Speaker 1: Hi, Cleland, when you were making a decision, you saw
Speaker 1: what Chris Caserak has been able to do with some
Speaker 1: other defensive lineman's in the way he's been able to
Speaker 1: benefit their career. How much of a factor was that?
Speaker 1: I think, I think anytime, you know, this is my
Speaker 1: first time going through free agency, I think for me,
Speaker 1: the biggest the biggest deal was I had to fall
Speaker 1: in love with, you know, regardless when you look at
Speaker 1: it from a D line standpoint, I think, you know,
Speaker 1: the whole money aspect of you know, players that have
Speaker 1: came in and you know, have have projected themselves after this.
Speaker 1: I think for me, I really just fell a little
Speaker 1: with the way that they played defense here and coach
Speaker 1: Chris is obviously a staple in that and I truly
Speaker 1: believe that just by the way that he really believes
Speaker 1: and you know it being a rushman led defense, you know,
Speaker 1: so the front is when the front comes alive, everything
Speaker 1: else kind of falls into the place. So I think
Speaker 1: for me that I was the biggest thing, definitely, you know,
Speaker 1: knowing his background and obviously me being coached by guys
Speaker 1: like Rod Marnelly around the league. I've seen it before,
Speaker 1: so it wasn't something that you know, I kind of
Speaker 1: already believed in the things that they were doing here
Speaker 1: to make me, you know, so it was just kind
Speaker 1: of checking that box for sure. Cleveland kind of kind
Speaker 1: of fallowing up on that. Uh did have you, you know,
Speaker 1: paid attention to some of the guys you know, Art
Speaker 1: and Key was a former Raider and some those guys
Speaker 1: who who've who've come through these doors and had success
Speaker 1: and then gone on to nice contracts or you talk
Speaker 1: to guys like that at all. I mean I have
Speaker 1: a lot of I have a lot of good friends
Speaker 1: around the league. You know, I tell people this all
Speaker 1: the time. The NFL, it's it's not a family, it's
Speaker 1: a brotherhood. And you know even guys guys like Art
Speaker 1: and guys like Eric, guys like even Javon, even Nicky
Speaker 1: you know Nick, I say, NICKI, Nick and Nick you
Speaker 1: know we've we've all trained together and been toxtending, you know,
Speaker 1: around each other. Whether I played against Vannah College or
Speaker 1: I trained with Nick before training with Eric, train with
Speaker 1: Art and train with Solomon time it's trained with more research.
Speaker 1: So I just have a a good base of players
Speaker 1: around and have you know, kind of especially that ones
Speaker 1: that have been here to kind of you know, give
Speaker 1: me just really good feedback and you kind of solidified
Speaker 1: things that or any questions that I may have had
Speaker 1: going into the process. So I definitely, you know, take
Speaker 1: heed and look look look at those guys you know
Speaker 1: history and see you know where it projects. Sure, you
Speaker 1: mentioned the forty nine ers style of defensive line play.
Speaker 1: How does that compare to what you've done in the past.
Speaker 1: Have you ever played in a system that just kind
Speaker 1: of allows you to pin your ears back the way
Speaker 1: the forty nine ers two, I've experienced it, you know,
Speaker 1: to an extent with the with the Raiders before um
Speaker 1: with Roan mary Neetlli. He was someone who you know,
Speaker 1: I take a lot of I give a lot of
Speaker 1: credit to just in regards to you know, the type
Speaker 1: of things that he taught us. But obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: I feel like the forty nine ers, especially, you know,
Speaker 1: this team, they've kind of been like the forefront of
Speaker 1: it for the league, you know, obviously having number one
Speaker 1: defense last year, and I just feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: I've seen I've seen in my career times where it
Speaker 1: has where I've seen the way they play and I've
Speaker 1: seen it in examples around the league, But I think
Speaker 1: this it's like the true from what coach, from what
Speaker 1: coach Chris has built. This is kind of like the
Speaker 1: this is kind of where you want to be if
Speaker 1: you really want to exemplify that, you know, to the
Speaker 1: full extent. So I think it's a it's a very
Speaker 1: very good system. It's a very very good plan and
Speaker 1: the way that we play, and I think the forty
Speaker 1: nine is for sure been a team that has kind
Speaker 1: of led the charge on that. Like Cleland Javon was
Speaker 1: just in here and said that, you know, the fort
Speaker 1: nage being a contender going after him and the way
Speaker 1: they run the defenses always attracted him, even though there
Speaker 1: are other offers on the table. Was it similar for you, Uh,
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't want to. I don't want to
Speaker 1: get into comparing, you know, the my situation someone else,
Speaker 1: but mine definitely was someone you know, I had, I
Speaker 1: had teams interested and when it came down to it,
Speaker 1: you know, obviously I had a It came down to
Speaker 1: probably around about three or four teams that I you know,
Speaker 1: had I had pretty serious, you know, interesting, but the
Speaker 1: forty nineager stood out just because you know, obviously I've
Speaker 1: I've been watching them for a very long time. You know,
Speaker 1: I started out in Oakland my rookie year, so I've
Speaker 1: I've already known what the robbery was, and basically having
Speaker 1: really having good friends and having a good relationships from
Speaker 1: guys around the league that have told me good things
Speaker 1: about and kind of just reassured everything that I had
Speaker 1: to hear about Coach Chris or Coach Shanahan or even
Speaker 1: John Lynch you know upstairs. So um, I think that
Speaker 1: that relationship as I've really homed in a for sure,
Speaker 1: just just really trusting, you know, my guys. You know,
Speaker 1: like I said, it's a brotherhood, So understanding understanding that
Speaker 1: that those relationships and things that have kind of carried
Speaker 1: me through a little bit of guidance, you know, and
Speaker 1: through this process for sure. Hey there, when you mentioned that,
Speaker 1: or when the Raiders moved from Oakland to Vegas, you
Speaker 1: mentioned that you were really going to miss the Bay area.
