Myles Garrett reportedly avoids surgery after injuring foot while climbing walls at Pro Bowl
A revamped set of Pro Bowl games intended to keep players safe fell short of its goal Sunday.
Myles Garrett suffered a dislocated toe while climbing walls during an obstacle course relay. The Cleveland Browns confirmed the injury Sunday. Fortunately for Cleveland’s four-time Pro Bowler, he avoided the worst-case scenario.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday that the toe was popped back into place and that Garrett won’t need surgery. He’s expected to require a short recovery time.
Garrett sustained the injury while participating in a relay event called the gridiron gauntlet. Players competed by breaking through walls, climbing over walls, running through tires and pushing sleds. Garrett was tasked with the AFC’s wall-climb leg, which also entailed crawling under tables.
Garrett appeared to injure his toe while landing after a wall climb. After the event, he walked with a pronounced limp and had to sit down on the turf before leaving the field.
Fortunately, it’s not as serious as it initially looked.
The NFL did a smart thing by removing football collisions from its All-Star weekend equation. But it’s tough to completely eliminate injury risk when running and jumping are involved. Here’s guessing the NFL will take a closer look at the wall-climb competition for next season.