BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland has loaded up their roster with talent on both sides of the ball and on special teams, which is where veteran cornerback Tony Brown II hopes to shine this year as he joins the Browns—a team that he says he was born to be on, thanks to the namesake.
From expectations for himself and the team, the reception he's gotten from the organization, the reasons he decided to come to Cleveland and all the things that make up Tony Brown II, the cornerback sat down for a 1-on-1on chat about it all.
The text of this interview was edited for clarity and length.
Camryn Justice: What has it been like for you so far being a part of the Browns and being in Cleveland?
Tony Brown II: Man, it's been awesome. Every day, developing rapport with guys that I got a high level of respect for their game in the league. From Denzel [Ward] to Greg [Newsome II] to Martin [Emerson] to JOK [Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah] to Dalvin [Tomlinson], who I played with in college, Coop [Amari Cooper] I played with in college, I played with [Jerry] Jeudy and I played with Jed [Wills Jr.]. And I actually played with Deshaun [Watson] back in high school when he was coming up at the opening. So just to get here and to start developing those relationships right now in OTAs is awesome.
The city is awesome in itself. It's a major city with major professional sports, but it has like a college-town feel downtown. So, when I do get moved out here, I'm excited to get my family out here, excited to get in the city. But as far as just the team-wise, I love the organization so far.
I was always meant to be a Brown. Let's just get that off the top, right? I was always meant to be a Brown. But it was a few different things, one being Bubba Ventrone. So he was at Indy when I was in Indy, too. So, when he got here, I almost came here last year, but from a business standpoint, I stayed in Indy. And so I had that connection with Bubba; I feel like I had one of my best years from a specialist standpoint.
It's a combination of what the team had, the tools that they had, where I feel I could bring something to the table to this team also, and the coaching staff. And another thing is the Haslams; they really invested in this facility. I've played for five different teams, so this is probably the best recovery tools that they give the players that I've ever seen. So, that was a big thing for me, too, being in my seventh year.
CJ: Now you're here, and you talk about your fit; what do you bring? Where do you fit into this defense? And what are we expecting from you on the field this season?
TB: What you can expect from Tony is to give whatever is needed, right? So, what I bring to the table is a level of leadership, a level of competition to the room, a level of healthy competition, a mindset, a winning mindset. I haven't won the Super Bowl in the NFL, but in college, I've been to three national championships, so I know what it takes to get to that next level of championship football. They can expect from Tony to see a high level of play, high energy, and whatever is needed for me out there, whether that be corner or nickel. So I've been playing corner and nickel, but if anything happens, I'll be out there, and we won't lose a step.
CJ: One of the things that people are also looking at what you bring is that special teams ability. What's your mindset going into this season, knowing that the rules are changing a little bit?
TB: The thing I'm looking forward to most is to see how this kickoff and kickoff return game will go in the NFL. We watched it in the XFL, but their placement of the front line and back line was just a little different than what we'll do.
So, me being a teamer, I play kickoff from 40 yards away, being able to move and have a lot of room to work, but now we're five yards away from our blocker. So, I'm interested to see how I'll come up with ways to get close to the ball and make plays. So it's not as taxing because it's not as far run. So, I'm very excited to be the leading tackle in the NFL, in special teams tackles.
CJ: You've already notched it down like this is going to happen.
TB: Yes, for sure.
CJ: What was it about football that made you think, "This is what I wanna do for a very long time"?
TB: It was a family thing. My dad played football at Texas Tech and ran track there. My mom played basketball at Texas Tech. That's where they met. My mom's twin brother played football and ran track at Texas Tech. My mom played professional football for the Houston Energy back in the day. So, it was something that I saw growing up all the time. And my dad was a high school football coach, I kind of fell in love with it then.
Going into college, I still loved the game, like, 'This is what I want to do.' And then when I got to the NFL, I went undrafted, but going to the NFL was my goal in football, the maximum goal I wanted to do. And so when I got to the NFL, I went undrafted, and I kind of had this chip on my shoulder, and it made me want to just get on the field to prove myself and it kind of clouded my goal-oriented type mentality. And I was with the Chargers after preseason, with Green Bay for two years, then with Cinci for two years. So it was like, it always felt I had this chip on my shoulder in order to get back on the field, to be the guy.
At that moment, the little 4-5 months when I was practice squad, when I was off the field, it was like a reality check for me. I just had my son that training camp that year. So it was like, I fell out of love with the game a little bit because I feel like I give so much. Anybody that knows me knows that I give a lot to myself and my body. I pour into my body, I train very hard, and I kind of fell out of love with it a little bit. And then when I signed with Indy, I was there with Bubba, I kinda got reinvigorated like, "Okay, bet, this is another opportunity." And I felt a different level of gratitude, being that I was off the field. And I had goals that year, and I attained them. I was like, 'Hey, my goal for this year was to prove to this league, prove to myself, that I still am a factor in the NFL. I still have a high level of value in this game in this sport.' And I did that.
