The Cleveland Browns have brought a ton of new faces to OTAs with them this year and the camp has been a great first opportunity for everyone to get acclimated. New head coach Todd Monken and his staff appear to be doing a great job thus far helping everyone on both sides of the ball feel at home, and the vibes in the building are not that of a team that just randomly traded its best player in the middle of the summer.
It takes a strong foundation to handle a move like the Myles Garrett trade, but Jared Verse already looks comfortable in his new digs as well and there is plenty of excitement from his new teammates about what he can bring to the defense. Another new player corroborated Verse’s excitement as well and recently spoke highly of his brief time in his new city.
Elgton Jenkins has big shoes to fill as this team’s new starting center, replacing Ethan Pocic. Jenkins will be accompanied by four other new starters up front, but he sounded encouraged about the situation during his recent media session at OTAs shared by the Browns’ YouTube account.
“I like Cleveland. Kind of starting to fall in love with Cleveland. It’s deep, but I’m a deep guy. We’ve got a lot of young guys in the organization. We’ve got a lot of talent in the building. I think if we put it all together, the sky is the limit. As far as the city, got more things to do than Mississippi and Green Bay,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins also shouted out the Cleveland Cavaliers and Guardians, who have both been putting together some solid playoff runs in recent years, as well as the city’s restaurant scene. A player coming from New York or Los Angeles may not always appreciate Cleveland’s charm, but Jenkins is a perfect small town guy who already appreciates the uniqueness the city has to offer.
Jenkins signed a two-year, $24 million contract this offseason and will be a focal point of a rebuilt offensive line that also features newcomers Spencer Fano, Zion Johnson, and Tytus Howard alongside him. GM Andrew Berry had to get creative to rebuild this line this offseason, and even though a lot of talented and accomplished veterans walked out the door, this line has the potential to be sneaky good.
It’s always great to hear new players are enjoying their new cities. Changing teams and cities can be a big culture shock, but Jenkins already looks like he’ll embrace his new home and grow into a locker room leader this team needs.
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