{"id":24333,"date":"2025-05-29T02:08:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T02:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=24333"},"modified":"2025-05-29T02:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T02:08:17","slug":"breaking-myles-garrett-diontae-johnson-greg-newsome-ii-among-browns-players-not-at-otas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=24333","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Myles Garrett, Diontae Johnson, Greg Newsome II among Browns players not at OTAs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CLEVELAND, Ohio. \u2014 Myles Garrett, Diontae Johnson and Greg Newsome II were among the 14 or so Browns players who weren\u2019t on the field for the second voluntary organized team activities practice on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"Myles<\/p>\n

But coach Kevin Stefanski stressed that the club is not holding it against players who don\u2019t attend, or who miss even some of the 10 practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important to remember that this is a voluntary program and anybody who\u2019s here, we\u2019re excited about that,\u201d he said after practice. \u201cWe\u2019re not reporting who\u2019s here on what day. So, there are guys that will be in and out of the program and that is totally their prerogative. But the guys that are here will just continue to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Garrett, the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, it\u2019s not unusual for him to skip the voluntary sessions, but it hasn\u2019t stopped him from maintaining his status as one of the premier defensive ends in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\"Myles<\/p>\n

Garrett, who has a deep affinity for Japan, posted on his Instagram story on Tuesday that he\u2019s in Tokyo, with a caption that read \u201ctrying to buy a place here asap.\u201d He also appeared on the red carpet of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards there on Sunday with Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim.<\/p>\n

The absence from OTA No. 2 comes after Browns owner Jimmy Haslam urged his newly-minted $40 million-a-year man at the NFL Annual Meetings to become more of a leader this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve challenged Myles on is, by his practice habits, by his actions, etc., to become a real leader of the team,\u201d Haslam said. \u201cAnd he has said he\u2019d do that and we\u2019re hopeful that he will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haslam noted that \u201cMyles is by nature an introvert. He\u2019s not an extroverted rah-rah guy,\u201d but that the Browns expect even more from their All-Pro defensive end in the leadership space.”<\/p>\n

But OTAs, which by nature are more passing-camp oriented, are not Garrett\u2019s thing, and missing them has never hurt him. When a player has earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year status, he\u2019s also earned the right to skip some voluntary offseason workouts. In fact, former Browns center and NFLPA president J.C. Tretter has strongly urged all NFL players to skip the voluntary workouts in the name of health and safety.<\/p>\n

Stefanski was asked specifically if he was upset that Garrett was absent.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, this is a voluntary program,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What about Johnson?<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"Cleveland<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s absence raised some eyebrows among observers Wednesday, especially considering this could be his last chance to save his career after three teams sent him packing last season.<\/p>\n

But Johnson, signed as a free agent, has participated in at least some of the offseason program based on photos on the Browns\u2019 website.<\/p>\n

Stefanski downplayed his absence on Wednesday as a possible sign of turbulence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t really think of it that big picture,\u201d he said. \u201cI think for us it\u2019s just getting him to understand our program, what we\u2019re about, get him out here competing, but we\u2019ll really take that one day at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s old Steelers teammate, Kenny Pickett, is eager to play with him again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, being able to play with \u2018Tay for a couple of years in Pittsburgh now we\u2019re teammates again, I think that\u2019s awesome,\u201d he said. \u201cHis route running ability, his ability to separate. I think drop his weight in and out of routes, it\u2019s special. So I\u2019m excited to get back out there with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greg Newsome II and David Njoku not here <\/b><\/h2>\n

Newsome and Njoku, both heading into the final year of their contracts, were absent on Wednesday, but it\u2019s not necessarily connected that in any way.<\/p>\n

Newsome told cleveland.com at the Super Bowl that he would like to be on the field more and hoped to work that out with the Browns. Njoku told cleveland.com there that he wants to be here long-term and is expecting a bounce-back year after an injury-plagued 2024.<\/p>\n

But Newsome, playing on his fifth-year option tender worth $13.377 million, has been here for some of the offseason program and has traditionally participated in OTAs.<\/p>\n

As for Njoku, Browns GM Andrew Berry indicated at the NFL Annual Meetings in March that the Browns would like to extend him. He also checked in with Njoku and his agent at Miami when they were working out Cam Ward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known him since he\u2019s been 20-years-old and we\u2019ve been through a lot with David and we\u2019ve been happy to see him grow and mature in the organization,\u201d Berry said. \u201cLook, we love all of our long-tenured Browns to be with the organization until they\u2019re done. Sometimes that happens, sometimes that doesn\u2019t, so I can\u2019t necessarily make a commitment there either way. But I know David\u2019s desire is to be with the Browns long term, and that\u2019s ours as well. How and when and what that looks like, that\u2019s maybe not the primary focus right now. David, we would consider one of our core players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others included on the absent list Wednesday were Deshaun Watson (Achilles repair), Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin, David Bell (hip surgery), Mike Hall Jr. (knee surgery), Shelby Harris, and Mailek Collins.<\/p>\n

\"Myles<\/p>\n

Dawand Jones looks great <\/b><\/h2>\n

Jones, coming off surgery in December to to repair a broken fibula, looked as fit and fluid as he has since he was drafted by the Browns in the fourth round out of Ohio State in 2023.<\/p>\n

Jones moved well in team drills, and is already making a strong case to nail down the left tackle job. Free agent signee Cornelius Lucas started on the right side in place of Jack Conklin, and second-year guard Zak Zinter replaced Bitonio.<\/p>\n

Mason Graham has a fine day <\/b><\/h2>\n

Graham had a strong showing Wednesday, including batting down a Dillon Gabriel pass in 11-on-11s. Gabriel didn\u2019t have much of a problem with batted balls in college, and the Browns are hoping it\u2019s the same here. But Graham, their No. 5 overall pick out of Michigan, showed why he\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally working extremely hard, is in the weight room, I see him out here getting extra work, doing great in the meeting rooms,\u201d Stefanski said. \u201cAs you guys know, Phase Three, the offseason, is not really made for offensive lineman and defensive linemen. So, there\u2019s a lot of work that happens in individual drills. So, Coach Jacques (Cesaire) has his hands on them and they\u2019re doing just that. They\u2019re working really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bike Brigade<\/b><\/h2>\n

Safety Ronnie Hickman and defensive end Alex Wright rode the exercise bikes at the start of practice, but Wright, coming off a torn triceps, joined individual drills a little later without a helmet. It means he\u2019s getting closer to practicing, which is a great sign for the defensive line rotation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was among the no-shows at OTAs Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Myles Garrett, Diontae Johnson, Greg Newsome II among Browns players not at OTAs - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=24333\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Myles Garrett, Diontae Johnson, Greg Newsome II among Browns players not at OTAs - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was among the no-shows at OTAs Wednesday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=24333\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-29T02:08:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/LIONS-NEWS-1-2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=24333\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=24333\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Myles Garrett, Diontae Johnson, Greg Newsome II among Browns players not at OTAs - 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