LSU Tigers-turned-Cleveland Browns Grant Delpit, Jacob Phillips share 'don't quit' mindset

CLEVELAND – The link is undeniable between Grant Delpit and Jacob Phillips.

"It definitely goes back to our LSU days," Delpit said earlier this month. "Me and him being on the same field basically for our whole time in college. I think we know what each other can do. I think that helps with trust on the field."

That trust has carried on since the duo left Baton Rouge as national champions in 2019. It's carried on to Cleveland, where the pair were second-day draft picks for the Browns in 2020.

It has, unfortunately, also carried into one similar characteristic to both of their careers to date. Both have been plagued by injuries which have limited their time on the field.

For Delpit, it was an Achilles tendon tear in training camp that wiped out his rookie season. For Phillips, it's been multiple injuries which have limited him to just 15 total games over two seasons.

The trust those two – along with another LSU-turned-Browns teammate, Greedy Williams – have brought with them from the bayou to the lakefront has also helped them navigate what could have been a mentally-crushing start to their NFL careers.

"It's me, Greedy and Jacob," Delpit said. "We've all been through injuries, just like everybody on the team. It's good to have some familiar faces around to push you. Just, 'Don't quit man; keep going. We're going to be waiting for you, man, when you get back.'"

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For Delpit and Phillips, "back" may be the best way to describe how they feel heading into their third season. A better way may just be to say they've finally arrived.

Thanks to those injuries the previous two seasons, it was hard for either to remain on the field. While a month remains until training camp, what both showed during the voluntary offseason and minicamp workouts was signs of two players eager to make the third year be the charm.

"I'm feeling good," said Phillips, the former third-round linebacker who was limited to just four games in 2021 due to a torn bicep tendon. "This is the heaviest I've been since I've been in the league, strongest I've been. I came back at the beginning of OTAs and I ran my fastest miles per hour. I feel good right now. This is the most experience that I've had with the playbook going into my third year at this point. I feel ready to go."

The Browns certainly need both Delpit and Phillips, as well as Williams, to be as close to healthy as possible this season. They may not be their best defensive players, but they may be their most versatile.

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Delpit showed flashes of what he could do a year ago, when the second-round safety started seven of the 15 games in which he played. He intercepted a pass, forced a fumble, defended three passes and recorded 66 total tackles, three of those for losses.

During the offseason workouts, Delpit seemed to elevate his game even more. While it was obviously a controlled environment in helmets and shorts, he was consistently flying around the field making plays.

“Grant has been really good," head coach Kevin Stefanski said during minicamp. "He has done a very nice job. I think he has a really good understanding of what we are trying to do, which is half of the battle. You can play fast when you know what you are doing. He looks really smooth in and out of his transitions. You saw him make a play on the ball (for an interception) so he is doing a really nice job.”

That Delpit has a good understanding of what the Browns are trying to do defensively may seem like a byproduct of having been able to play essentially a full season a year ago. That allowed him to acclimate himself to the speed of the NFL game.

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That acclimation, though, began during his rookie season even though he wasn't able to get on the field. What he couldn't do physically, he tried to do mentally when he was able to be around his teammates.

"At the start, I wasn't really getting any mental reps because I'm worried about rehabbing and stuff like that," Delpit said. "As time went on and I started getting better, I was sitting in the meeting rooms every week, every day, watching film, watching practice. Just trying to get that stuff down that I was losing."

Phillips battled many of the same issues, just over two years compared to only one. Like Delpit, even while he spent much of last season on injured reserve, he remained around the team both during the week and on game day.

That could've been mentally and emotionally crushing for Phillips to stand by and watch. Yet, being around his teammates had a cathartic effect for him.

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"When you love something so much as I do football, and when you feel as privileged as I do to be blessed with the ability and to have a great support system with my family and my peers, my teammates, it's kind of hard to be sulking too much," said Phillips, who played in 11 games, including two playoff contests, as a rookie in 2020. "I feel like those have been the things that have kind of helped me through it. Just my family and just feeling like not everybody is blessed with this opportunity, so good or bad, I'm just going to roll with it."

That led Phillips to stick around Cleveland for more than a month after the season ended in early January to start a training regiment that hasn't just added bulk, but also speed. He maintained that program even during his time back home in Nashville before returning for OTAs in April.

All of that was done not just with the upcoming season in mind, but also the memory of what Phillips has gone through over his first two seasons in the NFL.

"My focus was gaining a little bit of weight," said Phillips, who has 42 career tackles, 28 of those solo, along with three tackles for loss in his career. "Gaining a little bit of lean muscle mass. … At this point, I'm feeling strong. They say strong things don't break, so I'm hoping if I come into the season strong, I can play the season injury free."

Reach Chris at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com.

On Twitter: @ceasterlingABJ