Garrett’s absence could be felt in matchup vs. Eagles
Before he ever soared — or, in the case of this season, sputtered — for the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Carson Wentz was connected to the Cleveland Browns, who passed on the chance to draft him.
On Sunday, their paths cross again. Wentz has been inconsistent, turnover prone and barely looked like himself for much of this season.
Still, he has the Eagles (3-5-1) leading the pathetic NFC East and they won't be an easy matchup for the Browns (6-3), who may be a legitimate playoff contender but will have to play Sunday without star defensive end Myles Garrett, who is out after testing positive for COVID-19.
The teams are playing for the first time since 2016, when the Eagles won 29-10 in the season opener, the first of 14 consecutive Browns losses in a 1-15 campaign.
After that season, the Browns were desperate for a franchise quarterback, and their front office at the time was not enthralled with Wentz, who played at North Dakota State in Football Championship Subdivision.
So Cleveland traded the No. 2 overall pick and a fourth-round selection to the Eagles for five picks, including firstrounders in 2016 and 2017.
Philly took Wentz, and never looked back.
“Heck, yeah, I'd do it all over again,” said Eagles coach Doug Pederson, who has stood by his quarterback through thick and thin. “He's the guy we wanted back then, he's still the guy we want today.”
Still, Wentz's stats in 2020 are alarming. His 12 interceptions and nine fumbles lead the NFL. He's 32nd in completion percentage (58.2). His 73.1 rating is a career worst and he has been sacked a league-high 35 times.
One of the knocks on Wentz is that he holds the ball too long, waiting to make a play. But this week he won't have to worry about Garrett, the league's leader in sacks with 91⁄
“He is a good player,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of Garrett. “We know that. We do not want to be without him, but we are.”
Adrian Clayborn and Porter Gustin are expected to rotate in Garrett's place opposite defensive end Olivier Vernon. And defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson could moonlight at end like he did last season when the NFL suspended Garrett for the final six games of 2019 because he hit Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph over the head with a helmet.
It is a potentially major setback to the Browns, who have spent the week dealing with virus-related issues. The team placed starting right tackle Jack Conklin, kicker Cody Parkey and fullback Andy Janovich on the COVID list earlier and their availability for Sunday is still in question.
Stefanski said he was “hopeful” Conklin and Parkey would be activated on Saturday, but he's not clear on when Janovich or lineman Chris Hubbard could return.
Losing Garrett for any length of time, however, is tough. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2017 has been playing at an elite level in 2020. He has changed several games with strip sacks while helping the Browns to their best nine-game record since 2014.
“It hurts. It's unfortunate,” said Browns defensive line coach Chris Kiffin. “I was going to send a letter to the NFL to see if we could play with 12 guys to make up for the loss there. But somebody's going to have to step up and make a big-time play.”
If there's a silver lining for the Browns it's that they've survived this season despite a spate of injuries. They went four games without star running back Nick Chubb, who came back last week and ran for 126 yards in a win over Houston.
“It is 2020,” Stefanski said. “Expect the unexpected. So, whoever is available to us I promise you, we will be ready to roll on Sunday.”