It’s been almost a week since “Thursday Night Football” devolved into Fight Night between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, and one of the central figures of the melĂ©e finally is owning up to his actions.
“I should’ve done a better job handling that situation,” Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph told reporters Wednesday, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “I have no ill will towards Myles Garrett. Great respect for his ability as a player. And I know that if Myles could go back, he would handle the situation differently.
“As for my involvement last week, there’s no acceptable excuse,” he continued. “The bottom line is I should’ve done a better job keeping my composure in that situation and (not) fall short of what I believe it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and a member of the NFL.”
Garrett, as you likely remember, bashed Rudolph over the head with his own helmet after the pair tussled on the ground for several moments. Rudolph said he took a late hit from the defensive end, and that his natural reaction “was just to get him off from on top of me.”
Garrett received an indefinite suspension from the league for his actions, while Rudolph was fined $35 thousand.
But unlike head coach Mike Tomlin, Rudolph has learned from the incident.
“I’ve got to do a better job at keeping my composure in those situations,” Rudolph said, “and I think it was an unfortunate situation for both teams involved.”
Hey, better late than never.