Myles Garrett still has the support of head coach Freddie Kitchens and the Browns as he prepares to appeal the severity of his suspension for the clash with Mason Rudolph.
The Browns defensive end ripped off Rudolph's helmet before swinging and hitting the 24-year-old during the closing stages of his team's 21-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday. Garrett was suspended indefinitely by the NFL, yet he is looking to contest the magnitude of the punishment and, according to the NFL Network, will have his case heard on Wednesday.
Kitchens made no excuses for Garrett when addressing the media on Monday but insisted his view of the player would not be impacted by "a bad lapse in judgement."
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"I have contacted Myles. We visited on Friday. We visited on Saturday," Kitchens said. "Myles is a good person, and we are going to support Myles. Myles is part of our family. When we break it down at the end of the day, every day they break it down on family, and Myles is part of that family.
"We do a lot of things within the organisation to support our guys on and off the field. Myles Garrett is a good person. He is a good person. He is a good individual. He does a lot in the community. Myles Garrett is good person, and we are not going to pile on Myles.
HC Freddie Kitchens at the podium. https://t.co/sbEvHfu5D1
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 18, 2019
"He had a bad lapse in judgement, and that is it. I am still a Myles Garrett fan, and I am still going to support him, our organisation is going to support him and his team-mates are going to support him, and this coaching staff will support him."
Kitchens was not interested in debating Garrett's case for a more lenient ban.
"Everybody here saw the tape," he said. "I am just here to support. I will support Myles. Our team will support Myles. I am not going to get into that. You saw the tape. There is no excuse for that to happen on a football field. I know that, Myles knows that and all of the players in the locker room know that. That is it.
"There is no excuse, but in saying that, we are going to support Myles Garrett moving forward in any way he needs support."