Browns' Myles Garrett defends Minkah Fitzpatrick for hit against Nick Chubb

Every injury has a victim. Not every injury has a perpetrator. After Browns running back Nick Chubb suffered a knee injury during a collision with Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick on Monday, Myles Garrett defended Fitzpatrick.

“Minkah didn’t do anything illegal,” Garrett said. “He was playing the game how it’s supposed to be played. It was very unfortunate what happened. Nick getting held up but just having, just planting his foot and the hit and all that. That’s not unlike what corners around the league do. This is something that’s very common.”

For those who didn’t see Chubb’s injury, consider yourself lucky. The gruesome injury occurred in the second quarter of the Browns’ 26-22 loss to the Steelers. According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, Chubb will likely need two surgeries to address the multitude of knee injuries.

“I’m told there were initial discussions of #Browns RB Nick Chubb potentially needing 2 surgeries to address his injuries following MNF in Pittsburgh—with the 1st surgery coming w/i the next 7-10 days & the 2nd occurring several weeks after, per source. This is preliminary talk,” Anderson wrote via X.

Myles Garrett doesn’t point fingers

While Chubb’s injury is a painful loss for the Browns, Garrett refused to blame his opponents. Instead, the defensive end pointed out the Browns will utilize similar techniques in Week 3 to take down Titans running back Derrick Henry.

“We’re not going to do anything illegal to take Henry down,” Garrett said after the game. “We’re just going to go after the ball, hit his thigh boards, try to take his legs out and keep the guy safe and healthy. But we’re going to do our best to chop him down as well.”

Nick Chubb receives special message

Chubb was off to an excellent start this season. In just five quarters, the former Georgia standout boasted 170 rushing yards on 28 carries, averaging 6.1 yards per run. Chubb was pivotal in the Browns’ season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

While Chubb has had no shortage of fans and players alike reaching out to him after the injury, he received a special message from Georgia head coach Kirby Smart earlier this week.

“I reached out to him,” Smart said. “I know he’s probably been flooded with all kinds of people reaching out to him. (I have) a lot of respect for him and what he did for this program in terms of toughness, buy-in, (and) giving back. He decided to come back when he did… he certainly did UGA a favor returning. What an outstanding year he had when he did.”