Myles Garrett moves one step closer to return

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell plans to meet with suspended Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett sometime in the next 60 days.

Which is the best sign that Garrett is on his way to returning to the field.

The meeting was first reported by cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot:

Goodell would not go into specifics about the meeting, but a “league source” said that the expectation is that Garrett will be re-instated after the meeting, according to Cabot.

Garrett has been serving an indefinite suspension for hitting Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the head with his own helmet at the end of Cleveland’s Week 10 victory over Pittsburgh.

Rudolph took umbrage to one of the softest sacks in NFL history, tried to pull off Garrett’s helmet and kicked Garrett in (or near) his groin area. Once things started to cool down, Rudolph escalated the situation - Garrett later claimed that Rudolph used a racial slur but the NFL mysteriously did not have any audio of the incident despite it being a nationally televised the game - and Garrett removed Rudolph’s helmet and hit him with it.

The NFL quickly moved to suspended Garrett indefinitely, shot down his appeal, and fined Garrett $45,623. The suspension for the final six games of the season also cost Garrett an additional $1.14 million in lost pay.

While Garrett was not allowed to practice or attend team meetings during his suspension, in mid-December the league office allowed him to workout individually with the team’s medical and training staffs.

Despite missing the final six games of the season, Garrett still easily led the Browns in sacks with 10.