DE Myles Garrett (6.6.23)
The fact that, you know, two of your teammates and I know good friends of yours, obviously, were victims of this car robbery. How is this impacting you and them and the team today?
I mean, we’re just glad to see they’re all right. Saw Perrion yesterday and saw Greg today. Just making sure they’re in the right headspace, feel like they’re surrounded by family and letting them know that anything that they need, we’re the perfect resource for them and we have their back with whatever happens. And we’re just going to try to make sure that none of our guys are ever in that situation again and however we can help, we’re going to do that. But I’m just glad to see them safe and sound with us and still walking around. Still blessed to this day, no matter what happens, still to wake up in the morning and just glad that we still have them here.
I mean, you’re very recognizable in this town. People know who you are. People know who Greg and Perrion are. What’s that like? I’m not saying you ever feel unsafe out there, but that’s got to be something that kind of crosses your mind when you’re that well noticed?
Yeah, but I try to be pretty incognito and when I can’t, I don’t know. I don’t have any pride. So I think at the end of the day, if someone wants to come up and they have bad intentions, there’s nothing that’s going to stop them from approaching you or me. It doesn’t matter who it is. At the end of the day, try to make a situation more peaceful than it is, make it end better than what might happen on the other side of things. And I think there’s a lot of things that are possibilities in those situations. Just try to make sure you come out of it safe and sound, your body, your health. Anything that’s material, you can’t take it with you. It can be replaced, but you can’t be replaced. Make sure you try not to put yourself in those situations, but if it does happen, just try to make sure you make it as easy as possible to walk away from it.
How dismayed are you? I mean, you love this city. You’re always out and about in the city, and you’ve invested so much time and resources here. How dismayed are you that something like this is happening here?
I’m not dismayed at all. At the end of the day, it shows that me, my team, and I think all of us here at the Browns, have more to do, have more work to do in the community to show that there’s more that we can do here. There’s still more lessons that we need to give each other because it’s not just one side or another side. Things like this happen because of so many different actions that led up to that. And for them to feel like they have to do that for whatever needs, whether it’s funds or thrill, whatever it is, let them know that this is not the action that they need to take to get what they want.
How grateful are you that the players are safe?
I’m very grateful. I mean, they’re my friends, my teammates. We’re all part of a family, so I’m just glad they’re here. And at the end of the day, we’ve got to do better as a community, and we’ve got to set an example. It starts with us, and then we’ve got to go out into the community and show that, no, we’re better. We’re all better than this. And how to lead by example.
How good is it to be back?
Good to be back. I like being around the guys. Times like this, it’s good to see how much strides they’ve taken and how mindsets have changed, how much they’ve been working with each other, new moves, stuff like that. And everyone really came in, especially today, with a positive outlook and a mindset and just everybody’s ready to roll. I love to see it.
Myles, how has the toe felt since you’ve been able to get out here on the field?
A little sore every now and then, but it’s not going to hold me back. A sore big toe, and we’ll still get sacks.
Myles, how much have you and Za’Darius talked since he was acquired here and what was it like to get out there on the field with him today for the first time?
We texted back and forth, talked about different things, different ideas, but it’s good to see him in person. We haven’t really got that opportunity other than today and yesterday. And he really has a very outgoing personality. He’s really bubbly, really fun, and I have moments of that, but he’s got it all the time. So I’m really just trying to find where our chemistry lies. But I think we can have a lot of fun. We could really make some things happen on the field and really elevate this team.
Did you come up with the name for the d-line?
Not yet. That was one of the talks yesterday, so we’re still working on that. We got a little bit of time before preseason.
What is the potential for this group?
As far as we want to take it. I think the guys that we have are very talented in many ways, and there’s a lot of different skillsets that we have on the d-line. But you have a lot of guys who have just been waiting on this opportunity that we have, this freedom that we’ve been given. I know Schwartz like to say, ‘take off the seatbelt,’ so I think that’s really the mindset. You get out there and you’re just letting it loose. Don’t worry about all these rules and doing all this as soon as you know your assignment. After that, you get off the ball and F.S.U. Get to the ball.
What was your reaction when you saw news about the Za’Darius trade?
