DL Emmanuel Ogbah:
On his health and the status of his foot:
"I am doing good. Great as ever."
On when he was ready to play again:
"In the spring."
On if he will be playing in multiple spots within the defense:
"They have us playing different positions. Just have to be well rounded, know what we are doing and know all of the plays."
On OL Chris Hubbard:
"He is a good, solid right tackle. He is going to do very big things for us. He is going to help us protect either (QB) Baker (Mayfield) or (QB) Tyrod (Taylor)."
On what the Browns defense has shown in the first few days of training camp:
"The intensity. We have a mindset that we are here to work. We are tired of losing. We are trying to change this program around so we are doing whatever we can to help this team win games."
On how new players in the locker room help players move past last season:
"We brought in a lot of ball players, good dudes that can ball so they are ready. They are ready for the task at hand. We want to win games. That is our main priority – help bring winning to this city. We are doing the best we can. Right now, we are just grinding and making sure we are getting better at everything, every little thing."
LB Joe Schobert:
On going into his second season and the difference from his first year:
"I think the biggest thing that is different is consecutive years in the same thing. Last year, it was just information overload with trying to get everything down. This year being through it a second time, everything is pretty much the same so it is a little bit more fine-tuned. You can work on your craft a little bit more and not worry about getting everybody lined up in a certain spot. It has been more enjoyable in that aspect."
On LB Mychal Kendricks and the LBs working as a unit:
"We will see how preseason goes and then fall camp goes. He has not been out a lot. He has been shown to work hard in the weight room and film room. He sits next to me in our linebacker room and asks questions on this and that – all different things. You can tell that he is an intelligent guy. He will get it when he gets in there and is able to play more. We have to see how fall camp and the preseason kind of plays through, then we will have a better idea."
On changes to body frame to play MIKE:
"I am lucky enough in my career not to have any major injuries. I was able to play every snap last year. Just trying to repeat everything I did last year in terms of keeping my body right, staying healthy and recovering. Football is an injury-prone game so you have to get lucky and stay the same way."
On the Browns signing Kendricks:
"I like it. I think that it is exciting. A lot of competition. Every single position on this team has gotten ramped up in the competition aspect. It is going to make the whole team better. Adding him into our room with his experience – obviously, just going to the Super Bowl; and he has been in the league, I think this is his seventh year – he has seen a lot of stuff. It is just another mind to pick in terms of all of the different aspects of football. It is going to be a great addition to our room."
On his self-evaluation of last season and preparations for this season:
"Working on the recognition of offensive concepts and what they are going to try to do to us. Last year, halfway through the year, it kind of finally settled down in terms of making the defensive calls and not worrying too much about getting everybody exactly perfect, getting everybody lined up and playing football and taking a look at what the offense was presenting and what they are trying to do. Try to use that information to kind of steal some plays here and there and make big plays."
OL JC Tretter:
On the Browns OL:
"I think that the addition of Hub (OL Chris Hubbard) is huge. He has been a great addition to the room just as a guy and as a player coming from (offensive coordinator) Todd Haley's scheme. He has been pretty big in kind of translating different things for us to how they ran it in Pittsburgh so we have that communicated down to us on a player-to-player basis. I really think that the inside three (Tretter, OL Joel Bitonio and OL Kevin Zeitler) by the end of the year had really jelled together really well and having another offseason of being together. (OL) Shon (Coleman) has been playing really well on the outside. So far, he has been taking the one reps, but it is still early. I think that will all get sorted out, but so far, so good. Day 1 of pads, I think we are still trying to figure out an identity and what are we best at. That will come now that the pads are on. Now, we can run more plays and kind of see what we are best at. We will figure that out over the next couple of practices."
On how long it takes to have a unit jell and have the right chemistry:
"It takes a little bit. The communication is easy because we meet so much and talk so much about how we block certain things. Body positioning and how we block certain looks is a little bit more different. Last year, Joel was coming back from injury then got a little banged up late in training camp so we did not have many reps together before the start of the season. The first couple of games, we were still getting used to each other, but the end of the season, I think we really understood how each other's bodies work and how we move, where we need a little bit more help on certain blocks and where we can let someone go one on one. That just comes with time. Throughout last year, we got to a point where we are really comfortable with each other. Now, just having an extra offseason together, it is only going to make it work better."
On if he put on weight this offseason and where his body should be going into this season:
"I came in about 10 pounds bigger, 10 pounds heavier. I think that every year at the end of the season, you kind of look in the mirror and watch the film again and kind of figure out what you need to change up. (Former Browns OL) Joe (Thomas) did that a lot. I think that he would change and play with his weight a bit every year and just see what he needed. With the defenses that we play in the division, I think having 10 more pounds would be beneficial. I worked with (performance dietician) Katy (Meassick), who is our dietician here and does a great job. I stayed here most of the offseason and worked with her. She did a great job of just giving me a meal plan of what I should eat, when I should eat it and what it should consist of so she was a huge asset this year. She was a big help of getting me to where I needed to be and making sure that I am putting on good weight so that I can still be as agile as I want but also just have that extra weight to help me out."
On if it is unsettling to not have the LT position solidified:
"No, there is really no way for you to make that decision already. We knew that this was going to be up in the air to say it that way. Shon has been everything we have needed him to be up until now. (OL) Austin (Corbett) has been playing well. The pads just got put on yesterday. You were not going to be able to make any real determination in shorts. Now that the pads are on, we will see guys compete and go against rushers that are actually going full speed. This is where we will figure out who is going to be the best player at that position. Whenever there is a competition, the best player is going to rise to the surface and that is what we are looking for. We are looking for the best five players to play."