And then last year, my second year, I was like, "Okay, let's take another step and prove that I can be one of the best in this sport at what I do, whether that be special teams or corner nickel." And I feel like I took a step towards that. And now, being at the Browns, when I got here on my visit, I was welcomed in a way that I hadn't been before in the NFL by a team when I've signed, because I've signed with multiple teams. I got here, my face was on the screens and stuff. I stepped into [Kevin] Stefanski's office. He's like, "Hey, let me know what you need." Coach [Jim] Schwartz, coach [Brandon] Lynch and Bubba, on top of that, he's smiling ear to ear, walking me through the facility.
With this coaching staff, Brandon Lynch is probably the best coach I've ever had. Best coach I ever had, and it has nothing to do with the Xs and Os, just as far as how he is as a man. It is unbelievable what type of guy Brandon Lynch is to a player like myself, and that's one of the keys to having that confidence to being able to play free that I feel I kind of didn't have before because I was like, "I need to do this, I need to do this. I got to be perfect." And now I'm not so much as worried about being perfect, I'm worried about being the highest, having the most tackles in the NFL. I'm worried about, "Hey, I need to get to the ball, I need to have the ball in my hand at least eight times this year, whether that be fumble, interception, block, punt." And these are the goals that I have now that prior two years, I was like, "Let me just get on the field."
So, long drawn-out answer for: I've fallen back deeply in love with this game even more than I have ever been, here with the Browns.
CJ: How important is the culture of an organization really in this game? We talk about how much this Browns organization has changed culturally, but as a player, do you feel that, too?
TB: Yes, in a major way. In the city and on the field because there's this thing like, okay, no season is going to be perfect, right? But if you got fans and you've got a team that has the intangibles and the rapport to not immediately tank when things go bad because things are not—it's all ebbs and flows in the season, the football season, any given Sunday. Anything might happen, but if anything bad happens, you don't want to be at a place where the stands are going to be empty; you want to be in a place where people have to wait three years for season tickets and the Browns are one of those places. They have an amazing history, an unbelievable history, and that's really one of the reasons why I was born to be a Brown.
CJ: We talk that namesake. Just looking back at the history, knowing that that statue of Jim Brown is there, you've got Brown on your back. What does that mean to you?
TB: I, as an athlete, respect him as a man, and he was a great player, too. When you put those together, it's Gold Jacket. So, I got a high level of respect for being on the team to continue that legacy, me myself. I got a very high level of gratitude for the legacy of this team and what they can do and what I think that they can do, and I'm just going to be a great addition to the already positive, good steps that they're taking right now.
CJ: Let's get to you; when you're not on the football field, when you're not studying your playbook, what can we find you doing?
TB: I like to read, one. I'm an avid ping-pong player, two. I really do love ping-pong. I fell in love with that two years ago. I'm an outside person, so I love doing things outside. I love going to the park with my son, walking, taking very long walks with my son; fishing is something that I love doing. Even though he fishes but he wants to do things by himself now. He's 2-and-a-half, he's wanting to do things all by himself and he can't really reel things in. He might get a bite, but it's fun, though; fishing is very fun to me.
And the biggest thing that I do, honestly, right now is you really would just catch me walking barefoot, taking care of my body for the most part. Outside of those things, those hobbies I just said, I'm probably going to be taking care of my body.
CJ: What is something, a secret talent that you have? Something that you're really good at that maybe some of your teammates that haven't got to know you very well yet don't know.
TB: I can draw. I'm very artistic. I drew some of my tattoos. I draw all the time. I usually take people's names and do characters of each letter from their personality. Like your name is Camryn. If I was to draw your name, the C would be like the Cleveland "C," then the A would be the news station "A." Each thing would be different. So, my artistic side is something that I think is a secret talent that I have.
CJ: What do you want the fans to know about you?
TB: I want the fans to know that this will be the best year that anyone's ever seen from Tony Brown II. And that's a bit scary if you've ever watched my career or know what I did last year, years prior, too. And that every play I'm going to play like my last. I got a very high level of gratitude for this opportunity that I've been given here.
With the way things ended in Indy, the message I would give to young men, young women, is that I'm not perfect, one. But life is not about the mistakes you make; it's about how you respond to them, what you learn from them. It was an amazing learning experience for myself. I made a mistake, and at the end of the day, I did the right thing, but the way that it ended off, we had to part ways.
It's never too late to be a good person. It's never too late to do the right thing. To all the kids out there, to all the young men, it's never late to do the right thing.
CJ: Where do you see the Browns going this season?
TB: They kind of alluded to it, right? With the unveiling of the season. Did you see how they do that? Did you see how they unveiled the season, the schedule?
CJ: (Nods)
TB: How'd they do it?
CJ: The bowling?
TB: Yes. Okay, so look: I'm big on words, right? I'm a words and a numbers guy. So they already telling us, with Super Bowl, bowling... it kind of all is aligning.
So to me, I see this as a Super Bowl team. I think that you have to speak things into existence, one, and you have to have a real level of belief and faith in what you want to do. Every day, Coach Lynch tells us, "Hey, these are our goals, the path. We take over the North, take over the AFC North, king of the AFC, Then we win the AFC—Super Bowl. That's every meeting we go over that. So, that's where I see us going. I see us being a playoff team and beyond. AFC Champions, AFC North Champions, Super Bowl Champions.
CJ: I think the fans would like that very much, too.
TB: Yes.
