Sheldon Richardson: Mason Rudolph Should Be Punished for Myles Garrett Fight

Sheldon Richardson thought the NFL let Mason Rudolph off easy for his role in the fight during the Cleveland Browns' 21-7 Week 11 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Richardson told reporters Monday he was "very surprised" Rudolph escaped without a suspension.

With seconds left in the game, Rudolph took exception to a hit from Myles Garrett and began shoving the Browns defensive end. Garrett then took off Rudolph's helmet and swung it at the Steelers quarterback.

"You can't antagonize a fight and then claim bullying. ... You get what's coming to you," Richardson said of the situation. "Of course Myles overreacted, it's just that simple."

After the game, Rudolph called Garrett's actions "bush league" and a "total coward move."

Many noted at the time, however, that Rudolph appeared to escalate things by initially meddling with Garrett's helmet.

Garrett issued an apology for the incident: "Last night, I made a terrible mistake. I lost my cool and what I did was selfish and unacceptable."

The NFL handed Garrett an indefinite suspension that will cover at least the remainder of the 2019 season. Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey received a three-game suspension and Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi was suspended for one game.

Rudolph's agent, Tim Younger, initially considered going a step further, telling ESPN's Brooke Pryor that "no options have been removed from the table" in terms of a possible legal case against Garrett. But Pryor reported Rudolph's representatives decided not to seek legal action.

Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot reported Ogunjobi and Pouncey appealed their suspensions, with Ogunjobi's appeal hearing coming Monday and Pouncey's scheduled for Tuesday. According to the Associated Press' Tom Withers, Garrett will travel to New York on Wednesday for his appeal.