BEREA, Ohio _ Myles Garrett wants to torment Ben Roethlisberger. DeShone Kizer wants to emulate him.
Both high-profile Browns rookies are eager to jump into their new team's AFC North rivalry against the quarterback known as Big Ben and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular-season opener at 1 p.m. Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
But Garrett's NFL debut is in question because he suffered an injured ankle during Wednesday's practice, coach Hue Jackson said. Jackson added Garrett practiced as long as he could but didn't finish the session.
The No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft and the starting right defensive end of the Browns was listed as a limited participant on the injury report. Jackson said he thought Garrett injured his right ankle. He suffered a left lateral foot sprain June 14 during mandatory minicamp but recovered in time for the start of training camp July 27. He also dealt with a left high-ankle sprain last season at Texas A&M.
"We'll see," Jackson said when asked for his level of concern about Garrett's new injury. "I don't want to make medical decisions. I'm not very good at them. So we'll see where we are as we move through the week."
Garrett has big plans for the Steelers, provided he plays.
On draft day in late April, Garrett told ESPN analyst Randy Moss he wanted to sack Roethlisberger to begin his career. "I'm coming for him first, chop him down," he said then.
Before Wednesday's practice, Garrett said he wouldn't back down from the statement.
"I stand by it," Garrett said. "You shouldn't be scared to take anybody down.
"He's a great player, but now I have to look at him as just another one of my peers. He's just another guy, and I have to play it like it's just another game."
Roethlisberger is known for being extremely difficult to tackle. Still, Garrett is not only aiming for a sack, but a forced fumble as well.
"He's no small fella," Garrett said. "It's going to be pretty tough. You've got to make sure you wrap up and make sure to try to get the ball out. There's time where he's a little bit loose with it. So when you're trying to get him down, just try to rake the ball out.
"Don't hit him up high. You see a lot of guys who make that mistake, and he just shrugs them off and he'll find a little escape hatch and extend the play. So make sure you get him low, try and stay above the knee if they get him in his lower body and make sure you wrap up and gator roll."
Jackson likes Garrett's confidence.
"Now you've got to back it up," Jackson said. "You can say that, but I think he understands that his teammates are with him in that. In order to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, we do have to get Ben down. That's just the truth."
In May, Roethlisberger said the Steelers' offensive linemen got a kick out of Garrett's tough talk.
"Yeah, they did," Roethlisberger added Tuesday during a radio interview with 93-7 The Fan in Pittsburgh. "I think [left tackle Alejandro Villanueva] took a little offense to that 'cause obviously [surrendering a sack] would have to be on him. He's been studying a lot of tape.
"We're not going to take anything away from [Garrett]. He's a phenomenal football player. He hasn't played an NFL snap yet, but he's a good football player. So we'll know where he is, and we'll be ready to block him with however many guys we need."
Garrett said the Steelers "might come after me, but there's a whole lot of other guys they've got to show attention on the D-line as well."
Roethlisberger is 20-2 as a starter against the Browns. The Steelers are 31-6 against the Browns since 1999, including 1-0 in the postseason. The Steelers have won 30 of the last 34 meetings, including the past four.
Perhaps Garrett didn't realize "the rivalry is as big as it is" because of the lopsided series.
Kizer, however, has a feel for the history of the two franchises.
"I definitely have a lot of respect for this game," Kizer said. "This rivalry within our division and our conference is one that really shows you what Northern Midwest football is. It is hard nose. It is tough. The fan bases are the same way. The cities are the same way.
"We all kind of grew up the same way in the sense that it is blue collar. It is as blue collar as it gets, so now to be a part of this and to obviously represent Cleveland and this rivalry, I am looking forward to going out there and representing the city and everything that comes along with this."
Like Roethlisberger, Kizer is a big, strong-armed quarterback from Ohio. Jackson and quarterbacks coach David Lee have acknowledged the comparisons are natural.
"It is weird," Kizer, 21, said of being mentioned in the same breath as Roethlisberger, 35, a two-time Super Bowl champion. "He was in the NFL when I was in sixth or seventh grade.
"I'm sure I drafted him in fantasy leagues when I wasn't even near playing at this level. It is definitely different, but it comes with your new job. I'm looking forward to going out there and trying to compete at another level that he competes at."
Kizer pointed out his hometown of Toledo is only about a 40-minute drive from Roethlisberger's hometown of Findlay.
"His reputation in my city is something that is well respected," said Kizer, a second-round pick from Notre Dame. "Yes, I did grow up watching him. There are quite a few Pittsburgh fans in the Toledo area who live and die by his games and his play.
"His grit and what he does out on the field is exactly what you have to have to be successful in the AFC North. That is why he has been consistently successful. Hopefully, I will be able to pull from that and go out there, compete against him and do my best to try to take over that reputation that he has had in this city."
Kizer said playing on the same field as Roethlisberger will be surreal.
"He is going to become an enemy as soon as that ball gets snapped and we flip the coin," he said. "I look forward to being out there. There are going to be a lot of those games where we step out there and I am going against guys that I have been looking up to, but it is my job just to take some of the things that they have been doing to create their success in the league and try to create my own."
