Myles Garrett reinstatement sets precedent for NFL going forward
Myles Garrett has been reinstated by the NFL, turning an indefinite suspension into a six-game ban.
In the wake of ripping off and hitting Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph with his own helmet last season, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was rightly given an indefinite suspension by the NFL.
After a meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday, Garrett was reinstated by the league on Wednesday morning.
Garrett accused Rudolph of inciting him with a racial slur when he appealed the suspension, but it was upheld and he missed the last six games of the season. Those six games will be the full extent of Garrett’s suspension, though he would have also missed playoff games had the Browns gotten there.
The Browns have issued a statement on Garrett’s reinstatement.
“We welcome Myles back to our organization with open arms,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. “We know he is grateful to be reinstated, eager to put the past behind him and continue to evolve and grow as a leader. We look forward to having his strong positive presence back as a teammate, player and person in our community.”
If Rudolph had been more directly hit and subsequently severely injured by Garrett’s reckless helmet swing, the arguments for a strictly defined, long suspension (16 games?) or even a lifetime ban would have been easy. It’s doubtful the lack of extreme residual damage to Rudolph played a role in the reinstatement meeting, but Garrett was apparently contrite enough to convince the commissioner a six-game ban was the proper punishment.
Garrett’s helmet swing was truly unprecedented in the realm of NFL on-field incidents. It put the league office in a tough position, while at the same time severe punishment was obviously required and it came quickly via the indefinite suspension.
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Is six games ultimately enough, though? Players have been suspended longer than that, effectively or officially, for severe off the field things or violating the league’s policies on performance-enhancing or recreational drugs. Is what amounted to on-field assault with what could have been a deadly weapon worthy of at least eight games?
Yes. Garrett got off easy.