CLEVELAND, Ohio – A year ago, Myles Garrett was serving an indefinite suspension and was enemy No. 1 in the NFL.
Thursday he was named the Browns 2020 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
“It is an honor to be named the Walter Payton Man of the Year for my team,” Garrett said in a statement. “It is of incredible significance just to be honored and have that kind of recognition because Sweetness was a hell of a man and a hell of a football player. He has been recognized and gone down in history for his off of the field passions and what he did for people in his community and all across the world. I would like to keep that going. He is one of my favorite running backs, as well as players. To be in the same sentence as him and the same breath is an honor in itself.”
Garrett has worked over the last 13 months to repair his image – on and off the field – after striking Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with a helmet, touching off a brawl resulting in multiple suspensions and over a million in fines handed out to the teams and players.
In addition to serving as a player captain for Waterboys, which focuses on bringing clean water to communities in East Africa, Garrett expanded his off-the-field efforts this year.
Garrett is a member of the Browns’ social justice committee and he personally reached out to victims of police brutality and their families while also raising awareness for additional social justice issues. He covered funeral costs for David McAtee of Louisville, Ky., this summer, and paid tribute to John Saunders on his helmet decal during games.
Garrett teamed up with Cleveland Hope Exchange and local businesses to provide more than 24,000 pounds of food and additional resources to those in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic this past spring.
“We are incredibly proud of Myles and his strong passion for our team and community, which makes him truly deserving of our Walter Payton Man of the Year award,” Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. “Myles is a phenomenal player and person who is consistently working to improve on the field with a team-first mindset while also identifying ways to improve the lives of other people, including through his dedication to Waterboys and important social justice efforts.”
Garrett will be presented the award prior to Monday night’s game against the Ravens.
On the field, Garrett has been a force to be reckoned with.
Despite missing two games this season, Garrett is currently tied for third in the NFL with 10.5 sacks, becoming the first Browns player to post at least 10 sacks in three consecutive seasons since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
He is one of only five NFL players to record at least 41.0 sacks since he entered the league in 2017 and his 10 career forced fumbles rank tied for the most by a Brown since 2000.
The Browns are 7-1 this year in games where Garrett has registered at least a half-sack, and each of his four forced fumbles (tied for second NFL) occurred on strip-sacks that led to Browns scores in victories.
The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award will be presented at NFL Honors prior to the Super Bowl.
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