NEW YORK — Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, who infamously ripped the helmet off Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph and hit him in the head with it, was reinstated Wednesday by the NFL. Garrett had been suspended indefinitely by the league since Nov. 15, the day after his major role in a late-game brawl during Cleveland"s 21-7 home victory over the Steelers. An appeal was denied and Garrett missed the final six games of the NFL season for the Browns, who lost their last three matches to miss the playoffs with a 6-10 record. The ban was ended two days after Garrett"s Monday meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after the league office in New York. "Welcome back big fella!!!" tweeted Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. The reinstatement will allow Garrett to return to the team and participate in pre-season workouts that begin in April. "We welcome Myles back to our organization with open arms," Browns general manager Andrew Berry said in a statement. "We know he is grateful to be reinstated, eager to put the past behind him and continue to evolve and grow as a leader." The 24-year-old Texan has made 104 tackles in 37 games over three NFL seasons, all with the Browns. On the play that got him banned, Garrett pulled the helmet off Rudolph and swung it at the Steelers quarterback, inflicting a glancing blow to his head. The ensuing melee led to fines of $250,000 for each club and suspensions of two games for Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey and one game to Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Steelers star Brown apologizes to "Big Ben" Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown apologized to NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Wednesday, more than a year after their relationship collapsed in Brown"s final Steelers campaign. Roethlisberger called out Brown for running a bad route in a 2018 loss to Denver and their friendship deteriorated from there, Brown posting in February 2019 that he felt "Big Ben" had disrespected him. "No conflict just a matter of respect! Mutual respect!" Brown tweeted a year ago. "He has an owner mentality like he can call out anybody including coaches. "Players know but they can"t say anything about it otherwise they meal ticket gone. It"s a dirty game within a game." But on Wednesday, Brown posted a photo of Roethlisberger smiling and slapping the back of Brown"s helmet. "Mostly you a little bit of me! Yee yee!!" Brown wrote. "I never realized how good I had it, got caught up in my emotion with everyone coming after me I really apologize for my actions sincerely man! It"s never been another connection like what we done in the past decade. I appreciate you. Sincerely AB" Since being arrested in January in Florida on charges of attacking a delivery truck driver, Brown has apologized to the NFL, the Steelers and the Hollywood, Florida, Police Department. "I think I owe the whole NFL an apology," Brown told ESPN. "I think I could have done a lot of things better." Brown was twice the NFL receptions season leader and twice the leader in receiving yardage. He has made 841 career catches for 11,263 yards and 75 touchdowns over nine seasons with the Steelers and one game with New England last year. He was dropped by the Patriots last September following allegations of sexual and personal misconduct. — AFP