Myles Garrett loves Halloween, likes to "troll," hates invasion of privacy following front yard QB gravestone display

BEREA — Myles Garrett was just trying to have a little fun and get in the holiday spirit. The Cleveland Browns player didn't realize a few fake quarterback gravestones would gain national attention and make his Medina County home a tourist attraction. "I'm kind of a troll, a little bit, and people in the house like to have fun," the All-Pro defensive end said Friday. "My family, my friends thought it would be something cool to do for Halloween because I've always loved Halloween." Garrett's front lawn display became national news this week when someone took a picture and it went viral. The Halloween decorations include a graveyard of quarterbacks he's sacked in his career or is planning to this season. Arizona's Kyler Murray, this week's opponent, made the display, as did Baltimore's Lamar Jackson (with "RIP" on the headstone), Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, the Chargers' Justin Herbert, Chicago's Justin Fields, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and New England rookie Mac Jones (with "Here lies"). They have small spotlights in front of them so they can be seen in the dark. The front yard also had a giant skeleton — "It's bigger than me and you," Garrett said — pumpkins and a scarecrow. Garrett didn't expect the attention, or to have his peace and quiet disrupted. It's become his personal creep show. "I didn't think people would invade my privacy like that, but they're there," he said. "It's strange to have people come by my house. Hopefully they can leave me be 'cause that is my place of refuge and residence. "I don't like people just driving by for whatever reason. I like it, my neighbors appreciate it, think it's funny. But people just driving up, that's weird for everyone in my household." The intrusion on his private life is a nightmare for Garrett, who'd prefer to be left alone to watch horror movies. "Being home is just strange," he said. "I had somebody blocking my driveway yesterday, so it's just trying to get home. I like being out here, I like seeing my teammates, like the camaraderie. I get home, I don't like to see anybody, except for the people in my home. "I don't like to put any kind of emphasis on myself or what I'm doing. When I get home, that's even more so. I just want to sit home, eat some popcorn, watch a movie with my family and enjoy my dogs." Despite the hassles, Garrett's still glad they came up with the QB graveyard idea and had the scene created. "It's still fun and I still like looking at it, I still enjoy it, it's just a fun idea," he said. "It's pretty much the same as dressing up or doing whatever comes. People are going to express themselves in different ways and this is what I do. "I've always dressed up. Maybe I'll do something for this Halloween game." The Browns host the Steelers on Oct. 31, but Garrett wasn't ready to reveal what his costume might be. "Absolutely not," he said. Coach Kevin Stefanski hadn't seen the pictures of Garrett's yard but said he's been impressed by how Northeast Ohio decorates for Halloween. Defensive line coach Chris Kiffin showed his kids the pictures Thursday night after seeing "The Lion King." "I was looking closely to see how many of those guys he's actually sacked already and how many are still on the schedule," Kiffin said. "So I think he had it pretty well thought out. It's perfect. "My kids got a kick out of it, too. I thought it was pretty cool." Garrett leads the NFL with seven sacks through five games and is determined to push through the knee and ankle injuries that limited him in practice the last two weeks. He said he feels "a little better" than a week ago, and he played 60 snaps Sunday against the Chargers and had a sack in the 47-42 loss. "We're all working through some challenges and I don't want to say mine are any greater than what anybody else is going through," he said. "I'm just going to try to do my best to put my best foot forward. That's what my team expects out of me and it's what y'all expect out of me, so I'm not going to let myself down or let y'all down." Kiffin said he hasn't seen "any hiccup" in Garrett's game despite the pain. "Going on Week 6, the way he plays and the amount of plays he has been playing for us this season, it does not surprise me that he is feeling that way a little bit," Kiffin said. "Take care of him during the week and a full go on Sunday." Garrett and the front four should also benefit from the return of end Jadeveon Clowney after he missed last week with a sore knee. He has two sacks, five tackles for loss and seven quarterback hits in four games. "He's been out there moving around and obviously he's feeling better than he was last week," Kiffin said. "So we'll see on game day how many plays he can go and see how he feels as he gets going. I'm sure as the adrenaline goes and he's out there, he's a guy that doesn't really want to come off the field." Without Clowney against the Chargers, Kiffin couldn't use the "cheetah" package of four pass rushers on third down — ends Garrett, Clowney and Takk McKinley and tackle Malik Jackson. "When we have all four guys out there rushing together, it's pretty darn good," Kiffin said. And Garrett has his bookend. "It'd keep a little bit of pressure off of all of us," Garrett said. "When you have JD, you can't chip as often and you can't do as much double-teaming. That allows us to get one-on-ones, and I'm confident in our ability to win those." Contact Scott Petrak at (440) 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com. 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