Browns: Myles Garrett goes in detail about taxing battle with COVID-19

Myles Garrett missed two games during his battle with COVID-19, but that was just the beginning of his struggles.

Garrett is back in the fold for the Browns, and not a moment too soon as they sit at 8-3, entering the home stretch as they try to qualify for the AFC postseason. When healthy, Garrett is among the best pass-rushers in the game, and was even receiving serious consideration as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate before his COVID-19 diagnosis.

On Friday, Garrett revealed the details of his fight with the coronavirus. He had originally assumed he was asymptomatic, but unfortunately for him that was not the case.

“I was in pain. It wasn’t great,” Garrett said, per TMZ sports. “It kicked my butt … Now I’m back.”

Garrett is still dealing with some of the after-effects of COVID-19

Garrett revealed that his biggest fear after contracting the virus was that he’d develop some form of myocarditis. This potential side-effect of the virus involves the swelling of the heart, and it’s already claimed one victim in Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney, who will miss the remainder of the season.

Garrett, however, is ready to contribute to the Browns playoff run.

“I’m not here to make a cameo appearance or a second-rate arrival. I’m here to do the job that I was doing before. I don’t think there will be any drop-off,” Garrett said.

It remains to be seen if Garrett will be able to jump directly back into football activities without some sort of drop-off. COVID-19 victims often suffer setbacks in every walk of life, so it wouldn’t be surprising for Garrett to have similar struggles on the gridiron.

We can only hope that isn’t the case for the former No. 1 overall pick in Garrett.