Speaker 1: Are you looking forward to being back? Oh, I can't wait.
Speaker 1: I can't wait. Last time I was in the Bay
Speaker 1: I was just telling somebody this last time I was
Speaker 1: in the Bay and I was playing and I was
Speaker 1: playing football. It was playing MC hammer in NWA in
Speaker 1: the state and now now I get to hit some
Speaker 1: E forty, you know, thumping off in the back. So
Speaker 1: I'm excited. I can't wait. It's gonna be fine, Clint.
Speaker 1: And I'm sure you know you've taken criticism and been
Speaker 1: banged around as a number four pack and I haven't
Speaker 1: done this, haven't done that. Isn't the criticism fair? And
Speaker 1: also how have you I don't know, just dealing with that?
Speaker 1: How is how is it shaped here? How have you
Speaker 1: grown since you've been in the NFL. Answering your first question,
Speaker 1: I mean, is it fair? I think criticism isn't regardless
Speaker 1: of the regardless of whether it's fair enough, It just
Speaker 1: says what it is. You know, it comes with the territory,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. People always have whatever things
Speaker 1: they may have as far as an opinion to say.
Speaker 1: I think for me, man, I think it's really been
Speaker 1: a blessing being, you know whatever, my journey has been
Speaker 1: the league because what many people don't know is, you know,
Speaker 1: all these guys in the league were still young men
Speaker 1: developing at the same time I would come into this
Speaker 1: very high status, you know job. So I think going
Speaker 1: through the different you know, ups and downs, whether good
Speaker 1: days bad days. Throughout my career, I've had I've had
Speaker 1: time to really grow a mature into a man, you know,
Speaker 1: just because you're making grown man decisions, grown man mistakes,
Speaker 1: and you know sometimes it's like, especially me, I moved
Speaker 1: from the East Coast to the West coast, so you know,
Speaker 1: you can't call on mom or call on your brothers
Speaker 1: all the time for everything. So I think it's been
Speaker 1: a really really good transition for me, and I think
Speaker 1: that for my career moving forward is really on the
Speaker 1: show that got you know, I really appreciate those years
Speaker 1: for sure, whether it's been arden Key or Charles many Hue,
Speaker 1: the forty nine ers have had success and taking guys
Speaker 1: who are quote unquote defensive ends and lining them up
Speaker 1: inside on passing downs, and I'm just wondering how much
Speaker 1: you've done of that in the past, and whether that's
Speaker 1: been discussed as a as a possible role for you
Speaker 1: with the forty nine ers. I think being planned for
Speaker 1: this team, I think anything you know, in regards to
Speaker 1: where you could be lining that back in regards to
Speaker 1: being a pass rusher, you know, you just take the
Speaker 1: ceilings off. So it's nothing that I feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: throughout my past that I haven't been you know, asked
Speaker 1: to do. It was just in regards to I've I've
Speaker 1: dropped in the coverage, I've rushed inside, I played five
Speaker 1: technique guys, I lined up sometimes a corner sometimes. But
Speaker 1: I think being here, you know, I'm really just buying in.
