DE Myles Garrett (1.2.26)

How’s the hip?

“Fine, just need it for one more.”

 

Was it the same thing you dealt with a little bit earlier in the year? 

“Yeah, it’s been kind of up and down, but it’s fine.”

 

So you’ve had a good amount of success against Joe (Burrow). I think it’s 11 sacks against him. Does that give you even more confidence heading into this finale that the record’s gonna come? 

“My confidence hasn’t waivered. I’m fully confident that it’ll come, so I’m fine.”

 

Have you thought of what if it doesn’t? 

“No. You don’t think about what’s going to go wrong in your life, do you? Just think about how to make it go well.”

 

Myles, how would you reflect on the way this season has gone for the team with one game to go? 

“It’s not going well enough. We’re not going to the playoffs. So that’s the end all, be all. You want to have a chance to bring the team to the big dance and we didn’t do that.”

 

With that said, we talk so much about the success of the rookie class and how they’ve been able to perform on the field so quickly for you guys. So, does that give you some kind of foundation, some platforms of excitement for next year to see what they’ve been able to do in really all three phases of this game? 

“Some hope for the future for sure. I mean, almost all of them came in and had an immediate impact – hitting the ground running. Those guys looked really good and proud of how they developed and how eager they were to learn and be a part of the success moving forward.”

 

Was last week as good as the defense has been in a game start to finish?

“Green Bay (Packers game) was pretty good too. So I think those are probably our two best games as far as all sixty minutes.”

 

Myles, because you’re obviously such an important part of this football team and basically the leader of this locker room and all of that. Do you offer your input on the Kevin Stefanski situation with all the uncertainty heading into this game about whether or not he’s coming back?

“I play football.”

 

But you have gotten yourself involved in all aspects of the football team.

“If they ask me, I give my opinion on whatever they ask me about. But I play football and that’s what I like to keep my focus on.”

 

Would you prefer to see continuity then? You’ve seen enough turnover here, both in coaching staffs and in the front office during your time. Would you prefer things to be stable? 

“I want things to be successful. However that looks.”

 

What’s been your experience playing under Kevin these last six years? 

“It’s been six? Five? Six. I mean like anything, we’ve had ups and downs. Unfortunately, more downs than ups. Would have loved to make a little bit more noise in some different years, especially this year with how well we’ve been playing on defense, but got to continue to grow and find ways to improve. This team has too many talented individuals not to.”

 

I know you say you want success and that’s the most important thing. I mean to kind of follow up though. Can there be success, do you think, if there is continuity with Kevin still here and everything?

“I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds, but it’s with him or anything else. I’m gonna look forward to playing under whoever it is. You know, be happy to be here and being a Brown, regardless.”

 

You talked, going into the last offseason about having a conversation with Jimmy (Haslam), Andrew (Berry), and all the powers that be. And they talked about their plan and everything for contention. Was there anything they said in those conversations that they didn’t hold true to other than what happened on the field?

“Maybe a little bit. But at the end of the day, not everything goes as planned. Not everything that you want to happen comes to fruition, so. Can’t hold too much against them – not like they can see the future, but got to worry about next year.”

 

Just on that Myles, when you kind of knew that they’re going to resign Joe Flacco before any of us did. How surprised were you when they traded him which had an effect on this season? 

“I mean I was as surprised as everyone else. I didn’t know about the news until everyone else did. Looking forward to seeing what’s the plan then, just like the rest of us were. How are we going to make it work? If we’re going to trade Joe away, then we got to find a way to win games regardless of who’s back there and haven’t done it enough. I see a couple rookies that continue to grow, but it was interesting. But we’re here now.”

 

How were you able to rise above the frustration?

“Got a job to do. Regardless of offense, special teams, you know, the lapse we have on defense during games and for stretches. I go to be the same person every time I walk into here, every time I step on the field. They expect the same 95, same MG making plays, speaking to the team, speaking to our guys, motivating, inspiring, leading and especially leading by example. So, I can’t lapse just because things are going well. That’s not a good test of a man.”

 

Myles, with you guys having such a dominant defense this year and with the future looking so bright with Carson (Schwesinger) and Mason (Graham) and all that, do you feel like it’s important for Jim Schwartz to move forward with you guys in whatever capacity? I mean, is that something that you feel is important for this defense? 

“I mean I like Jim; I like the coaches that we have. So, I don’t know what’s going to be in the future. Would I like to play under Jim? Would I like to keep the team and for us to improve? Absolutely. But these are things that are handled by people who sign my checks so they make bigger decisions than I can account for. So I’m going allow them to do what they do – give my opinions if they ask for it. And I got to rock with whoever they have here. But I love Jim, and I love playing for him.”

 

Jim has expressed interest in still being a head coach in this league. He says he aspires to the top of his profession just like anybody else does. Having played under him now for a while, what would a Jim Schwartz head coach franchise look like? 

“Again, I can’t see into the future, I don’t know what it’d be like. I know he’s regimented and very efficient. That’s how he runs it on defense, so those two things would hold true. But how it would come out to results on the field is only determined by us, and sometimes you can’t control injuries and whatnot.”

 

Forgive me if you’ve been asked this over the past couple weeks, but do you feel like the record clinching sack has to look a certain way? 

“No, they all count. So, I don’t care if I run his ass out of bounds. However he gets got, he gets got.”

 

Before the list started getting published a couple weeks ago, would you have known that Joe’s at the top of the list of guys you sacked the most? 

“Would I have known? Absolutely. I’ve seen his face on the ground looking up at me saying, ‘hi Myles’ and ‘hi Joe’, too many times. So yeah, I figured he’d be at the top.”

 

So, you’ve known that it’s him and Lamar (Jackson) more than anybody?

“Well, Lamar recently. Had to pick up some slack. Yeah, he’s made me miss a little bit more than anybody else.”

 

Myles, in the past it has seemed like you’ve wanted a more active voice in decisions that have been made. Now today, has your mindset changed in regard to that?

“Has it changed? I feel like they ask my opinion more and more each year on what I want and know how I feel about things. But that’s what you expect for a veteran and quote, unquote star player. They want to try to elevate and motivate us, and that helps bring all the other guys along. When we’re happy, that usually means that everyone else is happy. So, I’m not running into the meetings trying to make things happen. It’s not who I am. But I speak when they come to me, and then like I said, I just play my game.”

 

I know that you just signed the contract extension last offseason but given that you said that some of the stuff that you were told didn’t come to fruition and you can’t know what the future holds. Is this a thing where you need to…it’s reoccurring with me to talk to the higher ups and to really be on board with the plans of the future, or would you say you’re pretty committed to the organization, are fully committed to the organization and its future? 

“I’m committed to winning, and long as the team organization are doing so and they’re committed to that same thing, then I’m all on board. But if we’re thinking anything other than winning – tanking or rebuilding, that’s not me.”

 

I was just going to follow up on that. Are you hoping or expecting them to ask you before you leave? 

“Ask me what?”

 

What you want to see happen? 

“Well, I mean we got exit meetings, so they’ll get me regardless. Now, whether we’ll continue to have conversations after that is really up to them. So, I’ll be seeing everybody, and we’ll all have a chance to sit down and discuss everything – how things went and what the future looks like.”

 

 

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