NFL suspends Garrett indefinitely
CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett is done playing for the Cleveland Browns this season.
The NFL isn’t saying when the star defensive end will play again.
He was suspended for at least the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, if the Browns qualify. The league discipline Friday came hours after Garrett swung an opponent’s helmet and used it “as a weapon” by striking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head.
The violent outburst in the final seconds of Thursday’s nationally televised game resulted in the longest suspension for a single on-field infraction in league history. Albert Haynesworth was suspended for five games in 2006, when he was a defensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans and stomped on Dallas Cowboys center Andre Gurode’s head.
Garrett, the league’s No. 1 overall pick in 2017 out of Texas A&M, was also fined an undisclosed amount. The 23-year-old must meet with commissioner Roger Goodell before his reinstatement is considered.
For now, Garrett’s career is on hold.
After wrestling Rudolph to the ground as the Browns were closing out a rare win over their rivals — Cleveland won 21-7 to improve to 4-6 and drop the Steelers to 5-5 — Garrett ripped off the quarterback’s helmet and clobbered him on top of the head, triggering a brawl that capped another physical game between the AFC North foes.
“I made a terrible mistake,” Garrett said in a statement released Friday. “I lost my cool, and what I did was selfish and unacceptable. I know that we are all responsible for our actions, and I can only prove my true character through my actions moving forward. I want to apologize to Mason Rudolph, my teammates, our entire organization, our fans and to the NFL. I know I have to be accountable for what happened, learn from my mistake and I fully intend to do so.”
Rudolph, who missed time earlier this season due to a concussion, avoided serious injury Thursday but after the game he referred to the attack as “cowardly and bush league.” That sentiment was shared across the league and the sports world.
The NFL said Garrett “violated unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct rules, as well as fighting and removing an opponent’s helmet and using it as a weapon.”
Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey, who was trying to separate Garrett and Rudolph, was suspended three games without pay and also fined for punching and kicking Garrett. Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi was suspended for one game because he shoved Rudolph to the ground from behind during the melee.
The suspended players have three business days to appeal their penalties.
The Steelers and Browns, who meet again Dec. 1 in Pittsburgh, were fined $250,000 each.
Browns coach Freddie Kitchens met with Garrett at the team’s training facility Friday.
“He understands that he let himself down, he let his teammates down and he let his organization down,” Kitchens said. “We look at our team as a family, and in a family sometimes family members make mistakes. You support them in every way that you can, even if it is an egregious mistake. We know who Myles is as a person. We know who Myles is and the character that Myles has, and that is under no circumstance what he wants to be portrayed as. We will support him.”
There was a ripple effect to Garrett’s act, causing embarrassment to the league and both teams.
“There is no place for that in football, and that is not reflective of the core values we strive for as an organization,” Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a released statement. “We sincerely apologize to Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Added Steelers president Art Rooney II: “We must always maintain composure, no matter what happens. After a hardfought game between two rivals, it is a shame the game ended that way.”
Rudolph’s agent, Tim Younger, said he’ll explore legal action against Garrett. Cleveland police said no report or charges have been filed.