Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Myles Garrett appeared to make amends with Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Mason Rudolph Sunday. "I just told him 'good game,'" Garrett said of their brief yet significant interaction, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. "Hell of a game. And we'll see ya next week."
After the game, Rudolph posted a photo of their exchange on social media with the caption, "Onward And Upward."
Garrett was initially suspended indefinitely by the NFL for removing Rudolph's helmet and using it to strike him in the head during a Week 11 contest in November 2019. Garrett was reinstated by the league three months later, but that wasn't the last time we would hear about their violent altercation.
One day later, Garrett appeared on ESPN's Outside the Lines where he stood by his claim that Rudolph directed a racial slur at him prior to the helmet incident. "He called me the N-word. He called me a 'stupid N-word,'" he said. "I know what I heard."
In addition to calling Garrett's accusation a "bold-faced lie," Rudolph was considering taking legal action against the star defensive lineman, a move that received the support of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. "I would expect him to do what was appropriate in terms of protecting his name and reputation, and I would do so aggressively, and I don't blame him," Tomlin said.
Eventually, talk died down, and it looks like Rudolph wants to move on. "Myles came over and said 'good game,' and that’s all it was," he said after the Browns' 24-22 victory Sunday. "I told him good luck, have a lot of respect for him." Cleveland will make their first playoff appearance since 2002 next weekend when they take on the Steelers.
