If you thought an end-of-season battle between bitter AFC North rivals would be void of wholesome and heartwarming moments, you were almost right, but not quite.
NFL Films captured a touching moment during a hard-fought Week 18 game. Ravens rookie Roger Rosengarten asked Browns star Myles Garrett for his jersey at the end of the game. The jersey swap has become a staple of NFL post-game rituals, in which opposing players trade jerseys as signs of respect following a tough battle.
However, Rosengarten prefaced his request for Garrett’s jersey by describing himself as a “nobody.”
Garrett’s response to the young player was encouraging and heartwarming.
“I know I’m a nobody but if I could get that jersey after?” Rosengarten asked Garrett.
Garrett responded, “Hey, you’re in the league, y’all winning games, y’all looking great, you ain’t never a nobody. I got you.”
Rosengarten explained how the moment came about on Wednesday.
“It was just me and him walking after Derrick’s big run for a touchdown. I was like, ‘He’s right next to me. Why not? No one else is around.’ Actually, the whole world saw it.” The only thing he would have changed, Rosengarten said, was that he wished he would have called himself a rookie instead of a “nobody.”
Despite the Browns’ 3-14 record, Garrett is on his way to his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award, having amassed 14 sacks for the second year in a row. Garrett has remained loyal to Cleveland despite the team’s woeful record. However, he is entering free agency and has said he has no interest in being a part of another “rebuild.”
As for the Ravens, they will take on another division rival Saturday night in the first round of the playoffs when they host the Steelers.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.