The offseason kicked off for star pass rusher Myles Garrett with an injury during the Pro Bowl games that resulted in him saying he wouldn’t participate again. Though he says it isn’t serious, he has commented that the injury is still nagging him as Phase 1 of the offseason workouts officially kicked off this week in Berea.
While speaking with the media, Garrett talked about how excited he is to play with the additions the team made on the defensive side of the ball. He also gave his thoughts on the new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
His thoughts of the new additions to the defense:
“I’m excited. Guys are hungry and ready to work, already talking about getting some extra work done after our workouts were done. Just trying to start from that small group, seeing who we can get and just try to keep on adding more people into the fold. Get everyone to stay, stay late, extra work and just get one percent better.”
His reaction to Jim Schwartz being hired as defensive coordinator:
“I’m excited for the opportunity. I know he’s worked with a lot of great players, a lot of great defensive lineman, and gotten the most out of those guys. He plays wide open, as they say. Just letting guys run free and make plays on the ball. He has the guys behind us cleaning everything up and making sure they’re coming downhill and that we’re causing chaos, they’re cleaning everything up behind us. I think that’s how it surely functions.”
How his early interactions have been with Schwartz:
“I mean, positive. We’ve been talking scheme a little bit, as far as what he expects out of me, where I’m gonna line up and what kind of positions I’ll be in on first and second down. We haven’t really talked about third down yet. Just how he’s planning to change my playstyle, which from how we’ve talked, not that much.”
How Schwartz will be able to make him a better player:
“I don’t think his emphasis is to make me a better player. I know he will with what he’s doing and the scheme that he’s putting out there for us, but he’s out there to make us all a better defense. He’s out there to get the most out of us and to make the best defense possible for the players he has out there. I think his scheme will be tuned towards us, especially the guys up front, letting us go out there and hunt. He knows he has some great guys on the back end as well and he’s excited for the opportunity to utilize all of us. I know he’s going to make the most out of the talent he has in the room and if he does, that will showcase not only my talent, but all of our talents.”
Whether his leadership role expands now that there are new faces joining the team:
“I think my role still stays the same, being a leader for this team and for this defense. I’ve got to maintain that consistency and persistence to lead. As long as I maintain that, I think we’ll be on the right way, just got to make sure everyone is pulling in the same direction.”
