Myles Garrett does not want to be the judge, jury or executioner in the case of quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is facing 23 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct. (TheLandOnDemand)
Browns locker room not overly concerned with details of Deshaun Watson’s legal issues
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Leftovers from Browns OTA practice and interviews …
Media and fans might be appalled by, upset with or, at the least, curious about the unsavory allegations made against Deshaun Watson in 23 civil lawsuits brought by licensed massage therapists during massage sessions in 2020 and 2021.
But when it comes the Browns’ locker room, the attitude appears to be, “What we don’t know won’t hurt us.”
Watson has made a favorable impression on his new teammates – on and off the field.
His generosity in treating about 30 offensive players to an expenses-free weekend in the Bahamas went a long way to winning them over. Watson also gifted linebacker Anthony Walker a Rolex watch for giving up his No. 4 jersey and then made a sizable donation to a Miami-area high school football program associated with Walker’s father.
On the field, Watson’s prodigious presence in the pocket has been quite the sight to behold.
“I think it has been impressive to watch this caliber of player be able to get the ball out of his hand quickly and really accurately,” coach Kevin Stefanski marveled.
And since the team’s success hinges disproportionately on Watson playing quarterback, teammates have fallen in line with evading the issues that seem to be etched on everyone else’s mind.
There is no better example than Myles Garrett.
Garrett is the defense’s equivalent of a franchise quarterback but still is dependent on having the real quarterback on the field playing well to achieve what he wants to achieve.
“It isn’t any of my business,” Garrett said about Watson’s legal fight to clear his name. “That’s all him. I try to keep my nose out of it. Only thing that matters to me is if he’s playing every game or if he’s not, and how we can overcome that and what we need to do as a defense.”
“Does character matter?” Garrett was asked.
“It does,” he responded. “But I don’t know what happened. You don’t know what happened. No one in this room really knows what happened, other than the people that were involved. I can’t move one way or the other based on hearsay, so I have to just move with the character and the man that I know from day to day.
“And that’s a good guy, from what I’ve seen, from what I’ve played against and from what I’ve seen in the building. You grab your whole offense and take them to the Bahamas, you treat them and you’re respectful to the coaches. From what I’ve seen he’s walked the right way. If he has a slip up or not, I’m not the judge, I’m not the jury, or the executioner.
“I’m here to play a game. Whether we agree or disagree with who he is off the field, that’s yet to be seen. As far as the guy I know on the field, he’s special.”
Suh who?
When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose to sign free agent defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, it re-fueled baseless Twitter conversation linking the Browns with ex-Bucs tackle Ndamukong Suh.
All of which was news to Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods.
“I read that once in an article when it was late at night, so I called [defensive line coach Chris Kiffin], ‘Did you read this?’” Woods said with a laugh.
“You never know. I think with [GM Andrew Berry], I think he and his whole staff do a great job in terms of adding players to our defense. Along the lines of based on the development of the guys we have, if they feel like adding him and that he would be a good fit, we would all be for it.”
In truth, the Browns are more likely to stay with a five-man competition at tackle involving Taven Bryan, Jordan Elliott, Tommy Togiai, Sheldon Day and rookie fourth-round draft choice Perrion Winfrey.
“I feel like right now as a defense, we are kind of in that stage where we are developing young talent,” Woods said. “I think between those five guys, I feel like we will have a good rotation inside”
Brownie bits
The Browns made a concerted effort to upgrade their specialists. They drafted kicker Cade York in the fourth round, created a punting competition between Corey Bojorquez and Joe Charlton, and signed return specialist Jakeem Grant in free agency. All of which has special teams coordinator Mike Priefer excited. “We need to up the ante a little bit. We are playing in what in my opinion is the best division in football when it comes to special teams. Every team is really good,” Priefer said …
Priefer disclosed that the idea to leave York as the only kicker in camp was first broached by Berry, and he was all for it. “I think the theory was we drafted him, and he was going to be our guy,” Priefer said. “Let’s let him take every rep. I think because he needs to understand how important each situational rep is, I would rather not waste it on a guy who is not going to be our kicker.” However, the Browns do intend to add a kicker to the practice squad. “We will end up having a kicker, I am sure, on the practice squad at some point,” Priefer said ...
I asked offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt if the coaches concluded after self-scouting the 2021 season and observing the playoffs that the Browns needed to increase the use of three-receiver sets. “We needed to work on our passing game and our drop-back passing game, whether that is two tight ends and two wides or three wide receivers,” he answered. “That is definitely an area of emphasis for us. Going in, we are treating this [OTA] camp like a passing camp, more or less. I think at the end of this we will have 350 passes versus live competition and seven-on-seven periods. We definitely focused in on our drop-back passing game as a point of emphasis this offseason.” ...
In case you were wondering, players receive $295 a day for participating in “voluntary” offseason workouts and OTA practices. But they must complete three of four scheduled workouts in a given week to be paid.
