Head Coach Hue Jackson:
On the report that DB Calvin Pryor III got into a fight with WR Ricardo Louis before practice and is being released:
"It was an internal matter. I am not going to go into any details or specifics. We did release the player, and we are moving on."
On if Louis will also be released:
"I am not going to get into all of that. I would hope not. I don't think so."
On how unusual it is for two players to get into a fight before practice:
"Things happen. Moving on."
On Pryor being released following a fight before practice, when fights sometimes occur in practice:
"I just made a decision which we thought was best for our football team and we moved on. That is it."
On DL Myles Garrett sustaining a high ankle sprain:
"Obviously, we would like to have him out there, but again, as I said several times before with not just his situation, these things happen in football. Unfortunate. He is one of our better players, and we wish we had them all out there, but we will have him out there at some point in time soon. We will go from there."
On who will start at DE in place of Garrett on Sunday:
"Obviously, you mentioned (DLs) Nate (Orchard) and Carl (Nassib), and we signed Tyrone Holmes back. We will have some guys that will go out there and compete and play well within our system."
On if Garrett's injury was an accident:
"Oh yeah, somebody got thrown into the back of his leg by accident. It wasn't intentional and those things happen. It wasn't planned. Nobody tried to have it happen. He didn't try to have it happen. It is football. Those things happen sometimes when you are out there practicing. It was unfortunate that it happened, and we are going to move on from it."
On level of concern that Garrett has had multiple lower leg injuries:
"No concern because at the same time, I know exactly how it happened. If you get somebody thrown into your leg, it could happen to any one of our guys. If you guys would have seen it, it could happen to anybody on our football team. It is just unfortunate it happened to a guy who we wish was out there all of the time. That goes with it."
On if Garrett was injured in a full-tackling period of practice:
"No. It is just somebody was getting blocked, got pushed, stumbled and ended up going into the guys leg. It is not something that was malicious or anything like that."
On Garrett's timetable to return:
"We are going to be week to week. Let's see where we are week to week, and we will go from there."
On how Garrett is handling the disappointment of being injured:
"He is disappointed like any player would be. He was excited about starting his NFL career and regular season and then this happens, but his spirits are back up today. I think he understands where he is and he knows he is going to get back out there, so he will be fine."
On if the Browns need to sign a S after releasing Pryor:
"We will promote somebody, possibly. (DB) Kai (Nacua) has done a good job for us this offseason and through preseason. We will see where we are."
On if defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will have to change his gameplan for the Steelers following Garrett's injury:
"That is possible, but there are a lot of things we are going to do anyway. You guys know Gregg is very good at what he does and he will masterfully put together a plan that gives us a chance to play good defense."
On the adversity of losing Garrett to a high ankle sprain and having a fight before today's practice ahead of Sunday's season opener:
"Have you guys ever seen me run from anything? I am not about to now. If anything, our team is a little bit tighter, a little bit more stronger because of the things that have happened. We grow from this. It is happening now and glad it is happening early in the year so we can move on from it and grow from it and become stronger as a football team. We never want to see things happen, but we all know they do during a long season, so here we go. This is just the start of it. Let's put it behind us and keep marching."
On if the injury to Garrett takes any energy out of the defense and leaves a 'here we go again' feeling:
"Energy is not going to change. No, we don't talk about that 'here we go again' feeling. We don't have that in this building. We are moving on. We get to lay claim on what our season is going to be starting this week. That was the preseason. That is behind us. The regular season starts this week. We have a big game against a good opponent, and we expect to go out and play well in front of our family, friend and our fans. That is what this is all about."
On if he expects Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell's holdout to impact his play, given his limited number of reps this offseason:
"No (laughter). I expect to see him every play. He is a good football player. I think we know that. He is very talented, and I'm sure he is ready to go. He will show up and play, but we will be there. We are going to play, too. That is the way football works."
On Bell's unique running style, and if he has seen anyone else like him:
"He is good. We had Jim Brown here, remember. That is one of the greatest ever. This guy is good, yeah. We can talk about the era all you want. You said running style. That was the best ever. This guy is good, but at the same time, he can't beat 11 guys by himself. He is a good player in this league, and we have to face him this week. Let's go play."
On if he had a formal conversation with QB DeShone Kizer this week regarding the offense and his message:
"Complete the damn ball (laughter). That is my conversation with DeShone. No, he has done a good job. He has handled my barrage towards him. He understands what he needs to do. He has had a good week of practice and is working hard. He has prepared well. This isn't the game. The game is Sunday. That is what he has to get himself ready for. It will be a tremendous environment. I know our fans are excited about coming to see our team play and our opponent that we are playing. It is going to be fun. It is going to be electric for him. He is going to have to take it all in but play within our system, play within himself and go have a good game."
On observations from Garrett throughout training camp and the preseason:
"That he is everything I thought he was. He is a tremendous football player. We just have to get beyond this, get him back out there and let him do what he came here to do."
On balancing a commitment to the running game with Kizer's arm strength:
"You always try to play one off of the other as much as you can. We will try to do that, but our goal is to try to do whatever we think it takes to win. That is what it is. These wins go in the ledger now. We are going to do what we think it takes to win, whether it is running the ball, throwing the ball or whatever it takes. I think our players understand that."
On the Browns' losing record during season openers:
"I think we all know (laughter). I think we get that. I think that is understood what it has been here. We want to change that. We get a chance to change that on Sunday. That is part of the plan. We are not going into this game talking about the past. It is just that it is the past. We have to talk about what we are trying to do now, which is win. I'm not going to back off of that. Our players are not. We are working our tails off to do that. Now, we have to go play the game on Sunday and see if we can go make that happen."
On if he feels the Steelers' signing of DB Joe Haden was because they feel their window for winning a Super Bowl is closing, particularly due to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger's age and the team's makeup:
"Because of (Steelers QB) Ben (Roethlisberger)? Can we get him to not play this Sunday (laughter)? No, I don't know that. (Steelers Head Coach) Mike (Tomlin) would have to tell you that. Obviously, it is a good team. It is a good quarterback. They have a good system. They have good players. They have continued to get better. Maybe this is their window; maybe it is not their window. I just know we are trying to start our window. That is all I know. We are looking forward to Sunday. Our guys are excited about playing against a good football team here at home."
