Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett used a precedent-based argument on Wednesday during his suspension appeal hearing, citing the NFL's punishment of a former Houston Texans player in 2013, a source told ESPN's Dan Graziano.
Five days after being suspended indefinitely for ripping off Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph's helmet and clubbing him in the head with it, Garrett and the NFLPA met with league officials Wednesday morning in New York.
Garrett and the NFLPA contended, the source told Graziano, that the worst punishment any player received for a similar incident was Houston's Antonio Smith, who was suspended in 2013 for two preseason games and one regular-season game for swinging his helmet at then-Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito.