BEREA, Ohio -- Myles Garrett wasn't bothered by a Browns in-house radio host questioning him self-reporting a concussion, but the team has condemned Matt Wilhelm's remarks as "ill-advised and "inappropriate.''

Garrett also clarified remarks he made about playing in London had it been the Super Bowl or the playoffs.

Wilhelm, co-host of Cleveland Browns Daily and former NFL linebacker, challenged Garrett's decision to tell medical personnel about concussion symptoms on the Tuesday before the Vikings game.

"I find myself questioning it,'' Wilhelm said on the Oct. 25 show, which airs afternoons on ESPN 850 WKNR. "I'm an old school guy and I know there are former professional athletes that played in an era of football that I could've never imagined playing in with the head trauma and the issues that we see individuals dealing with.''

Wilhelm continued that if he came in on the off day "and if I have a little headache or if I'm a little queasy or I've got a little sensitivity to light, I don't find myself saying anything to anybody other than someone close to me who might not be a Browns employee or a Browns teammate. Maybe my brother, or a friend of mine in the city, maybe my mom and dad who understand who I am and that I'm like kind of tough and I don't just kind of like back out with small dinky little injuries.''

He said he knows Garrett has played through a high ankle sprain, "but I don't find myself just going 'Trainer! Trainer!'' and walking into the training room and going 'I have a headache. The lights seem very bright and I'm having blurred vision.' To the point where (they) go 'whoa, those are three of the top four concussion symptoms, let's get you evaluated.'''

Garrett, who will return this week against the Lions, told cleveland.com that he was made aware of Wilhelm's remarks by a family member, and that they didn't really bother him.

"He has his own opinion and he can go about life the way he wants to, but I want to take care of my brain,'' Garrett said. "I'll put my body on the line, but I'm not willing to put my brain on the line for this game. I love it, and I'll do anything for it, but I want to have a productive future and a healthy family and be able to love and care for them the way I should.''

Garrett added, "Having the knowledge and seeing what other players have gone through, I'm going to protect myself.''

The Browns, in a statement to cleveland.com, commended Garrett's reporting of his symptoms, and disapproved of Wilhelm's remarks.

"Our athletic training staff and medical team have worked extremely hard to establish a culture where our players understand the importance of self-reporting,'' team spokesman Peter John-Baptiste said. "Our coaching staff, athletic trainers and doctors strongly encourage our players to disclose any irregularities concerning their bodies, particularly those related to the head and neck area.

"Matt Wilhelm's on-air comments directly contradict the club's stance on the subject and our message to our players. We addressed the matter with Matt immediately after it occurred and he understands his comments were ill-advised and inappropriate.''

Wilhelm backed off of his comments a little when host Nathan Zegura defended Garrett for reporting symptoms of what proved to be his third concussion. The first one occurred in high school and the second one in college.

"He's a very smart guy, highly intellectual, physically dominant. ... You know how much it was killing him not to play with the ankle,'' said Zegura. "He's gone out there less than 100 percent in three games and has four sacks. I don't think he wants to stop playing anytime soon."

Wilhelm responded, "I guess he did self-report with something so severe that he really needed to for the benefit of his health. ... I'm just saying self-reporting, I guess when you and I were kids and probably a lot of our listeners and a lot of the fans that spend their hard-earned money to go watch a football game at FirstEnergy Stadium were brought up in the mentality of 'rub some dirt on it and go play, get back in the game,' right?"

Wilhelm also questioned the toughness of the team in general.

"Does this team have that mentality that you're talking about, well beyond head trauma?'' he said. "Do you see physicality and toughness shine through in their play through seven football games?"

He also implied that perhaps players such as Kenny Britt and Garrett might be less motivated to play for a winless team.

"The mentality is that when the getting's not good, you want to start hitting the eject button,'' he said. "I'm not saying that Myles Garrett is, but eventually there's going to be no more fight in this football team."

Garrett also clarified remarks he made on the Cleveland Browns Preview Show with Ken Carman Wednesday about not playing in London.

"If we were going for the Super Bowl or playing in the playoffs, I'd be there in a heartbeat no matter what it is," he said. "But they're going to need me all season, so just taking one away to play the rest of the season, I think that's a smarter bet."

Garrett took some heat on social media for the remarks, but he explained to cleveland.com on Thursday that the medical staff shut him down for the Vikings game and the trip to London.

"I wanted to play, but they thought it would be best for me to fully recover and come back and play the rest of the year instead of playing this game, maybe getting my head rocked around again and not feeling well and this continuing throughout the whole season,'' he said.

He said the medical team also determined that the long flight to London "would've added more pressure on my head and made things even more risky."

Garrett emphasized that he didn't take himself out of the Vikings game -- the doctors did.

"I will bring it to [their] attention, but I'll never take myself out,'' he said. "I'm always going to try and play, but they advised against it and they stopped me from going, and I really had no choice."

Coach Hue Jackson's opinion was straightforward. "We have to handle it correctly. ... We'll do whatever we think is best for the player."

Garrett explained last week that he didn't connect his symptoms to a specific blow to the head in the 12-9 loss to the Titans on Oct. 22. "[But] I didn't really feel good after and most of my family members after the game they took notice that night at dinner."

"I had a good headache and I didn't really feel like eating. I felt kind of nauseous and I was really dizzy. I had none of those symptoms during the game. It was just as the night progressed I kind of started feeling that way."

Garrett admitted that he hesitated to report his symptoms on Monday "because I really wanted to play. I didn't want to have something like that be a hindrance to me or my team. So on Tuesday, I really felt like I should say something because I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere.''

He said if it had been a physical ailment, he might've let it go. He played through a high ankle sprain last season at Texas A&M.

"But you don't want to mess with your mind," he said. "I'll play through my foot, my arm, anything that's affecting me below my neck, but I can't play around with my brain.

"I want to have kids one day and I want to be able to take care of them how I see fit. I don't want to be constricted by how football has affected my mind.''

Garrett is aware of his teammate Joe Thomas saying that he's had some early memory loss.

"It doesn't really bother me what other people say, whether I'm being a man or not,'' he said.