The long-awaited debut of first overall pick Myles Garrett is expected to come against the Jets this Sunday, but he won’t be jumping right into a full role at defensive end.
Garrett has been practicing since last week and has made enough progress in his recovery from an ankle injury that all signs point to him being on the field this weekend. On Thursday, Browns coach Hue Jackson said that the rookie’s playing time will be closely monitored.
“I’m sure we’ll have him on a pitch count,” Jackson said, via ESPN.com. “Again, he’s just now getting back to practice a week ago. He’s put together a week-and-a-half of practice. But still he’s been off for quite a while too, so I think we got to be smart about our expectations of him this weekend.”
When it looked like Garrett might play last week, Jackson said his return would be a “huge jolt” for the team. He took a different approach this week, saying he doesn’t want to “put too much pressure on Myles” because the entire team has to play well but he feels Garrett can help as the Browns try for their first win of the season.