The Cleveland Browns will likely have Myles Garrett on the field against the New York Giants, but the powerful pass-rusher will not be at full strength.
Garrett has been suffering from nagging foot injuries since the start of the year. He returned to practice on Friday on a limited basis after missing time during the week nursing the injury. He plans to play on Sunday.
“It’s still there,” Garrett said on Friday, September 20. “It’s still painful. It’s just trying to get it as well as I can, really try to lower the amount of inflammation and manage the pain until Friday. And then definitely got to get some reps and some high-speed reps on my legs, get some running in so that I don’t have to worry about anything else like soft-tissue injuries, hamstring or anything like that. So just trying to take really the high-speed load off until Friday and then see how it feels, see how well I can go. Feels good, lock and load, let’s go. But until then we’re letting it ride.”
When asked if both feet were bothering him, Garrett replied: “Something like that.”
Others on the injury report injure Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku and running back Pierre Strong Jr. Both have been ruled out of Sunday’s matchup. Offensive tackles Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr. are questionable.
Myles Garrett May Have Surgery to Help With Pain
Garrett has had a sack in each of the Browns’ first two games. However, he has looked compromised at times, and some missed holding calls haven’t helped his cause either. Garrett didn’t rule out future surgery to deal with the pain he’s been dealing with.
“We talked about it, but that’s something that we’ll probably talk about further down the line,” Garrett said. “Hopefully the pain and everything else is something that we deal with and it goes away. But the issue itself is something that I’ll probably have to deal with for however long I end up playing. So it’s just about managing that and playing through it.”
Garrett played through a shoulder injury last season and his production slowed towards the end of the season. He still earned his first Defensive Player of the Year honor, finishing with 14 sacks and 42 total tackles.
Alex Wright Making Impact for Browns Alongside Myles Garrett
Garrett has got some solid help up front early this season, with five other players notching sacks. A big one came last week from Alex Wright, who took down Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for a safety in the fourth quarter.
“I think just a little bit of experience in time just helped him realize the kind of mentality and mindset he has to approach the game with, whether it’s on Sundays or throughout the week. Just being that professional, knowing what he’s got to do, learning how to study film and attack his matchup,” Garrett said of Wright.
Wright is in the rotation behind Garrett and Za’Darius Smith but has made an impact. He had five sacks last season and is looking to improve that during his third NFL season.
