Browns' Baker Mayfield Says Myles Garrett Is in a 'Good Place' Amid Suspension

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said suspended defensive end Myles Garrett is in a "good place" after spending time with him in Las Vegas for UFC 246. 

"I sat next to him during the fight, he's good, man," Mayfield told TMZ Sports. "He's in a good place right now, which is good for us as a team."

Garrett was suspended indefinitely after hitting Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with his helmet in a Week 11 matchup. He missed the final six games of the regular season, and his return is contingent on being reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell.

The NFL will meet with Garrett this offseason to discuss his potential return for 2020. 

"He will probably meet with us sometime in the offseason and I think we'll make a judgment on, 'does he have remorse? Does he understand why it's not acceptable? Do we understand what he's going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again?' Those are the things that I think are going to be very important for us," Goodell said in November, per Ben Axelrod of WKYC.

"Because my experience with discipline with players and with other personnel is if they get it. If they understand that they made a mistake. And if they accept that and they say, 'I'm committed to changing,' you're usually on a good path. The ones that you don't are the ones that sort of say, 'There was nothing wrong with what I did.' I don't know whether he feels that way or he doesn't, but we'll find out."

Should Garrett's meeting with Goodell prove satisfactory, it's unlikely his suspension will continue long into the 2020 season—if he's not reinstated outright for Week 1. Garrett alleged Rudolph used a racial slur during the melee, but the NFL found no evidence during its investigation.

The Browns will need Garrett and Mayfield at their best next season to avoid another disappointment like 2019. Expected to compete for the AFC North championship, the Browns finished a dreadful 6-10 that resulted in the departure of coach Freddie Kitchens and general manager John Dorsey.