard as you can to try to get back and not miss any time. I wrestled over what the right answer would be or what the best answer would be. In the end, I think we landed on the right answer. Behind the scenes, we just worked really hard. I give a lot of credit to the training staff. When we made the decision to go in and get it scoped, the conversation was how do I get back in time for the first game, we put a plan in place and we continue to push through that and make sure we are checking all the boxes. We will continue to do that the rest of the week, make sure everything is working right and we can continue moving forward.”
On if the knee scope was tied to his knee injury listed on the injury report late last season:
“It is tough to get into the medical reasons. I think if you walk into that locker room, especially the big guys, probably 70 percent need a scope of some nature at some point. It is tough to say what was the cause or what led to it. That is just the game we play. I think you can see it with statistics about guys needing a knee replacement or hip replacement. This is a grinding position. It takes a lot out of you physically. It is tough to pinpoint what the exact cause of a surgery like this.”
On if it will be a significant challenge to fit into the Browns OL and have chemistry after not working with the offense throughout training camp:
“I do not think so. I think we have our techniques. Everybody knows what footwork and what steps they are supposed to take, and then you just take the right steps and we are all aligned. I am not worried about that at all.”
On if he has seen a change in the culture of the Browns this year, given QB Baker Mayfield and DE Myles Garrett both made a commitment to having a leadership role on that front:
“Yeah, and even (Head) Coach (Kevin) Stefanski has done a really good job of building a team and a team atmosphere of us all getting to know each other and buying in and really fighting for each other. That has been pretty clear to see. I think that has been something that has been different where we are really starting to get to know each other as people and not just teammates. That was something Coach Stefanski has really preached over this training camp and the offseason. I think you can feel that. We are still a young team and still pretty new team coming together but that will continue. I think we are on a good pace.”
On if he is still staying in the team hotel or has returned home with his wife:
“I have gone back home. I am back home now.”
On if he has seen a change in Mayfield’s mindset and approach this season:
“Baker has always been a competitor. That has always come out of him. I think he looks great and super dialed in. Now that we are starting to get into game weeks and game plans, this is when the great communication and the great conversations of kind of digesting and dissecting the other team each and every week. This is the fun part. This is where all that work comes into play where you prepare all training camp and you go through kind of your normal looks, and now, you get week after week a new change. I think Baker has done a great job of that in the past, and I think will continue to do that of just dissecting another defense, understanding what they are trying to do to us and getting us in the right spots.”
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