Myles Garrett already has been ruled out for the game in Jacksonville on Sunday (Newsday)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from the day after the Browns moved into second place in the AFC North …
On Sunday, the Browns passed the test of winning without Myles Garrett.
On Monday, they learned they’re going to have to do it again.
In an abrupt announcement, the team ruled out Garrett for Sunday’s game in Jacksonville against the 1-9 Jaguars.
Garrett stayed home Wednesday and Thursday with flu-like symptoms. On Friday, he was unexpectedly placed on the Covid-19 reserve list and missed his first game of the year, a 22-17 win over the Eagles.
“I am not going to get into specifics per se on how he is feeling,” coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I will just tell you we are ruling him out because that is what the protocols call for. We are just following the rules, and we will continue to do so.”
According to the Covid protocols, Garrett theoretically could have returned 10 days after he first experienced symptoms. That math would have given him a chance to play Sunday in Jacksonville.
But center JC Tretter, who knows as much about the Covid protocols as the Browns’ snap counts because of his deep involvement as president of the players union, cautioned against predicting a pathway to return for a symptomatic player.
“I believe the best way to put it is this is not like having an injury where Sunday is the goal and you try to fit the pathway to get back by Sunday,” Tretter said. “There are certain limitations on days and how long you have to be out. A sprained ankle does not impact the rest of the team. A contagious virus does.
“There are limitations on how many days you have to be out, what are your symptoms and how you have to come back into the building. It is not the same things of how can we try to get him back by Sunday. There are really set timelines once you start monitoring each person’s individual scenario of the first positive test and whether they are still symptomatic, and all that stuff goes into it.”
In Garrett’s absence Sunday, Olivier Vernon (three sacks, one safety, one pass defensed), Adrian Clayborn (1.5 sacks, one forced fumble) and Sheldon Richardson (two quarterback hits) kept Carson Wentz on top of the “most embattled quarterback” list.
You figure the defensive line can survive another game without Garrett. But missing a second game won’t help Garrett’s cause to win NFL defensive player of the year honors. He’s in a close race with Rams tackle Aaron Donald and Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
Stefanski had an interesting take on that.
“Yeah, I want all of our guys to have individual success,” he said. “I think that is a big, big deal for all of our guys. I want them to go to the Pro Bowl, put up numbers and win awards like you are talking about. Bottom line is it is a team game. I think Myles understands that completely. We are all about winning, not so much about awards.”
No regrets
Scoring first seemed paramount in each of the three bad-weather games in November in FirstEnergy Stadium.
Stefanski had no second thoughts about eschewing a chip-shot field goal and going for it on fourth-and-inches on the Browns’ second possession of the Eagles game. Replay review determined Kareem Hunt was stopped inches short of the goal line on a play originally ruled a touchdown.
“In most cases when you get down there that tight, I like our chances to score,” Stefanski said. “That was very disappointing that sequence of four plays to not score. That is kind of where I go back and we have to be better. In big games and really every game, if you get down there to the 1-yard line or the 2-yard line, you have to come away with seven. That is our mentality, and it will continue to be our mentality. I know the guys understand that, and we have to do anything – we have run it, pass it or whatever it is – we have to be able to get those yards.”
The Browns felt the loss of fullback Andy Janovich in that sequence. Janovich is still on Covid-19 reserve.
Brownie bits
Stefanski casually dropped a minor bombshell at the end of his injury update when he said, “Denzel Ward came in with a calf [injury] that we are getting MRIs on, and I will update you when I have those results.” Ward did not miss a snap in his stellar game against the Eagles (a hit on Wentz that caused a Pick 6, his own interception, and three other passes defensed). Stefanski said he wouldn’t know Ward’s availability until results of the MRI are examined …
Safety Ronnie Harrison, who did leave the game twice, is “day to day” with a knee contusion. Stefanski said he was hopeful Harrison would play against the team that traded him to the Browns in September. “I definitely do not want to overstate it, but I think I feel good about it,” Stefanski said …
Receiver Jarvis Landry had two catches for 23 yards and had third-fewest snap counts among wide receivers (38) behind KhaDarel Hodge (48) and Rashard Higgins (40). Landry, who has said he is not fully recovered from offseason hip surgery and has played with a broken rib, had a season-low 35 snaps in the first Cincinnati game. “There were a couple of personnel groups late in the game that culture one receiver, and Hodge was taking the bulk of those,” Stefanski said. “Jarvis, you guys know how I feel about him, how hard he plays and how he battles, and the plays he is making are making a difference in our wins and losses.” …
Stefanski was not sure on the availability of offensive lineman Chris Hubbard and Janovich, who tested positive for Covid-19 last Friday and Monday, respectively. “I can’t rule them in or out,” Stefanski said.