Browns’ Myles Garrett played hurt while remembering grandpa

On Nov 28, 2022

CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett channeled memories of his late paternal grandfather, Charles, while excruciating pain shot through the All-Pro defensive end’s left shoulder.

Internal motivation helped Garrett push through the injury he aggravated in the fourth quarter and deliver in crunch time of the Browns’ 23-17 victory over legendary quarterback Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“Oooh weee! Man, we kind of knew [Garrett would come through for us]. We know that he’s a clutch guy. We know that he’s a guy that regardless of hurting — he was hurting — he made his way in and did his thing. We give thanks for him and everything that he’s doing,” Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah told the Beacon Journal.

During a postgame news conference, Garrett revealed his grandpa died in the buildup to this season, and he thought about him as the Browns (4-7) faced the Buccaneers (5-6) because of the NFL’s Salute to Service initiative.

“I have a lot of family members that have served and my PawPaw passed away beginning of the year, and he was a service member,” Garrett said. “I remember my dad [Lawrence] just telling me to play this year for him, and I knew there was no better game to just find a way to win, find a way to turn it on, regardless of the adversity.

“I know that he had been through everything, and I just kept that in my mind that no matter what — you’re gonna stick through it, you’re gonna keep on fighting ’cause that’s what he would do.”

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With 6:59 left in regulation, Bucs left guard Nick Leverett assisted left tackle Donovan Smith in pass protection by slamming into Garrett’s left shoulder while he rushed Brady. Garrett immediately winced. On a scale of one to 10, he said the pain was a nine when he absorbed the hit. He said it still registered at a seven after the game.

The left shoulder is the same one Garrett sprained Sept. 26 when his Porsche flipped in a frightening single-car accident. Garrett said he slammed his helmet down on the sideline because of the pain inflicted by Leverett’s block.

“I just wanted to get my helmet off me and just needed a second to breathe,” Garrett said. “I just needed some air, and I just knew that at the end of the day, this pain will come and go, but that pain of losing, that feeling that comes with losing, that that’ll never dissipate. So I just wanted to be able to be out there for my team and do what I had to do.”

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With 2:26 left in the fourth quarter and the Bucs facing third-and-13 from their 17-yard line, Garrett and fellow defensive end Jadeveon Clowney sacked Brady for a 7-yard loss.

Tampa Bay punted, and six plays later, tight end David Njoku made a circus catch in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left in regulation, allowing the Browns to force overtime with the score tied 17-17.