BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Reports of Myles Garrett needing to miss 2-4 weeks were greatly exaggerated.
“Good to go for Sunday,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said Friday afternoon.
Garrett is essentially off the injury report and set to be back on the field Sunday against the Chargers after missing last week’s game in Atlanta following a one-car accident on September 26.
“I feel good,” Garrett said. “Feel like I'm ready, back to make a difference and change this game when I'm in it.”
Garrett had some pep in his step as he returned to practice this week but was listed as limited Wednesday and Thursday.
“He is a competitor,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, [he] missed being out there. Very grateful to be back out there and with his teammates.
Yeah, I do think that he was energized.”
Garrett suffered a left shoulder sprain and right biceps strain in the accident but was lucky to escape serious injury after rolling his Porsche when it he swerved off the road and hit a fire hydrant before overturning multiple times.
He was cited for failure control, but the Ohio State Highway Patrol also noted that speed was a factor in the crash.
“I'm very grateful to be out here and be able to play with my teammates and get the chance again,” Garrett said. “I don't want to miss any time, whether it's a football related injury or anything, but when stuff like that happens, appreciate the people that are close to you and appreciate the things that you are able to do and blessed to do. This is one of my callings and I want to be able to do it to the best of my ability until I can't.”
Garrett and the organization are confident he doesn’t need more time.
“If I feel like I’m close enough to be as dominant of a player as I know I can be then I’m going to play,” Garrett said. “But if I feel like I’m on the fence about it or they’re telling me otherwise then I’m going to pull back. But if I can play and I can give my best effort and be a difference in the game then I’m going to play regardless of how I feel.”
The Browns will need Garrett after being able to apply sparing pressure to Marcus Mariota without three of their starting defensive linemen available and allowing the Falcons to rack up over 200 yards on the ground, including 172 rushing yards in the second half of a 23-20 loss on the road.
The real kick to the gut for Garrett – and the Browns – came in the fourth quarter when the Falcons went 75 yards in 10 plays on the ground in the fourth quarter to take the lead.
“I mean, that was a tough drive to watch,” Garrett said. “I know there were a couple of reps that some of our guys would like back and that’s a game I’d like back for myself to be out there and play and make a difference.”
How much Garrett will be able to make a difference against the Chargers remains to be seen.
“I'm not sure yet,” Garrett said. “I've been kind of building up with the rep count in practice as far as seeing my tolerance and seeing different positions that I've gotten my shoulder and my arm into and everything's felt good up to now.”
Garrett is a full sack away from breaking Clay Matthews Jr.’s official franchise record for sacks and he should get plenty of opportunities to break the mark rushing Justin Herbert and the No. 1 pass offense in the NFL.
“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league, even at his age,” Garrett said. “He’s got the mindset, he’s got the IQ and the arm strength. He’s really got the whole package as far as the quarterback position.
“But as far as what we want to do, it’s trying to get after him, try to put him on the ground and take the ball away from him. He’s had some ball security issues at times and so try and take advantage of some of his weaknesses that we see on the back end and making sure that he doesn’t have a clear path to seeing his receivers, make sure we get our hands up and frustrate him.”
Garrett has been busy doing plenty of homework on Chargers rookie left tackle Jamaree Salyer, in for Rashawn Slater, who is lost for the season after suffering a ruptured biceps tendon.
“I was studying him like he was one of the top dogs in the game right now,” Garrett said. “So as much as I can, find out as much as I can about him and when the game comes nothing really surprises me. He did pretty well on his first game last game, but I think even that short stint that he had he had some things that we can take advantage of, that we can use to exploit.”