Myles Garrett Listed As Questionable For Cleveland Browns’ Game Sunday In Atlanta

As Cleveland Browns fans everywhere know, it’s always something with the Browns. This week’s something is this thing: All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett, the team’s best defensive player, and perhaps its best player overall, may or may not play Sunday, when the Browns travel to Atlanta for a game with the Falcons.

On Monday of this week, Garrett, and a passenger, were involved in a one-car accident, when he lost control of his car, which hit a fire hydrant, and rolled over multiple times.

Garrett, who has a history of driving fast, told an Ohio Highway Patrolman, that he thought he was going 65 mph in a 45-mph zone. The 6-4, 272-pound Garrett sustained a left shoulder sprain, and right biceps strain, plus cuts and bruises that resulted in him being briefly hospitalized.

“Definitely grateful to be here with what I saw, the pictures, I think it was a hell of an event,” said Garrett, who met with reporters Friday for the first time since the accident. In the past, Garrett has been cited multiple times for driving at excessive speeds.

“This will be definitely a wake-up call for me, just try to be smart overall with driving,” said Garrett, who was cited for losing control of the car. He has not practiced with the team this week, and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in Atlanta.

“We’re going to use the next 24 to 48 hours to see how he continues to respond to treatment and then we’ll make the appropriate decision on him,” said Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, when asked about Garrett’s status for Sunday’s game.

Not having Garrett for the game against the Falcons would be a huge blow to the Browns, who are 2-1, and coming off a 29-17 victory over their biggest rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, on Thursday of last week.

Compounding the potential loss of Garrett for Sunday’s game is that the Browns’ other starting defensive end, Jadeveon Clowney, is also listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, due to an injured ankle.

The injuries come at a bad time for the Browns, who, had they not given away a potential victory by allowing the Jets to score two touchdowns in the last two minutes of a game on Sept. 18, would be 3-0.

Instead, Cleveland is 2-1, with some challenging future opponents lying in the weeds. The Browns’ schedule gets much tougher following Sunday’s matchup with the 1-2 Falcons. Cleveland’s next seven games after Atlanta are with the Chargers, Patriots, Ravens, Bengals, Dolphins, Bills, and Buccaneers.

Working in Cleveland’s favor is that even with backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett running the show, the Browns rank eighth in the NFL in team offense. A major reason for that is Cleveland’s high-powered running game. Led by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, Cleveland leads the NFL in rushing yards. The Browns are averaging 197 rushing yards per game.

Chubb leads the NFL in rushing with 341 yards. He also leads the league with 113.9 rushing yards per game.

Cleveland’s next eight games, starting with Atlanta on Sunday, and ending with the Tampa Bay game on November 27, will cover the remainder of the 11-game suspension of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, for violating the NFL’s Player Conduct Policy.