BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns announced Wednesday that Myles Garrett has been reinstated by the NFL and will be rejoining the Browns for the 2020 season.
Garrett's reinstatement will allow him to participate in offseason workouts slated to begin in early April.
Garrett was suspended indefinitely on Nov. 15, the day after he ripped the helmet off Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and hit him on the head with it. The incident came at the end of the Browns' 21-7 home victory over the Steelers, following a scrum on the ground during which Rudolph appeared to get a hand on Garrett's helmet and kick him in the groin.
During his hearing to appeal of the suspension, Garrett alleged that Rudolph called him a racial slur. The NFL disputed the claim and said they found no such evidence of it.
"Mason vehemently denies the report of being accused of using a racial slur,” a Steelers spokesman told ESPN's Jake Trotter at the time.
The NFL denied Garrett's appeal last November, upholding the indefinite suspension for the remainder of last season. He missed the Browns' remaining six games of the 2019 season.
Garrett met with NFL representatives on Monday.
“We welcome Myles back to our organization with open arms. We know he is grateful to be reinstated, eager to put the past behind him and continue to evolve and grow as a leader. We look forward to having his strong positive presence back as a teammate, player and person in our community,” said Andrew Berry, the Browns' executive vice president of football operations and general manager.
Garrett was quick to share his reaction to the news on Twitter.
— Myles "Flash" Garrett ⚡️ (@MylesLGarrett) February 12, 2020
Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield welcomed his teammate back shortly after the reinstatement was announced.
@MylesLGarrett welcome back big fella!!!
— Baker Mayfield (@bakermayfield) February 12, 2020
According to the Browns, Garrett will be departing on a humanitarian program to Tanzania next week as captain of the NFL's Waterboys Program, which works to bring clean water to communities in need in East Africa.
This story was originally published by Drew Scofield on WEWS in Cleveland.
