Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett ruled out Sunday following car accident

BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns have downgraded Myles Garrett to out for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons following his single-car crash earlier in the week.

The Browns had initially listed the star pass-rusher as questionable on Friday.

Garrett hadn’t practice since the crash Monday, though he noted Friday that he still “would love to” play if the call were up to him. Instead, he won’t make the trip to Atlanta.

“That’s just my competitive spirit and my nature,” he said. “Physically, we have to assess that, going up to the game. … That’s a decision we’ll make a little closer to game time.”

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Garrett crashed his 2021 Porsche near Wadsworth, Ohio, striking a ditch after leaving the road, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Garrett’s vehicle then hit a fire hydrant before overturning several times. He was released from an Akron, Ohio, hospital Monday, and earlier this week cleared concussion protocol, the team said.

Garrett said he was “definitely grateful” to be alive and that he was “recovering pretty quickly” from the left shoulder and right biceps injuries he suffered in the accident.

“Definitely grateful to be here,” he said. “With what I saw right after. … The pictures.

“It was a helluva event.”

Garrett suffered a left shoulder sprain and a right biceps strain as well as cuts and bruises. He said he also popped a blood vessel in his left eye, which was still visibly red Friday.

A female passenger who was in the vehicle with him was taken to the hospital with what was described as a minor head injury. The highway patrol determined that impairment by drugs or alcohol was not suspected and that Garrett and the woman were wearing seat belts.

Garrett acknowledged that he woke up in pain Friday morning but said he was feeling better after treatment.

“It’s gone up and down, but right now I feel a lot better than I have,” he said. “Emotionally, I’m pretty grounded with it. I think I’ve put it behind me. Physically, I’m still dealing with the injuries that came along with it.”

Garrett was issued a citation for failure to control his motor vehicle, the highway patrol said. He was traveling at an “unsafe speed for the type of roadway” he was on, which contributed to the accident, the highway patrol added. According to the crash report released to ESPN, he was driving 65 mph on a road with a 45-mph limit.

Garrett said the accident is “a blur” to him and that he doesn’t recall “much of what happened.”

The Browns could be without both of their starting defensive ends against Atlanta. Cleveland listed pass-rusher Jadeveon Clowney as questionable with an ankle injury. Clowney sat out the Browns’ most recent game against the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday and didn’t practice this week, either.