Browns receiver Anthony Schwartz opens up about mental health struggles this season

BEREA, Ohio — Breaking point for Anthony Schwartz came in August, after the Browns’ final preseason game against the Chicago Bears.

Schwartz, a second-year receiver looking to carve out a consistent role in the Browns’ offense, had just lost two passes, bringing his total to five turnovers in just three preseason games. While the Browns always emphasized that they still believed in the speedy receiver from Auburn, he knew what was being said about him on social media and the vitriol thrown at him.

Worse yet, he could feel the overwhelming pressure he was putting on himself.

“I was in the locker room like I was about to collapse, almost having a panic attack,” Schwartz told cleveland.com on Friday. “That just got him going where he was, I need help. Because if not, this won’t be fun for me and it can really affect my life.”

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And so began Schwartz’s journey over the last three months to improve his mental health and deal with the anxiety that was plaguing him on the field. It’s a journey he now wants to share for the first time, beginning with the NFL’s annual My Cause My Cleats charity drive this Sunday. Schwartz will wear custom cleats representing the United Way of Greater Cleveland when the Browns take on the Texans.

There’s no denying that it wasn’t an easy start to the season for Schwartz. The first week of training camp he hurt his knee and missed just over a week of action. It was the second year in a row that his preseason was marred by injury. The third-round pick missed most of the offseason and training camp ahead of the 2021 season with a hamstring injury and also missed three games last year with a concussion.

Battling that camp knee injury and finding a rhythm was certainly a major source of stress entering his sophomore year, but there was also a matter of higher expectations.

Since coming to the NFL, Schwartz has been known for his speed and football IQ, but he also needed some development when it comes to catching the ball. It is understandable, then, why those preseason losses weighed so heavily on him.

“Going into my sophomore year, I know a lot was expected of me,” he said. “So I feel like I went a little overboard in my head, and at that point it just kind of fell apart. She felt like the whole world was collapsing at one point.”

When Schwartz was at his lowest point, following that postgame meltdown, he knew it was time to get help.

His first stop was to speak with the Browns’ sports psychologist, Dr. Mayur Pandya.

“I went through some difficulties, coming back from injury and not performing the way I thought I could and ever since,” Schwartz said. “I was like in a funk. It helped me get out of it.”

Talking about his struggles on the field and his anxiety helped, as did other common anxiety-reducing tactics.

Schwartz, like much of his Browns teammates, has begun to meditate. He meditates by himself the night before every Browns game and with Pandya on the day of every game. His goal in the future is to also try daily meditation.

“That helps me calm down, calm my anxiety, calm everything down so I can go out and perform,” Schwartz said.

It also puts a lot of focus on mindfulness, a common technique used in talk therapy that focuses on bringing your attention to the present moment, rather than worrying about the past or what’s to come.

Schwartz was so focused on improving for the future and not letting passes that the pressure was having the opposite effect, like a hitter at the plate who wants to hit a home run so badly that he ends up striking out.

“Just step back to be like, just enjoy what’s going on right now,” Schwartz said. “Don’t worry about what the next play is or what happened on the last play. Just worry about you. Whether you’re on the sidelines, just don’t worry about what’s going on right now. Just take the moment and just enjoy the moment, because when it’s gone, you’ll regret not enjoying it.”

In addition to these therapy techniques, there has also been a major habit change: learning to block what is said about him on social media.

Schwartz admits that earlier in the season the criticism on social media over those dropped balls affected him. But as he worked on managing his anxiety, he realized that his own performance should be his top priority, not what people say about it.

“I got to a point where I thought, we’re going to focus on me, like all outside noise, I just have to block it out,” he said. “And that’s kind of like on social media or in the game, it’s like letting it be. Let them be and I will control what I can control.”

It’s helped that Schwartz has received nothing but support from the Browns as an organization, from his teammates onward.

Swing tackle Chris Hubbard has been open about his mental health issues. An ambassador for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, he created the Overcoming Together Foundation, which will be represented in his own shoes this week. Schwartz said Hubbard was key in helping him get to the point of realizing that it was okay for him to ask for help.

“Chris Hubbard, he’s a huge advocate for mental health, and that got me to that point,” Schwartz said. “That this is something that I need to take seriously and something that can really help me improve and help me get that confidence back.

“I appreciate all my teammates. They have all been by my side helping me maintain my confidence. Edifying myself whether it’s in the game, in practice or just looking around. Just putting an arm around me and saying, ‘We trust you. We got you. We need you.’ I’ve been so thankful for that from everyone.”

The Browns’ coaching staff also expressed no doubt in Schwartz, both with head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. adamant in preseason that Schwartz would turn around and bounce back from those early knockdowns.

Wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Chad O’Shea has also had a big impact on how Schwartz views his anxiety, considering the receiving room has weekly mental health discussions, including book recommendations.

Those particular talks helped Schwartz learn to block out outside noise.

“I’ve been very supportive of Anthony,” O’Shea said. “Best of all, everyone agrees. Everyone feels very strongly about it. The receivers have done a great job being very active in this area. It’s something we talk about every day in our living room, the importance of the mind in relation to your performance on the pitch.”

And about that performance on the field: Schwartz may be finding a step now that his mental health has become a priority.

He’s really embraced a role on special teams, playing most of those plays on kick returns and punt returns, but he also appears on kick and punt coverage units.

And getting some looks on offense last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed he can still make big plays. It was Schwartz who put the Browns on the board with a huge 31-yard reverse pass, his first touchdown of the year. He earned high praise from Stefanski afterwards.

“I’m very proud of him,” Stefanski said. “Anthony played at a very high level, we have a lot of confidence in him and I think he will continue to help this team win.”

It has not been a perfect journey. It was a healthy scratch against the Ravens on Oct. 23 for the first time in his career. He also had two losses this regular season, both against the New England Patriots. But the biggest breakthrough is that he has been able to move on and stay in the present, taking small, incremental improvement steps.

“Special teams, offense, not having to think about 30 million things going through my mind, because that can also increase anxiety,” he said. “It just simplified everything in my mind so I can go out there and perform. I don’t have to worry about this or that, I just worry about my role.”

Schwartz has come a long way since that near-panic attack in the Browns’ locker room in August. He not only recognized that he had a problem, but took significant steps to resolve it, in the same way that he would adjust a running route or do extra reps on a JUGS machine.

While her mental health journey may not have been an easy start, Schwartz is glad to be here now.

And by choosing to speak up, you hope to show others that the journey isn’t as scary or impossible as it may seem at first.

“Just to show people that your mental health is a real thing,” Schwartz said. “Like it wasn’t just a made up story as people try to call it. It’s a real thing. Because if you’re depressed, if you’re anxious, that can really affect you, not just on the pitch but in life. And that’s just one thing that I want to show that athletes go through it too. And that if you are an athlete you are not alone in this, everyone is going through something and don’t be afraid to speak up. Don’t be afraid to find a solution. Because if not, you’ll just be in that funk.”

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