Myles Garrett's tune has changed.
During the offseason, he trained with the intention of playing every snap. Then he lived through that reality and realized it wasn't the most efficient use of his energy.
"We saw what happened when I was out there every snap," Garrett said. "(During the) Bucs game, (I was) looking like I was doing summer strength and conditioning. I was pretty dead."
Still, Garrett played pretty close to every snap before the bye week. The 67 percent he played Week 10 against the Falcons was by far his lowest number of the season.
Garrett spent the bye week relaxing with his family and allowing his body to heal. The next six weeks will be a bad time to be lined up against him.
"Just getting some time off to rest a little bit has definitely helped me recover and get some of my speed and my strength back," Garrett said. "We should have some good fitness going into the next six games."
The week off coincides with coach Gregg Williams' plan to rest Garrett a little more during games. Garrett's low snap percentage against Atlanta served as the beginning of Williams' plan. Garrett might not always accrue that much rest — the Browns led comfortably for much of that game and Garrett's backups -- Anthony Zettel, Chris Smith and others -- played so well that Garrett stayed on the sidelines on plays he otherwise wouldn't have — but Williams wants his star pass rusher operating at full capacity.
Garrett may have pushed back on that idea out of pride earlier this season. But he's seeing the value of his time on the sideline now.
"If I could get some time off and still be productive — go 85, 90 percent of plays — that's fine with me," Garrett said. "I like to take quality snaps."
It's more than just seeing it, though.
Garrett's felt the value of rest this season. He recognizes a significant difference between his body pre- and post-bye. He prefers quality snaps over quantity; he knows he doesn't need to be the every-snap warrior he set out to be this season. And as he learned in Tampa Bay, he can literally feel the difference between playing every snap and playing most snaps.
"It's a different feeling on your legs," Garrett said. "You go out there and you could play the whole drive and you'll be tired, but you'll be OK. You play those four series in a row, all of a sudden, you're three plays in and you're exhausted."
