Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is the talk of the NFL right now for all the wrong reasons. On Thursday night, Garrett took the helmet off of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and hit him in the head, which led to a brawl between both teams. Garrett was ejected from the game and could be facing a suspension that could last until the early stages of the 2020 season. After the game, Garrett talked about the incident and regretted hitting Rudolph.
“I made a mistake; I lost my cool,” Garrett said to reporters. “It’s going to come back to hurt our team. The guys who jumped in the scrum, I appreciate my teammates having my back, but it shouldn’t have gotten that far. That’s on me.”
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Garrett was then asked if his actions are going to overshadow the fact that the Browns earned a big 21-7 win over the Steelers, admitting that “a win’s a win. I don’t think it’s overshadowed by what happened in eight seconds.”
Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens also talked about the incident and was not happy with Garrett. However, he feels Garrett is better than what he showed in the last eight seconds of the game. “Of course that’s not who we want to be,” Kitchens said. “That’s not who Myles wants to be. That’s not who we’re going to be. You have to be able maintain your composure in times like that. I’m embarrassed. Myles is embarrassed. It’s not good. So, he understands what he did, he understands it’s totally unacceptable.”
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was interviewed by Fox Sports after the game and he said what Garrett did was wrong.
“I don’t care, rivalry or not, we can’t do that,” Mayfield said. He added: “Endangering the other team, it’s inexcusable. He knows that. I hope he does now.”
So the question is how long will Garrett be suspended. Earlier this year, the NFL suspended Oakland Raiders linebacker, Vontaze Burfict for 12 games for a helmet-to-helmet hit. In Burfict’s case, he has been known for delivering illegal hits during his career which is why the suspension was 12 games. This is the first time Garrett or any NFL player for that matter, has swung a helmet at another player. But because he could have been charged with assault, it’s likely Garrett could see a 12-15 game suspension at least.
