AKRON, Ohio — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. did a little bit of recruiting after hearing the news that Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers mutually parted ways Tuesday.
But Beckham Jr. should not expect to get much help in the recruiting effort, at least not from third-year defensive end Myles Garrett.
“Let him stay on his side of the ball,” Garrett said with a smile at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new football field at Ellet High School in Akron Tuesday. “Let him worry about his side of the ball.”
In nine years with the Buccaneers, McCoy registered 296 total tackles, including 218 solo stops and 78 assists. Of those tackles, 79 came from behind the line of scrimmage and 54.5 were sacks of opposing quarterbacks.
Additionally, McCoy defended 22 passes, forced six fumbles and recovered four turnovers in his time with the Buccaneers, who selected the six-foot-four, 300-pound defensive tackle No. 3 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma.
“What they decide to do, I’ll be okay with and I’ll accept it and move on, but I think we’re good with what we have,” Garrett said.
“I’m always going to be passionate about the guys we have in the locker room because they’ve always been okay with me. They’ve always done right by me, so I have no problem playing with them, going out there and sweating, bleeding and winning with them.”
Riddled with injuries as a rookie in 2017, Garrett emerged as a leader for the Browns’ defense in 2018 and registered 44 total tackles, including 35 solo stops and nine assists with three forced fumbles while playing in all 16 games for the team who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Additionally, Garrett registered 13.5 sacks for 75.5 lost yards and finished the year just short of the franchise’s single-season record for sacks.
For his efforts, Garrett became the Browns’ first front seven defender to reach All-Pro status since linebacker Jamir Miller in 2001 and first defensive lineman to earn such acclaim since Michael Dean Perry made the AP All-Pro Team in 1994.
Garrett is confident that productivity will grow in 2019, as he believes that the additions of Olivier Vernon and Sheldon Richardson at end and tackle, respectively, and development from Larry Ogunjobi will give the Browns a formidable defensive front in 2019.
“I think it’s going to be explosive in the middle,” Garrett said. “Either QBs are going to get sacked trying to step up away from me and Olivier or they’re going to step back and get clobbered by us two coming off the edge. It’s definitely going to be a really good pass rush and really good defensive line.
“You’re always excited to get talent like that, no matter how you get it, from the draft or for some trades or just easy free-agent pickups. Those guys, they’re veterans. They know what they’re doing, They know how to run an NFL defense already, so just excited to put the pads on and see what they’re going to do.”