The Browns finished Day 7 of training camp, the second-to-last practice before the team holds the Orange and Brown scrimmage at FirstEnergy Stadium.
From Myles Garrett's rise up the depth chart to looking for leadership from young players, here are the best quotes from Wednesday's practice.
BROWNS COACH HUE JACKSON
"It's time. As I said the other day, you can only keep guys down so long." — on Myles Garrett earning first-team reps
"I thought it was important for him to come out and spend time with us. He knows (defensive coordinator Gregg) Williams. He knows (defensive line coach) Clyde Simmons. He knows some of our coaches. We all kind of go back. It was good to see him. He looks like he could still play … Anytime we can have former players or Hall of Famers come back and talk to our players and be around them, I think that is a good thing." — on Bruce Smith visiting practice
"He is smart. He is tough. He has unbelievable quickness and athletic ability. He is a good get for us. He really takes care of things in the middle of our offense and that is important. It is important to our team." — on new center JC Tretter
"We have a lot of young guys here that are playing and contributing to our team. We are a very young team … You don't have to be a veteran to be a leader. You have to be a football player, be accountable and understand what our vision is and what we are trying to accomplish to be a leader. Then, go out and lead. The guys who lead normally serve, and they serve their football team. We have some guys that are young guys who are stepping into that role, and I think they have done a good job." — on Jackson's message to the team
"He is one of the leaders of our defense. Tremendous football player. He is somebody in that locker room that the players look to. I think he will do a great job that way as well." — on LB Christian Kirksey
"I want to see our team compete. There are certain guys that I want to see perform and do certain things." — on the Orange and Brown scrimmage
LB CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY
"He's one of our team leaders. Just to see him running around out there making plays and just seeing the type of talent that he has throughout the years of playing with the Browns, he is definitely a key player for us. It feels good to see one of your guys come back and have a good time." — on welcoming Desmond Bryant back from injury
"I'm excited, man. I am excited to see Tank finally get that opportunity to go out there and be that linebacker that I know he can be. He is a great special teams player for us. His track history of being a special teams guys, he has been out there making plays on that level. Just to give him a chance to go out there and play linebacker, which we all know Tank Carder, when he was in college, he was Rose Bowl MVP and things like that so he has all the talent in the world to go out there and make plays." — on teammate Tank Carder competing for starting MLB job
C JC TRETTER
*"It is a huge part of the position. It is a huge part of the job description. A lot of it is taking the onus off the rest of the guys. You need to come up there, and my job is to come up there and make sure everybody knows what they are doing, who they goy." - on intelligence as a center
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DB JABRILL PEPPERS
"I've worked for everything in my life. "Nothing has been handed to me." — on battling for a starting job
"I take everything as a challenge. I'm going to show that not only am I physical enough or fit enough to handle it, but also I have the wits, too. I try to just be as well rounded and know as much as I possibly can to be used in any kind of way. That is my goal for the season." — on playing multiple roles for the Browns this fall
DL DESMOND BRYANT
"Not playing. It's just something I have done for so long. It's been such a huge part of my life for forever it seems like. Not being able to be out there was brutal." — on missing the 2016 season because of a torn pectoral muscle
"There are a lot of guys in that room right now and there are only so many positions available on the 53-man roster. From top to bottom, everybody has been going out every day and competing for a job." — on the depth of the defensive line
