CLEVELAND — Second-year defensive end Myles Garrett and rookie cornerback Denzel Ward were selected to represent the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 Pro Bowl, the league announced on NFL Network Tuesday night.
Garrett and Ward were voted in by a combination of fans, coaches and their peers from around the league. It is the first Pro Bowl nod for each player.
“I’m honored to be selected to the Pro Bowl,” Garrett said in a release announcing the honors. “I especially want to thank the fans for all the support that they show our team. Football is a team game and you can’t do it on your own. I’m happy to be able to share this experience with Denzel because this honor is really a testament to our entire defense.”
Ward added, “I’m proud that I am able to represent the city of Cleveland at the Pro Bowl. There are so many great players who have made the Pro Bowl in this team’s history, and to be included with them is an honor. I want to thank all my coaches, teammates and fans for helping make this happen.”
Garrett is the first Browns defensive end to make the Pro Bowl since Rob Burnett in 1995, while Ward is the Browns’ sixth rookie selected for the postseason honor.
In addition to Ward and Garrett getting selected, six players were named alternates, and five of them came from the offense.
Led by rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield (fourth), the class of alternates includes wide receiver Jarvis Landry (third), first-year running back Nick Chubb (second), offensive guards Joel Bitonio (first) and Kevin Zeitler (fourth) and punter Britton Colquitt (second).
Fully healthy coming into the year, Garrett has emerged as a leader for the Browns’ defense and registered 38 total tackles, including 31 solo stops, and of those 38 plays, 12.5 have been sacks on opposing quarterbacks for 74.5 lost yards.
Currently, with 19.5 sacks, Garrett has registered the most by a Brown in the first 25 games of his career, as well as the most by a defender in his first two professional seasons. Garrett is tied for sixth in the NFL this season with the 12.5 sacks and is among the NFL’s leaders with three forced fumbles.
A two-time Pepsi Rookie of the Week (Weeks 1 and 5) and one-time AFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 5), Ward is tied for seventh in the AFC with three interceptions.
The No. 4 overall pick of the Browns in the 2018 NFL Draft, Ward ranks tied for second in interceptions and passes defended, tied for ninth in forced fumbles and tied for first with two fumble recoveries among first-year players.
Since taking over the first-team offense in the second quarter of a Week 3 win over the New York Jets, Mayfield has completed 260 of his 407 attempts (63.9 percent) for 3,065 yards and 21 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
Although Mayfield will not get official credit for the victory over the Jets because he came on in relief of an injured Tyrod Taylor, the first-year quarterback has guided the Browns to six wins.
The 2019 Pro Bowl will be played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on January 27.
