BEREA, Ohio _ Baker Mayfield and Kareem Hunt have experienced intense scrutiny, so the Browns teammates each felt compelled to speak with Myles Garrett about the position he recently put himself in.
Garrett attended his appeal hearing Wednesday morning in New York to state his case after the NFL suspended him indefinitely for ripping off the helmet of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and swinging it onto his head late in Cleveland's 21-7 win on "Thursday Night Football."
Coach Freddie Kitchens expressed confidence Garrett represented himself well while appearing before former NFL player James Thrash, who's jointly appointed and compensated by the league and NFL Players Association to decide appeals of on-field player discipline. Thrash could rule within a day or two.
Mayfield said he has talked to Garrett to see how he's doing.
"I've been in that moment," Mayfield said after the Browns (4-6) practiced for Sunday's home game against the Miami Dolphins (2-8). "It was a smaller scale in college _ my Kansas mistake. You feel that weight of everybody crushing you. I wanted him to know that we have support for him, and he can lean on us."
Mayfield referenced an incident during his senior year at the University of Oklahoma. After Kansas players refused to shake his hand before the game, Mayfield grabbed his crotch while directing expletives toward his opponents during Oklahoma's 41-3 win. Oklahoma didn't start him the next game and stripped him of his captaincy.
Hunt has been involved in much more serious situations. The NFL suspended him for the first eight games this season under its personal-conduct policy for physical altercations he had with a woman in downtown Cleveland in February 2018 and a man in Put-in-Bay in June the same year. TMZ.com releasing a security video of the first altercation prompted the Kansas City Chiefs to cut Hunt on Nov. 30.
So Hunt knows what it's like to let his team down.
"I've been in (Garrett's) position, and it's tough," Hunt said. "You've just got to take it day by day and be positive, even when you feel like it's never going to end. I'm here now and finally got through the storm."
Hunt relayed the message to Garrett, who apologized to the Browns while addressing them Friday morning at team headquarters. Garrett isn't allowed
"He's ready to take responsibility ... and that's all you can do," Hunt said. "Now just show everybody Myles is a good guy. He's one of the best people I've seen
"I was surprised (by his actions), but emotions (run) high. (It) still don't change the way I think about Myles, absolutely great person, great teammate. He made a mistake. Hopefully we get him back sooner than later."
