Garrett’s debut hinges on bad ankle

Myles Garrett’s vow to take down Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger might have hit a snag.

The rookie defensive end injured his right ankle in practice Sept. 7 and could not finish, Browns coach Hue Jackson revealed when practice ended. Jackson said he does not know how serious the injury is but said it is not the same left foot injury

that forced Garrett to finish minicamp in a walking boot. A high left ankle sprain hampered Garrett at Texas A&M last season.

“He went as long as he could (after being injured),” Jackson said. “We’ll see. I don’t want to make medical decisions. I am not very good at them so we’ll see where we are as we move through the week.”

Garrett will undergo further testing that will include an MRI, a source close to Garrett said.

The injury puts Garrett’s chances of playing against the Steelers in the opener on Sept. 10 in jeopardy and took some juice from a story that has been simmering since the Browns made Garrett the first pick in the 2017 draft. High ankle sprains usually sideline a player for four weeks, though Garrett’s injury hasn’t received that diagnosis yet.

“Big Ben!” Garrett told Randy Moss on April 28 in an ESPN interview. “Big Ben is a Super Bowl winner and I heard he’s hard to take down, so I’m coming first to chop him down.”

Garrett stood before a group of reporters on Sept. 7 — 132 days after his headlinegrabbing comment to Moss — and renewed his plan to sack Roethlisberger on Sept. 10 when the Browns open the 2017 season against the Steelers in FirstEnergy Stadium.

Garrett’s comments are fine with Jackson, but the Browns coach added after delivering the news on Garrett’s health: “Now he has to back it up. In order to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers you have to get Ben down. That’s just the truth.”

A new spirit and enthusiasm, buoyed by a 4-0 preseason, is flowing through team headquarters in Berea. Garrett is part of that spirit, as is rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer.

“You shouldn’t be scared to take anybody down,” Garrett said. “Anybody’s offensive line, we’re going to come at them as a collective group. It’s not just one player getting after their five guys. It’s the whole defense against their offense. I’m not going to be alone in this.

“(Roethlisberger) is no small fella. It’s going to be pretty tough. You’ve got to make sure you wrap up and make sure to try to get the ball out. There’s time where he’s a little bit loose with it. So when you’re trying to get

him down, just try to rake the ball out when you’re doing it.”

Garrett was just 9 years old when Roethlisberger started beating the Browns as a rookie in 2004. Roethlisberger is 20-2 against the Browns. He is 10-1 against them in Cleveland. He will have more victories in Cleveland than any Browns quarterback since 1999 if the Steelers win Sunday. Derek Anderson, a Browns quarterback from 2006 to 2009, was 10-8 at home and 16-18 overall as the Browns starter.

Garrett might deserve his own statue alongside the one of Jim Brown if he ends Roethlisberger’s reign.

“I would imagine we expect to get his best and he expects to get ours,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a conference call later on Sept. 7. “That (Garrett’s comment) is just part of the entertainment value that’s professional sports. We have a game to prepare for. I’m sure he views it the same way. I’ll let you guys kick that nonsense around.”

Garrett’s comments at the draft drew a predictable response from the Steelers: “See you 9/10, big fella,” Pittsburgh right tackle Marcus Gilbert tweeted.

Alejandro Villanueva, the

left tackle, will be responsible for blocking Garrett most of the time, but whatever the Steelers’ motivation, Garrett says he is not a one-man band.

“That’s fine,” Garrett said. “I mean, they might come after me, but there’s a whole lot of other guys they’ve got to show attention on the dline as well, and on the defense, so they don’t have to just worry about me.”

Roethlisberger, 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, only seems as invincible as a giant Sequoia. The Browns have sacked him 36 times, and while he has thrown 35 touchdown passes against them, the Browns have picked off Big Ben 17 times. September is Roethlisberger’s worst month — he’s 19-19 for his career in September — so the Browns have that going for them. By comparison, he is 38-14 in December.

“Just make sure you don’t hit him up high,” Garrett said. “You see a lot of guys who make that mistake and he just shrugs them off and he’ll find a little escape hatch and extend the play, so make sure you get him low, try and stay above the knee. Get him in his lower body and make sure you wrap up and gator roll.”

Let the rivalry begin anew.