Myles Garrett harmlessly picking up a rogue Steelers helmet gave everyone Mason Rudolph flashbacks

Years later, the Steelers haven’t forgotten what Myles Garrett can do with a helmet in his hands.

If you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, there’s probably still a great deal of trauma when it comes to Myles Garrett.

Not just in how he terrorizes the offensive edge, no, no. Roughly four years ago at this time, the Cleveland Browns’ superstar was involved in an infamous incident where he swung a helmet at Mason Rudolph. Garrett claimed he came at Rudolph so hard because the Steelers quarterback used a racial slur. Outside of an indefinite suspension that ended Garrett’s 2019 campaign and a $50,000 fine for Rudolph, we technically never saw a concrete resolution to this incident.

But it’s apparent that this moment still holds a notorious place in the Browns-Steelers rivalry.

As Cleveland and Garrett battled Pittsburgh on Sunday (in the present), a rogue Steelers helmet found itself rolling on the turf. Garrett went to harmlessly pick it up, which quickly drew the attention of Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Given how Jones reacts, it’s as if he fully understood Garrett’s history, prompting the defensive end to put his hands up and clarify that he had no ill intent with the helmet in his hands.

All in all, it was a hilariously awkward callback to recent NFL history:

On this occasion, the only fireworks from Garrett were two sacks, two tackles-for-loss, and three quarterback hits in a 13-10 Browns win. That’s what might make that Garrett-Rudolph incident a fitting time capsule. A lot has changed in Browns-Steelers since then. Namely, the Browns can now beat the Steelers and make it an actual rivalry.

What a time to be alive.