What did Myles Garrett and Mike Tomlin talk about before Browns-Steelers game?
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett played against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday for the first time since last year’s infamous Mason Rudolph helmet-swinging incident. Anyone who expected drama or fireworks was severely disappointed.
Garrett made it clear before the game even started that he wasn’t focused on the past. Before kickoff he walked over to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, put his arm around him, and the two had a brief conversation. And according to the Akron Beacon Journal, Garrett hugged many Steelers players when the clock ran out on the Browns’ 38-7 loss. That’s certainly a change from a year ago when Garrett ripped Rudolph’s helmet off his head and beat him with it.
Myles Garrett and Mike Tomlin share a moment before kickoff. pic.twitter.com/CxxPokCTL6
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) October 18, 2020
During his postgame news conference, Garrett revealed what he and Tomlin talked about: family ties.
“Talking to him had nothing to do with last year,” Garrett said via cleveland.com. “Him, his brother, my mother and my uncle all went to school together in Virginia so we were just talking about that. I made a little joke about some phone games they had been playing, and that was it. He said, ‘Good luck, live your life, have fun and tell your mother I said hello.’”
The helmet swinging incident didn’t come up at all. It also didn’t come up during the postgame hugs.
“It’s a game to me. ... With these guys, it was all love and it’s all football, just stays on the field and stays between the whistle,” Garrett said. “There was respect during and after the game. There were no problems and there was no animosity.”
Garrett may be remembered for taking a swing at Rudolph with his own helmet, but for him, Tomlin, and the Steelers, it’s all in the past.
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