Browns DE Myles Garrett makes offseason debut as WR Amari Cooper ramps up in return from injury

BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns began their mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, which saw some stars make their offseason workout debuts in Berea while others who have been at the facilities for OTAs saw their work increase.

Offseason debuts
Players like running back Nick Chubb, guard Joel Bitonio and defensive end Myles Garrett all arrived in Berea to begin their offseason workouts with the team. All three had opted to work on their own away from CrossCountry Mortgage Campus.

Garrett was happy to be back for the mandatory sessions, ready to get to work with his teammates and see what kind of growth they've been able to make in their work since last season.

"It’s good to be back. I like being around the guys. In times like this, it’s good to see how much strides they’ve taken and how mindsets have changed, how much they’ve been working with each other, new moves, stuff like that. And everyone’s really came in, especially today, with a positive outlook and a mindset and just everybody’s ready to roll. I love to see it," Garrett said.

Every year, the voluntary OTA sessions lead to debates among fans about who should be there and who opted to work on their own. This year, Garrett was the main target for questions about his absence.

While the defensive end does have a little more to catch up on with a new defensive coordinator in Jim Schwartz and plenty of new additions to the defensive line and back end as well with the offseason overhaul from general manager Andrew Berry.

But Garrett is grateful that head coach Kevin Stefanski understands why he chose to work on his own for the voluntary portion and appreciates that—because now that he's in the building it's all work all the time.

"That's what it means to have a true player's coach. Someone who's willing to listen to his players and what they need and how they view themselves getting better," Garrett said. "And when I'm here, I'm here, I'm all in and I'm doing exactly what everyone else is doing. But when I have the opportunity to get away and go where I think I can take it up the notch and grow as a person and a player, he's been willing to give me that freedom."

Garrett is still dealing with some soreness at times from the broken big toe he suffered during the Pro Bowl Games earlier this year, but he still got plenty of work with guys like Za'Darius Smith in defensive line drills, and in light pass rushing drills during 11-on-11s.

Ramping up work

While Garrett made his offseason debut in minicamp, on the other side of the ball, wide receiver Amari Cooper saw his workload increase for this new round of scheduled workouts.

Cooper has been in Berea for the voluntary OTAs, working mostly to the side as he rehabs from surgery he had this offseason on a core muscle injury that plagued him at the end of the season last year.

Despite not being able to do much work with the team during those opening workout sessions, Cooper was an ear for the young players and even some of the new additions to the offense. Cooper said that having open communication has been a goal for the receivers' room—but he's learning from them as well as he continues to recover.

"That was our number one goal at the receiver position as a collective—to communicate better with each other. So yeah, they've definitely been asking me questions, shoot, I ask them questions. I'm coming back off of an injury, I often ask them how I'm looking on routes and stuff like that," Cooper said.

During Tuesday's practice, Cooper took a new stride in his rehab. After mainly working to the side or through certain individual position drills, Cooper was able to participate in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s, catching passes with light coverage from quarterback Deshaun Watson.

"It's always fun to come out here, put my skillset on display. So having a lot of fun," Cooper said. "Just to come out here and be able to feel good again. It's a great feeling. You know, you never really want to play hurt. It's not very pleasant but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do."

Other players who know about the return from injury have been ramping up their work as well, including wide receiver and return specialist Jakeem Grant Sr.

Grant ruptured his Achilles tendon during training camp last year and has been rehabbing since. On Tuesday, Grant was out practicing returns to the side, increasing his workload through the offseason workouts.

Stefanski noted how hard Grant is working to get back on the field and make an impact in the return game.

"He’s coming along. He works really hard, still working hard in the meeting room. Even though he’s not taking reps out here, he’s still a major part of it, and then able to slowly bring him along with the return game. And Jakeem is a pro. I love having him around, and he’s working really hard," Stefanski said.

With minicamp underway and more on the menu on all sides of the ball, the Browns will continue to see the workload increase, and training camp, and the season, quickly approach.

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