Browns DE Myles Garrett leaves joint practice early with trainers

The one thing Browns fans don’t want to see is Myles Garrett leaving the field early with any sort of injury, especially when it’s practice.

The defensive end did just that Monday as Cleveland conducted joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles. He limped off and athletic trainers took him back to the locker room to give him a full check. The official diagnosis?

Foot issue.

Or as Myles Garrett described it, it’s hell getting old. A beat reporter from Cleveland.com caught up with Garrett after practice and asked for an injury update. He quipped “silly stuff happens when you get old.”

Note that Garrett is only 27. But it has been six seasons since he was the most celebrated rookie in the league. That’s because Cleveland selected the former Texas A&M star at No. 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Here’s a photo of Garrett, post practice. Whatever was going on with his foot didn’t impact his ability to sign autographs and pose with pictures for the two kids who were lucky enough to be on the field. They won’t soon forget that moment.

#Browns Myles Garrett came back and signed autographs for kids after leaving practice with a foot injury. He was smiling and looked fine pic.twitter.com/pTHVrj25u2

— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 14, 2023

Myles Garrett is definitely one of best pass rushers in NFL

Kevin Stefanski spoke to reporters after today’s practice. The Browns said that Garrett will participate in individual drills during practice, but not when the team goes to 11-on-11.

Meanwhile, Myles Garrett’s play definitely has matched all the NFL draft hype from a few years back. He’s earned a spot in four Pro Bowls, including in the last three. And he’s also got two first-team All Pro distinctions, plus a pair of second-team honors on his NFL resume.

When you start naming the best pass rushers in the NFL, Garrett’s name is on the list. He’s put together two straight seasons of 16 sacks. And he’s posted double digit sacks for five straight seasons. The only year he didn’t achieve 10 or more was his rookie season.

When the regular season starts, he’ll be within sight of 100 sacks. He has 74.5 for his career. It’s doubtful he’ll hit 100 by season’s end. But it seems doable in two years. Here’s a stat that’ll show you how difficult it is for Myles Garrett to get all his sacks. The analytics folks determined that opposing offenses double-teamed Garrett 31.1 percent of the time. The percentage was an NFL high. Still, his 16 sacks represented almost half of the 34 the Browns defense picked up as a team.

The analytics also picked up that Garrett was the first defender to reach the quarterback 50 times. Again, that was a team high by a substantial margin.

The Browns signed Garrett some help in the off-season. Cleveland traded for Za’Darious Smith from the Vikings. He’s posted double-digit sacks in three of the past four seasons. In 2021, he injured his back early and missed the season. The Browns also brought in former Oklahoma star Ogbo Okonkwo to give the Browns a solid rotation at defensive end.