DT Sheldon Richardson (9.4.20)

DT Sheldon Richardson:

On Head Coach Kevin Stefanski telling the media that he has been lobbying for some offensive snaps:

“No (laughter). Guys ask me what is going on as far as we do something like learning everybody’s name and basically introducing yourself. I told him my high school stuff, and guys have just been going on about it ever since. They do not believe me.”

On if he wants to play some snaps at tight end:

“That is about it, honestly. Tight end, a little goal line running back, like my rookie year (laughter).”

On what has he learned about defensive coordinator Joe Woods’ defense:

“Definitely defensive line friendly, a defense you want to be in. Speaking from a defensive lineman, you have a lot of freedom to make plays. The main part, it is being in the right place at the right time, and you will get all the production you need.”

On how he is feeling and his offseason:

“I feel pretty good, honestly. Had a long, long offseason. Body got a chance to heal. Certain areas that nag me, whether I play football or not, I got a chance to finally recuperate from that. I ran a lot. Gyms closed down in Missouri so I got a lot of running in for the most part. Honestly, I got back in and just started to hit the weights real heavy. I went down to Atlanta and worked out for about a week and a half or two weeks out there. I bounced around all over the place, just finding gyms to workout at with old teammates, whatever I can find.”

On how important is it to have the Browns starting DL return from last year and the unit’s potential in its second year together:

“Pure dominance. That is how we are looking at it. We are not woofing about it. It is straight work. At the end of the season, we look up and look at our work and then judge it off of that. Other than that, we are just keeping our eyes focused on Week 1.”

On what he has learned about DT Larry Ogunjobi since the start of last season:

“Workhorse. His demeanor in the locker room, very, very meticulous about his work – every little thing. He has these little chakra crystals and stuff like that that I get on him about (laughter). He is very one with the universe and a great guy. A great guy. A great football player. Anything else under the sun. The guy is a true professional. There is going to be a dominance in this year that you have never seen before from a nose tackle, I believe. That is no woofing at all.”

On the significance of this season for Ogunjobi, particularly given it is the last year of his rookie contract: 

“Yes. It definitely is. He is competing with (DE) Myles (Garrett) as far as notoriety. He feels like he takes a backseat to everybody a little bit. It is never like that. We never talk to him about it like that. We treat him as what he is: a true professional, a starting nose tackle and a pretty dominant ballplayer. It is going to be a big year for Larry, for sure.”

 

On his year with Stefanski in Minnesota and if he had a feeling Stefanski may ultimately become a head coach: 

“I definitely did. Had a little dry spell out there for us as far as Ws. We had a little dry streak and Coach K took over and ended up revamping our offense. (Vikings QB) Kirk (Cousins) and them got back rolling, and I think we ended winning like two or three games straight. Towards the end, guys picked up a little bit on the tendencies. Other than that, I definitely saw a future of him being a head coach soon. I thought it would have been the next year, to be honest with you.”

On how Stefanski has impressed him with his leadership: 

“I knew what he was bringing. Knowing where he was coming from as far as his coaching background, I knew he was going to have a (Vikings Head Coach) Mike Zimmer mentality a little bit as far as the structure of how everything is ran, how he conducts himself and all of that. A true head coach. He tries to be player-friendly, but it is too much work in there for players to say that he is player-friendly (laughter).”

 

On what makes Woods’ defensive scheme DL friendly: 

“Just have to wait and see on that one. I am not giving you a sound bite right now. Any detail is too much detail. It is just D line friendly. Everybody has an opportunity on the D line to make plays without being wrong.”

 

On how Stefanski has handled adversity in his first year as head coach, including COVID-19 and social justice topics: 

“Extra kudos to him as far as handling it how he is handling it. Great. As best as we can, we have been trying to make it as locker room friendly as possible. It is kind of weird. Everybody is all spread out like they are. Everybody has two lockers now. They cleared out the locker room and made a locker room in the weight room and put the weight room in the fieldhouse. It is kind of rough for our team camaraderie like that. For the most part, how has Coach handled it? It is the best way. I do not see another way he could have handled it. As far as the social injustice stuff going on in the world, he has been open-minded about everything. He has been learning. As he says, ‘I am just learning,’ because he says for himself it is a learning experience. He has never had to go through anything like that before. It is up and up on that. He has been effective. They are having meetings every other day about something going on in the world. I hear guys talking about that a lot. He has handled it pretty well.”

On returning to the Browns this season and being with the same team for back-to-back seasons and if he believes that can result in higher performance for him on the field:

“Definitely do. I believe so. It has been awhile for me having my second year with the same team. I approached it completely different. A new head coach, a new defensive coordinator and new plays callers and all of that so it is really my first year with the coaching staff but second year on the squad. That is a little different, but other than that, I just embraced it. I am not running from any work. Just honestly been keeping my mind focused and keeping the guys focused. It is so spaced out in the locker room and you can lose yourself in the locker room nowadays. Just keeping guys ready to go and making sure I am ready to go myself.”

On his sense for DE Myles Garrett’s mindset after returning from suspension:

“Pure dominance. He felt some type of way about him not making the Pro Bowl last year. I had to break it down to him that it is kind of tough, thought you were a Pro Bowler and you get suspended. No shortage of your worth, though. You definitely know your worth. His work ethic as far as him, Larry O and OV (DE Olivier Vernon), their workouts are crazy. Those guys are just ready to go eat.”

On if Garrett seems different coming off of the suspension and if Garrett may feel like he has something to prove:

“Something to prove. More confidence in himself, believe it or not. Just staying healthy now. Most guys, we really don’t have this much time to be healthy as much as we have been as far as the long break. Even with that being said, just in the room, he has been doing freakish, athletic stuff at practice all the time since I have been here. Hasn’t been much changed as far as that. I think the boy is more explosive and even a little bit stronger so that is even more dangerous coming off the edge. I can’t wait to see it on the field come Week 1.”

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