NFL fans are used to seeing Myles Garrett look like a superhero. The 6'4", 272-pound edge rusher usually spent his 2025 season making offensive tackles look like they were standing in quicksand. But there was this one moment that felt different. It wasn’t about a sack or a forced fumble. It was that Myles Garrett eye picture—the one where he’s on the ground, helmet off, looking genuinely human and in a ton of pain.
If you saw the clip from the Week 15 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in late 2024, it was terrifying. One second he’s rushing Patrick Mahomes, the next he’s ripping his helmet off and burying his face in the grass. For a guy who just broke the single-season sack record with 23 sacks in 2025, seeing him that vulnerable was a shock to the system.
Honestly, eye injuries in football are rare, but they are visceral. You can play through a broken finger or a bruised rib. You can't play if you can't see the ball.
The Story Behind the Infamous Eye Poke
So, what actually went down? It was a rainy Sunday in Cleveland. Garrett had just decided to take off his visor. He usually wears one because he had LASIK surgery years ago, and he’s always been paranoid about the corneal flap getting disturbed.
"It was the first play I took my visor off," Garrett later told reporters. "It was raining and getting blurry. Then it got real blurry and dark."
As he tried to dip around Chiefs tackle Joe Thuney, Thuney’s hand accidentally slipped up and under the facemask. It wasn't dirty—just one of those "inches" things that happens in the trenches. But the result was a direct poke to the eye. Garrett’s reaction was immediate. He didn't just walk to the sideline; he collapsed.
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When the medical staff finally got him to the locker room and the first photos started hitting social media, people panicked. His eye was swollen shut, red, and looked like he’d gone twelve rounds with a heavyweight boxer.
Why the LASIK Factor Matters
Most people don't realize that for athletes who’ve had laser eye surgery, a direct hit to the eye isn't just a "poke." There is a legitimate medical fear that the corneal flap—the tiny layer of tissue sliced during the procedure—could be dislodged.
If that flap moves, it's not just a scratch. It's a surgical emergency. This is why Garrett almost always plays with a dark or clear visor. Taking it off for just one series because of the rain was a freak "wrong place, wrong time" moment.
Seeing Double: The Aftermath
Garrett actually came back into that game. It's kind of insane when you think about it. He missed maybe four plays, sprinted back out of the tunnel, and finished the game. But he wasn't "fine."
- Vision issues: He admitted to having double vision for the rest of the game.
- Alignment problems: He could only line up on certain sides of the ball because if he looked one way, his peripheral vision was basically gone.
- The Look: In the post-game presser, the Myles Garrett eye picture that went viral showed a subconjunctival hemorrhage—basically a popped blood vessel that makes the white of the eye look like a crime scene.
It looked way worse than it actually was, medically speaking. A popped blood vessel in the eye is basically a bruise on the eyeball. It doesn't usually affect your long-term sight, but it looks like something out of a horror movie.
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What People Get Wrong About the Injury
There’s a lot of talk on Reddit and Twitter whenever these photos resurface. Some fans thought he was faking it to get a flag (unlikely, given he threw his own helmet in frustration). Others thought he had a concussion because he was dizzy.
The reality? Eye pain is just uniquely debilitating. Have you ever had a piece of dust in your eye that you couldn't get out? Now imagine a 300-pound man's finger doing that at full speed.
It’s also worth noting that this wasn’t his first brush with "scary" eye stuff. Back in 2022, after his car accident, he also had some burst blood vessels in his eyes. He’s basically become the poster child for why NFL players should never, ever play without a visor if they have a history of eye sensitivity.
Myles Garrett’s 2025 Resilience
What’s wild is how this didn't slow him down. In 2025, Garrett was a force of nature. He ended the year with 23 sacks, surpassing the previous records held by Al Baker, Michael Strahan, and T.J. Watt.
He played through:
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- A nagging hip issue in training camp.
- Foot and Achilles soreness in October.
- The lingering psychological "glitch" of that eye injury.
When you look at the 2024 eye incident in the context of his 2025 "Sack King" season, it adds a layer of grit. He wasn't just a physical freak; he was playing through vision gaps that would make most people sit on the couch for a week.
Actionable Takeaways for Football Fans and Players
If you’re an athlete—or just a fan trying to understand the risks—here is the "expert" breakdown of how to handle these situations:
- Visor Choice: If you’ve had LASIK or PRK, a visor isn't an "accessory," it's safety equipment. Stick to clear visors in the rain to avoid the fogging that made Garrett take his off.
- Immediate Care: If you see "floaters" or experience double vision after an eye poke, that’s the sign of a potential retinal issue. Get to an ophthalmologist immediately, not just a general team doc.
- The "Red Eye": Don't freak out if the white of your eye turns blood red after a hit. If there's no pain and your vision is clear, it's likely just a burst vessel that will clear up in 7–10 days.
Myles Garrett proved that you can stare down a scary injury and come back better. That "eye picture" might be a meme or a "grit" post now, but it was a reminder that even the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year is only one stray finger away from a career-changing moment.
To keep track of Garrett's health moving into the 2026 season, keep an eye on the official Browns injury reports, as his history of playing through small "dings" usually hides the true extent of the pain he's in.
Next Steps:
You can check out the official NFL medical protocols for eye injuries if you're curious how teams decide when a player is safe to return to the field after a poke.