Myles Garrett, the star defensive end for the Cleveland Browns who removed an opponent’s helmet and hit him with it on Thursday night, is a player for whom stellar play and questionable hits have occasionally gone hand-in-hand.

During an on-field fracas as the Browns played the Pittsburgh Steelers, Garrett pulled off the helmet of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and hit him in the head with it. Garrett was ejected from the game and then suspended indefinitely by the league on Friday.

Garrett, a 23-year-old Texan, was considered one of the best high school prospects in the nation and was a blue-chip signing for Texas A&M. He was a freshman all-American and then a first-team all-American in his sophomore and junior years.

He entered the N.F.L. draft in 2017 highly acclaimed: His numbers at the N.F.L. combine before the draft were sensational, including a sterling broad jump and bench press and a 4.64-second 40-yard dash.