Danny Shelton

Danny Shelton is wearing No. 55 this season to honor his brother who was shot and killed five years ago.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

BEREA, Ohio -- It has been an off-season of change for Danny Shelton, on and off the field. The biggest change of all heading into his second year in the NFL might have happened a few weeks ago at LAX Airport and involved dogs in tuxedos.

Shelton was in Los Angeles training and his girlfriend, Mara, was flying in to see him during his final week on the West Coast. Shelton enlisted the help of a couple of airport workers to make sure the week would be an unforgettable one.

One airport worker met Mara at baggage claim upon her arrival while another helped Shelton with two of his dogs. And yes, Shelton, his French Bulldog and his Husky Malamute Mix were all wearing tuxes.

"She saw Mojo, my husky malamute," Shelton said, "she saw him by himself with flowers and then I came around the corner with flowers and the French Bulldog and had the ring in my hand and a dog tag in the ring box in place of the ring and it said 'Will you marry me?'"

Mara, of course, said "Yes."

If you're scoring at home, Shelton has spent his off-season losing somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 pounds, he got a fourth dog and pulled off an impressive proposal. The change that will be most visible to fans, though is also the most meaningful -- the switch from jersey number 71 to 55.

"55 is a number that my family holds to our heart," he said. "My brother, Shennon, 'Skeevie' Shelton, he rocked that number and he rocked it with all of his life," Shelton said. "Everywhere you turned he'd throw up a 55, he'd tag walls with 55, walls in the house. Everything was 55 for him. For me to have this opportunity to wear and represent 55 is awesome. I'm just excited."

Skeevie was shot and killed five years ago.

"My oldest brother (Gaston, also known as Tui) got into an altercation with a couple guys and they ended up jumping him," Shelton said. "Me and my other brothers went over and one thing turned to another. Two brothers are shot. Skeevie passes away. My oldest brother, Tui, is hospitalized."

According to a story by NFL.com's Michael Silver, Olenthis Woods fired two shots with a Walther PPK 9mm pistol after Shelton, his brothers, a friend and a cousin tried to confront Woods at his apartment following the initial altercation. One hit Tui in the chest; the other struck Shennon in the head. Shelton told Silver that there was a third bullet intended for him.

"The guy pointed the gun at me," he said in the interview, "but the gun got jammed. I had a chair and threw it at him and got the gun away from him and started beating him with it. It went off and I dropped it."

Charges were not filed against Woods after the police investigation determined that Woods acted in defense of himself and others, according to the Auburn Reporter.

Shelton said that, in the aftermath of the shooting, he and his little brother were left to cope with his mom and his sister and make sure Tui got out alive. After that, he had to deal with the loss of his brother on his own, leaving to play at the University of Washington in the fall. Shelton said his family giving him space was an important step in dealing with his grief.

"There was a time my freshman year where I didn't go back home once and for them to give me space," he said, "and for them to kind of handle their coping themselves is relief that we all were on the same page. We needed our space."

His feelings were understandably complicated during that first year.

"There's thoughts of revenge," he said. "Thoughts of hatred. ... There's thoughts of fighting people. There's thoughts of killing people. Suicidal thoughts. There's everything."

Dealing with those feelings was just as complicated.

"I was a stubborn kid," Shelton said. "Didn't want any professional help from any therapist or whatever -- that made me feel like I was crazy."

Shelton found his release in the weight room at the University of Washington. He credits his coaches and their strength staffs for helping him get through those trying first years.

"Through the years after that just working with the coaching staff -- (Former Washington) Coach (Steve) Sarkisian and his staff and then finally with Coach (Chris) Petersen's staff, him being able to finish what 'Sark' started as far as helping me mature."

Shelton ended up playing four years at Washington and the Browns drafted him 12th overall in the 2015 draft. He was introduced to the media in Cleveland on May 1st, the fourth anniversary of his brother's death.

The milestones in Shelton's life, along with the times of year that serve as reminders of Skeevie, are still difficult for Shelton and his family.

"I mean, years passed now, but our family still feels it every year around May, June, July," he said. "Incident happened in May. June is when I graduated and he wasn't there and July is his birthday."

"It was crazy because all those thoughts came and I was blessed with being drafted first round," Shelton said. "For me to go through that, my family to go through that and to be where I am now is just a blessing and an awesome opportunity for me to continue to represent and continue to live my dream out."

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Ask most players about their personal goals this time of year and you'll usually get something about only caring about winning or only being concerned with the team. Not Shelton. He has a list.

"Five or more sacks. Ten or more tackles for loss. Five or more fumble recoveries. Pro Bowl."

Those are lofty expectations for a player who registered zeroes in most of those categories last season. Shelton said he would grade his performance from 2015 "real poorly."

"I had opportunities there," he said. "I definitely didn't stray away from the competition but I definitely could have been better."

There were many contributing factors, of course. Shelton missed most of the team's off-season program while he waited for his University of Washington class to graduate. His weight didn't help either, weighing in at around 365 pounds by season's end. He's 30 pounds lighter this season. For Shelton's part, he pointed specifically to the mental side of the game.

"If it's sleep. If it's the distractions. If it's the playbook," he said. "If it's emotions. It's all mental. All of that can affect you in the game. Once you are able to block that out and control the mental side of the game, then you'll be able to be a beast."

That's part of why Shelton was happy to return to a renovated practice facility and an organization suddenly flush with resources to help with both the physical and mental side of the game.

"This is (team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam) showing that they want to change," Shelton said. "For them to show us that, that appreciation and support and gratitude, it's us giving it right back by winning games this year and putting the Browns back on top."

He isn't just playing for himself, of course. He's playing for Skeevie and he's wearing a reminder of that on his back.

Shelton, who also wore 55 in college, said there's no added pressure to wearing a reminder of his brother every day.

"It's more of a sense of relief to know that I have this number," he said. "I have my brother watching."

He may or may not reach the lofty numbers he set for himself. There's only one number that really matters, anyway.

"It's been five years," Shelton said. "Five years now and so it's only right to wear this number and perform with it. Five years. 55."

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