At Browns OTAs Myles Garrett is absent. But does it matter?

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19 hours ago

BEREA — This is going to be difficult for some people to process, and they may never agree, but it's time to stop equating Browns voluntary organized team activity attendance with leadership.
Many of us in Northeast Ohio grew up playing football, and certain values were instilled at a young age.
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Show up every time. Lift weights. Run. Practice hard. Play harder. Do it again and again and again.
Browns six-time Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett has used those mottoes to become a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Well, except for the first one.
Garrett has not attended either OTA practice open to reporters, not Wednesday, June 4, or May 28, when social media posts showed the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year had been vacationing in Japan. On May 25, he attended the Crunchyroll Anime Awards in Tokyo with two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim.
Garrett's absence has made him a target of criticism, and this is at the root of the discourse: Traditional football views have created a disconnect between the perception of some fans and media members and the reality of modern-day NFL locker room culture.
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Browns defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo recently tweeted in defense of Garrett after he caught some heat on local sports talk radio. He expounded on his stance about OTAs and Garrett during an interview with the Beacon Journal.
'It's not mandatory, and it's more for the young guys,' Okoronkwo said. 'It's definitely encouraging to the young guys when you see those older guys there. But for a guy like Myles, I mean, I've trained with Myles before. He'll be all right when the season comes. We all know that. You let a guy like that who does all the right things [do his thing]. That's why I don't really understand everybody saying all those things about him.
'He's going above and beyond to make sure he's ready to play on Sunday. When he gets on the field, he's the best player in the world. Some things could just be left alone, and Myles is one of those. Look, he'll be here, and we all know what we're going to get from him. There's going to be no surprises and no question marks. We're going to go into this thing, and he's going to lead the charge.'
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Two significant labor developments in NFL history are pertinent to this discussion.
One occurred when the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to a collective bargaining agreement in 2011 and thereby ended two-a-day practices in training camp. Only one active Browns player was in the league under the old system: 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco.
In other words, the vast majority of today's players aren't accustomed to practicing nearly as much as their predecessors did 15 years ago. It shapes perspective.
Another important shift happened in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. All in-person spring workouts and practices as well as preseason games were eliminated. Training camp practices didn't begin until August, so camp was shorter than usual.
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At the time, the Browns had a new coaching staff led by Kevin Stefanski, along with new playbooks and schemes. Despite cramming to learn it all, they went 11-5, made the playoffs and advanced to the divisional round with their first and only postseason win since Jan. 1, 1995.
In December 2020, former Browns center and NFLPA president JC Tretter pointed out the toothpaste could not be put back into the tube. He argued players benefited physically and mentally from the lack of an in-person offseason workout program and pushed to scrap OTAs entirely.
It never happened, yet Tretter succeeded in putting the voluntary back in voluntary OTAs. The attitudes many players have toward OTAs shifted for good.
It's part of the reason why Browns seven-time Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio, a close friend of Tretter, began forgoing OTA practices in recent years. This spring, Bitonio has continued to work out at team headquarters, but he stays away from the field. And, for the record, Garrett has been in the building in Berea since the offseason workout program began April 22.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett during practice at the Browns training facility Aug. 4, 2024, in Berea, Ohio.
Most of us cannot imagine relating to professional athletes because of the money they make. Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million contract extension in March after requesting a trade earlier this offseason. The financial element combined with Garrett's OTA absences have led to a surplus of narrow-minded takes about rich, spoiled players.
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You know what is relatable, though? Jobs changing forever because of COVID-19, and the mindsets and habits of workers being different to this day. For many, virtual meetings are a way of life.
A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in the 2018 draft, Okoronkwo is among the players on the Browns roster who experienced the NFL before and after the pandemic.
'All COVID showed me was that I still could have a good year without the traditional OTAs,' Okoronkwo said.
So why has Okoronkwo been at OTAs? He explained it's expensive for elite athletes to work out with personal trainers. At Browns headquarters, he has all the resources he needs at no cost.
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'It's a personal choice. Nobody has to be here. It's a lot of free stuff, so I'm here,' Okoronkwo said with a laugh.
There are separate buckets of the OTA conversation. One is about player performance. Another is about leadership.
Okoronkwo agreed OTAs can aid performance, but it's on a team-by-team and player-by-player basis.
'Everybody's situation is different,' Okoronkwo said. 'There might be an undrafted free agent guy, and OTAs might help him. There might be a guy who is one of the best pass rushers of all time. OTAs might not help him. It's just person to person.'
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett celebrates a fourth-quarter fumble recovery against the Steelers, Dec 8, 2024, in Pittsburgh.
It's logical to conclude …
Rookies and young players can benefit from learning a scheme and taking it to the field
Quarterbacks, pass catchers, linebackers and defensive backs can benefit from developing rhythm and timing in what amounts to a passing camp
There isn't much benefit for veteran linemen on either side of the ball until pads go on in training camp
Let's dip back into the leadership bucket. Okoronkwo contended Garrett 'is a good leader because he's good to everybody' in Browns headquarters.
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'If you could take a peek into our locker room, you'd see we're connected. We're good,' Okoronkwo said.
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Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, left, talks with co-owner Jimmy Haslam before a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Aug. 21, 2022, in Cleveland.
On the other hand, would it be great if Garrett were at OTA practices to talk football with younger defensive linemen every day? Of course, it would be a nice bonus, and four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward has said he chooses to be at OTAs to fulfill his role as a leader.
No one would disagree with any of it. But to say a player isn't a good leader because he isn't practicing when his union collectively bargained for him to have the right to take off is antiquated. Especially in a post-pandemic world.
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'This is a voluntary portion,' Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. 'We know Myles works hard no matter where he is, no matter what time the season is, so he's a veteran player that's proven himself in this league. We have a lot of guys out here [at OTAs] who are trying to reach that level, and they're working hard every day to do that. So every player's a little bit different.'
Garrett is different. He will turn 30 on Dec. 29 and has played through countless injuries. He has an offseason regimen, and it hasn't included going to all OTA practices in recent years.
Now, can Garrett become a better leader? Browns owner Jimmy Haslam let everyone know the answer is still yes.
'I think Myles is, by nature, an introvert. He is not an extroverted rah, rah guy,' Haslam said in late March at the NFL owners meetings. 'And what we've challenged Myles on is by his practice habits [and] actions, et cetera, to become a real leader of the team. And he has said he'd do that, and we're hopeful that he will.'
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OTAs won't make or break Garrett's pledge.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [e-mail]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett's Browns OTAs attendance doesn't define his leadership