CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) — The NFL fined Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett $25,000 for “public criticism of officiating” after he made pointed remarks following last week’s game against Jacksonville, according to a person familiar with the punishment.
Garrett was informed of the fine on Saturday, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league has not released this week’s player fines.
Garrett, enraged that the Jaguars were not penalized for holding him, called the officiating a travesty following Cleveland’s 31-27 victory and said it’s time for officials to be held to a higher standard.
“Someone has to hold them accountable for the plays or the calls they don’t make,” he went on to say. “And they need to be under the same kind of microscope as we are every single play.”
Garrett’s dissatisfaction with the lack of penalties called against offensive linemen while blocking him had been building. For three weeks, he’s been stuck on 13 sacks and believes the officials aren’t treating him fairly.
“It had been stoked for the last couple weeks, and then other rushers have been dealing with the same thing,” Garrett said after practice Friday. “I can only speak for myself, but once you’ve got a whole position kind of fed up of how they’re being treated, then you know something’s kind of off.”
T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers, another elite pass rusher in the league, recently made comments similar to Garrett’s.
Garrett said on Friday that he didn’t regret his outburst.
“Absolutely not,” he said, adding that he is not concerned about backlash.
“Right now, I’m not getting any calls, so it can’t get much worse than that,” said the four-time Pro Bowler. “However, I hope it has a positive impact.” I’m not attempting to offend anyone. “All I ask is that they do their jobs to the best of their abilities.”
Kevin Stefanski, the Browns’ coach, had no problem with the dominant Garrett speaking his mind.
“We’re not the thought police,” he declared. “Our guys can voice their opinions.”Every game, I remind the officials of it. Just so they know that teams will do everything in their power to slow down (No.) 95. That’s what they’re discussing in their building.
“So when he’s being clearly restricted, we expect it to be called.”
On Sunday, the Browns (8-5) face the Chicago Bears (5-8), who are attempting to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Garrett had a career-high 4 1/2 sacks and the Browns sacked quarterback Justin Fields nine times in the teams’ last meeting in 2021.
Leave a Reply