Getty Defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Injuries to critical players this season have undercut the Cleveland Browns, though perhaps no one is more crucial to the team’s success than Myles Garrett.
Garrett reported feeling a “pop” in his shoulder during Cleveland’s loss on Sunday, November 26, to the Denver Broncos. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said the following day that MRI scans showed no structural damage.
However, the way Stefanski answered the question a reporter posed to him, combined with the issues Garrett described following the game, led Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com to posit that the defensive end may actually be playing through structural problems in his left shoulder.
“Kevin Stefanski answered in the affirmative on Monday when asked a two-part question about Garrett that included the phrase ‘no structural issues,’ but he never actually stated that Garrett has no damage in the shoulder,” Cabot wrote on Wednesday. “Given the fact that Garrett ‘felt a pop’ during the game and couldn’t lift his shoulder afterward, it’s highly unlikely that there’s no damage inside.”
Myles Garrett May Have Aggravated Previous Shoulder Injury in Game Against Broncos
GettyCleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
Cabot went on to suggest that Garrett’s bigger issue may link back to a previous injury, and that the events Sunday in Denver exacerbated a problem that already existed.
“It doesn’t mean it will keep him from playing or that he’ll need surgery, but there’s an issue in the shoulder that’s been bothering him for awhile, and it got worse on Sunday,” Cabot wrote. “It could be an aggravation of the AC joint sprain from flipping his Porsche last season, or it could be something new, such as a partial dislocation. … Whatever the case, he’s likely going to be playing in pain the rest of the season, and might be limited at times.”
Scott Petrak of Browns Zone reported that Garrett was out on the practice field in L.A. on Thursday, though he was not an active participant.
“Myles Garrett didn’t practice for the second straight day but tested the sore left shoulder on the side and is expected to play Sunday,” Petrak wrote. “Garrett simulated staying in a four-point stance for several seconds and did pushups on a plastic exercise ball at UCLA as his teammates practiced.”
Garrett won’t take the field again until December 3 when the Browns face off against the Los Angeles Rams in Southern California. Cleveland had an early bye in Week 5, which means there will be no respite for the prospective Defensive Player of the Year as he tries to lead the Browns (7-4) to their first playoff appearance since 2020.
Myles Garrett Arguably Best Defender in NFL this Season
GettyDefensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Garrett is on pace for a career season — an impressive feat considering his career numbers up to this point.
Through 11 games in 2023, Garrett has racked up 29 pressures, 23 QB hits and 13 sacks. He set personal bests of 16 sacks in each of the past two years, per Pro Football Reference. Garrett has also forced 4 fumbles, recorded 3 pass breakups and blocked a field goal this season.
Garrett has been the second-best edge defender in all of football to this point in the campaign, according to the advanced metrics provided by Pro Football Focus.