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For the first time since losing control and flipping his Porsche, the Cleveland Browns defensive star expressed relief that he survived the crash.
CLEVELAND — Myles Garrett knows he’s lucky. His life could be completely different or even end.
Speaks for the first time since losing control and flipping through his Porsche after practice on Monday, brown The star defensive end expressed relief that he survived the accident, which he caused by driving too fast.
“Definitely grateful to be here,” Garrett said Friday.
Garrett suffered a dislocated shoulder, strained biceps and cuts and a ruptured blood vessel in his left eye in a one-car wreck on a country road near his home after practice.
He promised that the accident would change his behavior.
“It’s definitely going to be a wake-up call for me, just try to be smart with the management,” Garrett said in the locker room after the Browns’ practice. “Don’t take anything for granted. Be thankful that I can still be here and just take my time.”
Despite being injured and missing three days of practice, the Browns are questioning Garrett for Sunday’s road game against Atlanta. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Garrett’s playing status will be decided based on a medical.
Garrett said he’s feeling much better and hasn’t ruled out meeting the Falcons.
“It’s up to the training staff and coaches,” he said. “If it was up to me, I’d be happy to go. It’s just my competitive spirit and my nature. Physically, we have to assess that in the approach to the game, today, tomorrow and Sunday.
“But that’s just a decision we’ll make closer to the game.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Garrett, 26, was driving at an “unsafe speed” when he left the road, went into a ditch and hit a fire hydrant before flipping his car several times.
A 23-year-old female passenger with Garrett also suffered minor injuries and was treated at a hospital and released.
“It was a big sigh of relief for me because I was the one who put us in danger,” Garrett said. “So it was really nice to know they were OK.”
Garrett told officers he believed he was going 65 mph in a 45 mph zone before he veered off a hilly road near his home. Drugs and alcohol are not suspected, according to the Highway Patrol’s post-crash report.
The crash destroyed Garrett’s car and left him, along with many of his teammates, shaken.
“I think emotionally I’m pretty grounded with everything, I’ve put it behind me,” Garrett said. “Physically I’m still dealing with some of the injuries that came with it, but really it’s just a blur, it all happened quite quickly.
“Sometimes the last couple of nights I sat and thought about different situations, scenarios, how things played out, but knowing that I can’t change the past, I just kept moving forward and I’m glad that everyone is okay. »
The overall No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft has been ticketed for speeding multiple times. Last year he was cited for going 120 mph and paid a fine for an amended offense of 99 mph in a 70 mph zone.
Garrett said the accident would change the way he drives.
“I don’t think it takes anything that drastic to tell me I need to slow down,” he said. “It’s about listening to your loved ones, hearing them out and understanding that it’s serious every time you get in the car.”
Garrett needs one sack to become Cleveland’s career leader. He has 61 1/2 sacks in 71 games.
The Browns also list Jadeveon Clowney as questionable for Sunday. He missed last week’s game with a sprained ankle.