Will Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday?
With an injury list that’s growing, the Browns can ill afford to lose their prolific pass rusher as they prepare to face the Steelers.
With just a few days before his team takes on the Steelers, one of the league’s best is now in doubt for the must-win clash.
Browns’ Myles Garrett doubtful ahead of Steelers showdown
The thought of Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett going toe for toe with the Steelers’ T.J. Watt is the kind of thing that gets NFL fans going. Only the sad thing is, that head-to-head may now be in doubt as the teams prepare to face each other this week. Both members of the 2917 NFL Draft, Garrett and Watt are quite frankly two of the best pass rushers in the league today and between them have seven Pro Bowl appearances along with 134.5 sacks collectively.
What’s the deal? As things stand, Watt has already been ruled out with a pec injury, but as reports now indicate Garrett may not be able to play either. Having missed practice with a neck injury, the Browns DE who has registered six sacks for the season so far, was not listed on Monday’s injury report. On that note, it should be said that the Browns have other injury worries as well. Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney will not play in Thursday’s game after suffering an ankle injury. Additionally, there is also starting left guard Joel Bitonio, who was not present for Tuesday’s session following a knee injury as well as linebacker Chase Winovich (hamstring) and tight end Jesse James (biceps), both of whom have been placed on injured reserve.
If Myles Garrett can’t play how will the Browns cope?
To be clear, Garrett’s absence would be a major blow to the Browns. This after all, is a team that has had visible struggles in defense across the first two games of the regular season. If you’re in need of perspective, the Browns are currently 26th in the NFL in points allowed, 25th in passing yards allowed 22nd on third downs and 22nd in the red zone. When looking at those numbers, the seemingly inexplicable implosion that they experienced during Sunday’s last gasp loss to the Jets, starts to look a little more plausible.
The only saving grace here is that the Steelers are fresh off of disappointment as well. Though their defense has been credible, their offense with new starting QB Mitchell Trubisky has largely misfired. Indeed, the Steelers only managed to put 14 points on the board when they fell to the Patriots. With that said, there is everything to play for on Thursday, as both teams are 1-1 and this is still early days in the NFL season.