Myles Garrett got himself suspended for the remainder of the season the last time he took the field across from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph, but Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski wants the Pro Bowler to know the team has moved on from that incident.
Stefanski told reporters on Friday that he has named Garrett a captain for Sunday’s game against the Steelers. The first-year coach insists the decision has nothing to do with the infamous Garrett-Rudolph brawl.
“I don’t normally announce captains, but I’m going to have Myles Garrett be the captain this weekend and I don’t want that to be misconstrued,” Stefanski said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “It’s a big game so I’m sending the big guy out there but it is in no way a call back to anything previously, so I just want to make sure that that’s clear.”
Stefanski added that Garrett hasn’t been a captain yet this season, so he felt he earned the title for the final game after the year he has had.
“Myles has been a great leader for this team and he does it in his actions and he does it with his words,” the coach said.
Rudolph was filling in for an injured Ben Roethlisberger last year when he and Garrett got into it. Garrett was suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season after he bashed Rudolph in the head with his helmet during that game. The star defensive end later claimed he became so enraged because Rudolph used a racial slur, though there is no evidence of that having happened.
Garrett has 12 sacks and a career-high four forced fumbles this season. The Browns can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Pittsburgh.
