Mason Rudolph, Myles Garrett and several other members of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns spent much of this past week telling everybody they had moved past the ugly helmet-swinging incident and even uglier accusations of a racial slur that marred the teams’ most recent meeting in Cleveland and its aftermath.
After the Browns’ 24-22 win Sunday, there appeared to be visual evidence of closure.
Rudolph and Garrett exchanged cordial words on the field at FirstEnergy Stadium after the game. Photographs from USA Today show Rudolph patting Garrett on the shoulder after an apparent handshake between the two.
#Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph talks with #Browns defensive end Myles Garrett following Sunday's 24-22 Cleveland win at FirstEnergy Stadium.
— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) January 3, 2021
Photos by Scott Galvin-USA TODAY Sports pic.twitter.com/tpl63JrLAp
“Myles came over and said, ‘Good game,’ postgame,” Rudolph said. “And that’s all it was. I told him good luck. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Garrett told Cleveland reporters he wanted to “show some praise” to Rudolph for keeping the Steelers in the game until the end.
“He played a great game,” Garrett said of Rudolph.
It was during the waning seconds of a Nov. 14, 2019 game that Garrett drove Rudolph into the ground after a screen pass as time was expiring during a 21-7 Browns win. The two exchanged words and ending up scuffling before Garrett ripped Rudolph’s helmet off and smacked him over his head with it.
Garrett was suspended for the remainder of the season, and Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey also served a two-game suspension for throwing punches toward Garrett in the aftermath of the helmet swing.
In Garrett’s appeal of his suspension, he accused Rudolph of the slur as what incited him. Even after an NFL investigation found so evidence such a word was used, Garrett publicly doubled down on his accusation. That drew Rudolph’s ire on social media and compelled Rudolph’s attorney to threaten legal action.
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