CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett has always fancied himself a writer.
But on Thursday, the Cleveland Browns star defensive end traded in his poetry for an essay.
In a piece published to The Players' Tribune, Garrett discussed his team's rise from 0-16 two seasons ago and the lofty expectations the Browns now face entering a 2019 campaign in which they're favored to win their first division title since 1989. Titled, "We're here," Garrett's essay doesn't shy away from the expectations that have been put on Cleveland and how head coach Freddie Kitchens' demeanor has helped the Browns embrace them.
"'I’m not supposed to be here.' That’s one of the first things that Coach Kitchens ever said to us, when he took over the team," Garrett writes. "He said, 'Listen, fellas — I’m just a big ol’ redneck from Alabama. Nobody ever figured I’d be here today as an NFL Head Coach. Nobody. I’m not supposed to be here. But you know what? I’m here.'
"When people ask me what’s different about the Browns this year, what’s different about this city, and this football program — those words from Coach always come to my mind."
In addition to Kitchens, Garrett points to quarterback Baker Mayfield as somebody who embodies the new attitude of the Browns.
"But then at halftime of that game….. I remember, I watched Baker closely," Garrett wrote, recalling the Browns' falling down 23-0 to the Houston Texans last season. "Wanted to see what he was about, you know — in a real moment of adversity. And here’s what I saw: He didn’t get mad. He didn’t get frustrated. He wasn’t yelling at himself, or trying to blame other guys, or making some big kind of scene. At the same time, though, he also wasn’t faking it. He wasn’t on some fake positive vibe. Nah.
"He just….. didn’t say a word.
"That’s right. Baker didn’t say one word, that whole halftime. He just kept to himself, minded his own business, and got ready to go back out there. And it’s hard to explain how that works — you really have to know football, and know this team. But just by Baker not saying a word? It was almost like he was refusing to acknowledge that that half had even happened. Like he had the power to just….. reject it or something. It was wild. And whatever it was — coming out for the second half, he had this team FIRED. UP.
"Baker went for like 350 yards in that second half, we scored a couple of touchdowns, plus we kept them out of the end zone on D….. and it wasn’t nearly enough. We lost — bad. 29–13. But that was one of those losses where, even in the moment, you could see a silver lining. Because guys came away from it knowing Baker was for real. They came away from it knowing we had a quarterback.
"And since then….. I guess things have been a little crazy."
That craziness included the offseason acquisition of star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who will make his Browns debut on Sunday when Cleveland hosts the Tennessee Titans in their season opener. Whether or not the Browns will be able to live up to the hype will be determined in the weeks to come. But based on his essay, it's clear that Garrett feels what everybody else in Cleveland feels heading into the 2019 campaign.
"It’s shaping up to be one of those special seasons," he wrote.