I was happy. At first, I was like, ‘I don’t believe TMZ.’ When I heard it from my dad, I was like, ‘All right, now I can’t believe it.’ I was excited. I let myself be happy. I was like, ‘I am a little bit cautiously optimistic.’
Siaki and Z are two players that have been outspoken about wanting to be your friends, and they are both very outgoing personalities. What’s it like kind of learning their personalities, along with your personality, and meshing?
I’m here if you need me. I’ll be here every day. So if they want to come up or they want to hang or whatever it is, I’m here for them. They’re going to be part of his team, part of this family, and we’re all going to go grow very close this year. How we choose to do that, we’ll see. But I know those guys. They have great personalities and they’re great guys, so I’m looking forward to it.
The addition of Jim Schwartz this offseason, from outside, it seems pretty significant. From your perspective?
I think it just helps simplify things, and I don’t think that’s a knock on Joe. I think you really have to be intent on knowing your personnel and trying to tune in with what their skillsets and their abilities and their capabilities are. And if you put too much on somebody’s plate rather than someone else’s, that can lead to disruption and really a disconnection between groups on the field. And I think we saw that early last season with some of the big misreads that we had in the back end, and I think he’s really helped break it down for some of the guys in the back end. I think he’s done the same up front, allowing us to really play free. Studying the playbook while I was gone, it’s pretty deep, but it’s all still pretty simple.
What did it mean to you to have Jim Brown here throughout your career, just in terms of greatness and what it means to be who he was and how did his passing impact you?
Jim Brown was everything here. It’s in the name. At the end of the day, he was the very first person that called me to tell me that I was coming here and that they were glad to have me be a Cleveland Brown and be a part of this organization. And that still means a lot to me, because that’s as great as it gets as a football player, as a man, as a spokesman for inequality for civil rights, he’s done it all. I think he’s been the blueprint. He’s been the role model for a lot of us as players and as men. So we look up to him. We’re very sad about his passing and we still are going to try and do our best for him.
Obviously, we know you’re working on your own. And just what was that process this offseason?
I mean, it was really just a communication with coach. Just getting on the same page about when he wanted me here, when he didn’t. Making sure that I got up here early to meet with the new coaches, talking to the new guys, make sure that we had a dialogue and everything was communicated thoroughly so that there was nobody on the wrong page. And so we got it all worked out. And I was where I needed to be, working on my game, taking care of myself and my health. And I think it’s all worked out.
What does that mean, to have that respect, lack of a better term, but just kind of have that dialogue, to be able to have a coach you can talk to and have that respect of when I’m going to be here and when I’m not?
I mean, that’s what it means to have a true players’ coach, someone willing to listen to his players’ and what they need and how they view themselves getting better. And when I’m here, I’m all in and I’m doing exactly what everyone else is doing. But when I have the opportunity to get away and go where I think I can take it up another notch and grow as a person, as a player, he’s been willing to give me that freedom.
Do you think Jim’s system and the way he wants you guys to play up front, free you up even more?
That’s what he said. And I think there’s a definitely opportunity for that. He’s going to put me in position and us in position to make plays. I don’t think he’s just going to be looking for 95 and make one-on-ones. Sure, that’s going to happen and I’m certain key points and moments in the game, we’re gonna try to get someone free and if that works for me, then it works for me. But at the end of the day, we’re just trying to get one-on-ones across the board and I think that’s just a nod to him, because you can’t just key in on one guy. And if the offense chooses to not let me get a one-on-one that day, then we just have to make sure the other guys are freed up and able to make plays.
Myles, what’s it like now to have two guys on the d-line that were both in the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year last season?
Last year is last year. So we’re looking forward to just showing that we’re a really strong and steady group throughout the whole year, making sure that everyone’s on the same page. We’re performing to our expectations, and then we continue to keep on raising ante. I think there’s a lot of room for growth here on the field, especially before preseason. Everyone getting adjusted to the new playbook, but it’s definitely a very new thing for me to have a really big talent like him, someone who recently has been up for DPOY. And I think he’s a viable resource on and off the field and looking forward to seeing not only him, but Obo and some of the younger guys grow before eyes and start making those consistently big plays.
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