Browns coach Hue Jackson concedes the team might err on the side of caution even if Myles Garrett’s injured right ankle checks out. But he also admits the rookie defensive end’s debut would provide the Browns with a lift.
“Huge,” Jackson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “He’s a really good player. He’d give us a lift obviously rushing the passer and doing those things. That would be a jolt to our football team.”
Garrett returned to the practice field for the first time since Sept. 6 when he sprained the ankle. It was diagnosed as a high-ankle sprain, his second in two years.
“It’s a horrible feeling being on the sideline, having to watch all this occur and not be able to do anything about it,’' Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick, said. “It’s just a feeling of helplessness that you have that you don’t want to have at anytime in your career. Hopefully when I get back out there I can do something about it.”
The Browns will limit Garrett’s snaps if he plays to protect their investment.
“I want to make sure that we cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s and talk to the medical staff about what the expectation would be of him and what we are going to do because he’s a huge piece of our organization and our future,’' Jackson said. “We want to be cautious but smart as we go through it. We’re getting closer, like I said before, than we are further away. It was good to have him back out there and running around. We will see where that is over the next couple of days.”