The Columbus Dispatch

Garrett planning Cleveland sendoff for Big Ben

- Marla Ridenour

If Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbac­k Ben Roethlisbe­rger is making his final appearance in Cleveland Sunday, Myles Garrett wants to mark the moment his way.

He hopes his possible Firstenerg­y Stadium goodbye takes the form of multiple sacks.

“I have to send him off, right? If it is,” Garrett said. “He’s left a huge legacy in Pittsburgh and here, so I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t leave with a win. But got to respect what he’s done and the greatness that he’s had on the football field.”

As the Browns (4-3) host the rival

Steelers (3-3), Garrett leads the league with 9.5 sacks. The NFL’S single-season record, which dates back to 1982, is 22.5 by Michael Strahan of the New York Giants in 2001.

In 58 career games, Garrett stands at 52, second-most in team history behind Clay Matthews (62). Among those with a minimum of 10 career sacks, Garrett’s 0.9 per game ranks first in NFL history, ahead of the late Reggie White with 0.85, according to an NFL on CBS tweet.

Garrett is most remembered by Steelers fans for an ugly incident at the end of the Browns’ 21-7 home victory in 2019 when he hit quarterbac­k Mason Rudolph in the head with his own helmet. Garrett was suspended by the league for the final six games.

Garrett has grown from the incident with Rudolph, but knows he will always be remembered by the Steelers’ faithful for that moment.

“It’s been a couple years since then, grown as people, grown as men,” Garrett said, seemingly including himself in that assessment. “Got to move past that. Grow up.”

Browns rule out Peoples-jones, Ward for Steelers

Receiver Donovan Peoples-jones, who suffered a groin injury in pregame warmups against the Broncos on Oct. 21, and cornerback Denzel Ward, who left with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter that night, were ruled out against the Steelers.

Also out is cornerback Richard Lecounte III, who missed practice this week due to a violation of team rules.

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