This Cleveland Browns Player Wins Numerous Honors
Myles Garrett: There’s A Good Chance This Cleveland Browns Defender Will Take Home The NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Title.
There were many tremendous highs and lows throughout the 2023 Cleveland Browns season. Despite having an 11-5 record at the end, the squad was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The club didn’t go into the season expecting that of itself. But, it’s impressive they made it this far considering the historic severity of the team’s injury problem. For Myles Garrett, the team’s premier edge rusher, it was essentially the same. Early in the season, he was a powerful force. By the Browns’ tenth game, he had racked up an incredible thirteen sacks. He suffered a shoulder injury against the Denver Broncos, though, and was a shadow of his former self. For the rest of the season, Garrett would only receive one more sack.
DE for the Cleveland Browns After winning multiple awards, can Myles Garrett be the next NFL Defensive Player of the Year?
Myles Garrett’s numerous playoff award nominations are a testament to how good he was over the first three months of the season. Garrett was first selected to the First Team All-Pro. It was his third time on the first team and his fifth career All-Pro selection. The Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) All-NFL team selected Myles Garrett as a result. He is the only active player to have been selected to an All-NFL squad four times in a row. In addition, Garrett was selected for the Pro Bowl and won Professional Athlete of the Year at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards.
Myles Garrett, though, was catapulted back into the running for the league’s 2023 Defensive Player of the Year after winning the next two awards. Garrett was first recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year by the PFWA. He is the first player from the Cleveland Browns to get the honor. Later, Garrett rose to the position as one of the five finalists for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award. The PWFA and AP have only disagreed on their respective Defensive Player of the Year awards three times in the twenty-first century.
Additional Cleveland Browns Awards
Three other Cleveland Browns players were also announced as finalists for the 2023 Associated Press Awards, in addition to Myles Garrett. Kevin Stefanski, head coach, was included in the AP Coach of the Year ballot. Jim Schwartz, the defensive coordinator, is vying for the title of AP Assistant Coach of the Year. With possibly the best relief pitching month the NFL has ever seen, quarterback Joe Flacco appears to be a strong contender for the AP Comeback Player of the Year award.
Joel Bitonio of the Browns, a guard, was included with Garrett on PWFA’s All-AFC team for the first time. Garrett was selected to the Pro Bowl along with cornerback Denzel Ward, tight end David Njoku, wide receiver Amari Cooper, and guard Joel Bitonio. Since 1988, the Cleveland Browns had never had more than that. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and guard Wyatt Teller, who were picked as alternates to the AFC squad, joined them. Dawand Jones, a rookie right tackle, was also selected for the 2023 PFWA All-Rookie squad.