Speaker 1: I have an open mind to whatever coach Chris you know,
Speaker 1: has for me, because regardless of the fact, I'm still
Speaker 1: a very young player and I still have a lot
Speaker 1: of you know, time to develop it, and you know,
Speaker 1: I really don't think I've tapped into my potential. So
Speaker 1: I'm just coming in with an open mind and I'm
Speaker 1: really excited, ready to hit the ground running. Well, you're
Speaker 1: just kind of alluded to it, the potential that you
Speaker 1: still have an upside how much kind of going into
Speaker 1: this process and you've talked about a little bit along
Speaker 1: the way here, but were you looking for a place
Speaker 1: where you could just kind of re set and give
Speaker 1: yourself an opportunity to reach that potential? And it's you know,
Speaker 1: I hate I hate that word potential because I hate
Speaker 1: talking about it. But definitely, regardless of the fact, I
Speaker 1: think you just want, you know, progression, and I feel like,
Speaker 1: regardless of the fact whether I were too, it wasn't
Speaker 1: about whether I feel like I could progress here and
Speaker 1: not anywhere else. It was really more so which way
Speaker 1: that I feel like it was going to make me
Speaker 1: progress in the way that I feel like would have
Speaker 1: been the best benefit for the team I'm playing for.
Speaker 1: And I feel like my skill set specifically it just fits,
Speaker 1: you know, the identity and the culture of this team.
Speaker 1: You know, I've always been someone where regardless of the fact,
Speaker 1: I enjoy the fact that people, you know, the more
Speaker 1: responsibility that the front four has, you know, obviously it's
Speaker 1: the more responsibility we have to get things wrong and
Speaker 1: get things right. So I've always been someone that never
Speaker 1: shied away from an opportunity to be in that role,
Speaker 1: if that makes sense, right. So I enjoy it. I
Speaker 1: enjoy it. You know, if you don't wear the crown
Speaker 1: as far as the D line like you gotta you
Speaker 1: gotta take everything and they come with it. So I
Speaker 1: look forward to it. Yeah, Cleveland, you came out for
Speaker 1: the draft of same year as Nick Boson. I'm wondering
Speaker 1: if your paths crossed very much during that process, and
Speaker 1: do you know him at all or have you guys
Speaker 1: as he shot you a text when for for coming
Speaker 1: to the forty niners or oh yeah now when uh
Speaker 1: it's kind of crazy get a little back job story.
Speaker 1: But um yeah, me and Nick got drafted, um same
Speaker 1: class and even even coming out of college, like we
Speaker 1: was like neck and neck for like, you know, trying
Speaker 1: to see who was gonna be Like I guess you
Speaker 1: could see the guy you know regards to college football DNS.
Speaker 1: But actually when covid at first hit, we was all, um,
Speaker 1: we was all training together down in Florida. So we
Speaker 1: were down there for a long period of time. Me
Speaker 1: and It's it's crazy me, Nick, even Joey, uh, Eric
Speaker 1: the Forest Buckler, all of us. We have a pretty
Speaker 1: good you know they kind they kind of had joined up,
Speaker 1: but we have a pretty good nucleus of like like
Speaker 1: I said, it's a brotherhood. So a lot of d
Speaker 1: linement around the league, work out together, and during that
Speaker 1: co the time was the time we really got to
Speaker 1: you know, get it, get it in, really get some
Speaker 1: good working pass for us. We worked out together, you know,
Speaker 1: just through that whole processes in the gym. So I
Speaker 1: think that was a time paid where we really got
Speaker 1: familiar and I really got to, you know, have a
Speaker 1: newfound respect for Nick because you know, he obviously is
Speaker 1: a very very hard work and he takes it. He
Speaker 1: takes our crab very very seriously. So that was like
Speaker 1: my first real glimpse. And then you know, obviously I'm
Speaker 1: excited now because I get a chance to play with
Speaker 1: a you know, a very very highly talented guy in
Speaker 1: the league, one of the best players that we have.
Speaker 1: So I'm excited. I believe you said that you lined
Speaker 1: up at cornerback in the past. What was the circumstance
Speaker 1: of Cleveland Chartle playing cornerback and how did you do
Speaker 1: at cornerback? No, it wasn't. It was a nothing like.
Speaker 1: It wasn't I'm joking on it on the cornerback there,
Speaker 1: but it was kind of like, uh, where you you
Speaker 1: spy guys. You know what I'm saying that you got
Speaker 1: an offensive player, that's someone who you know you want
Speaker 1: to get hands on. Well, you know, there's a couple
Speaker 1: of times where they may be lined up extra y,
Speaker 1: so I gotta step out there and I'm looking like
Speaker 1: I'm out there a corner or something like that. But
Speaker 1: never like, never, nothing where I'm actually locked in on it,
Speaker 1: but it was just like a couple of times where
Speaker 1: it can look it can look like I'm playing it
Speaker 1: for sure,