Jason Miller/Getty Images Defensive end Myles Garrett talks with head coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 30, 2020.
On Friday afternoon Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski announced that defensive end Myles Garrett will be a captain for Sunday’s showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-3), this according to ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Stefanski tried to explain the decision by saying that “it’s a big game and we want to send the big guy out there.”
To be sure, it’s an especially big game for the Browns (10-5), who are in a win-and-in situation in terms of qualifying for the post-season. It should also be noted that, unlike many NFL teams, the Browns didn’t elect season-long team captains at the beginning of the year. Instead, Stefanski names captains on a game-by-game basis, perhaps in consultation with what he has described as the team’s leadership and social justice committees.
But considering that Garrett started a brawl by hitting Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph over the head with his own helmet the last time the two teams played in Cleveland … and considering that Rudolph is starting this Sunday’s game while Ben Roethlisberger takes the week off … it’s a decidedly curious decision.
It could also turn out to be a classic case of poking the bear, as the Steelers—with the notable exception of Rudolph—have relatively little to play for, having already been guaranteed the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs.
But if the Steelers go on to beat the Browns and help keep Cleveland from its first playoff appearance since 2002, Stefanski’s decision might be viewed as “Pittsburgh Started It: The Sequel.” Recall that last season, then-Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens was seen in public wearing a “Pittsburgh Started It” T-shirt just days before the two teams played for the second time in 2019.
The Steelers went on to beat the Browns 20-13 at Heinz Field, with fourth-string quarterback Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges outplaying Browns starter Baker Mayfield. After the game, Steelers players described Kitchens’ T-shirt as “bulletin board material.”
Mason Rudolph on Myles Garrett
It should be interesting to see if watching Garrett stroll to midfield for the pregame coin toss helps provide the Steelers with added motivation to damage Cleveland’s playoff hopes.
Until this afternoon, neither team had done much to stir the pot. Certainly, Rudolph kept things low-key at his press conference on Friday, sticking to the narrative that he’s just looking forward to getting the opportunity to play.
Mason Rudolph on starting vs. Cleveland — will he forget last year or be motivated by it: “I’m motivated just by having this opportunity.”
Rudolph did indicate, however, that he’s “happy to hear Myles out, if he wants to approach me, wants to talk …”
Recall that at the beginning of the season, Garrett indicated that he was interested in having a face-to-face with Rudolph to try to clear the air.
But according to Rudolph, Garrett has not yet approached him in any capacity.
Myles Garrett on Playing Against Mason Rudolph
Meanwhile, on Friday Myles Garrett indicated that he was going to treat playing against Mason Rudolph pretty much the same as he would any other quarterback.
“He’ll get hit just like everybody else,’’ offered Garrett, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “I’m not going to put a pillow underneath his head before I take him to the ground. But I’m not going to do anything extra. It’s just a game. It’s a Steelers game. It’s a divisional game. It’s an important game.
“But going against him, it changes nothing for me. And, just like with any other player or any other quarterback, if he reaches out his hand for me to help him up, I’m going to do it. And if I see him and he’s on the ground, it doesn’t change my mindset at all with him back there.”
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Browns’ Kevin Stefanski Trolls Mason Rudolph, Steelers With Curious Decision