Sunday's contest against the Miami Dolphins will be the first game that Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett will miss under the terms of his indefinite suspension.

Although Garrett lost his appeal of the suspension and will miss the rest of this season, the NFL is hopeful and optimistic that the Pro Bowl pass-rusher will not miss any games next season, league sources told ESPN.

The NFL has mandated that Garrett must meet with the commissioner's office during the offseason, and the NFL is doing that because it wants to see how he reacts to the lengthy suspension after the brawl that he was a part of earlier this month against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The NFL will be open-minded and listen to Garrett during the offseason meeting, and if his behavior is what the league hopes it will be and his answers are accurate, there's a strong chance he will not miss any playing time in 2020, according to sources.

Garrett was suspended indefinitely and fined $45,623 for ripping the helmet off Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph and striking him in the head with it late in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's 21-7 victory on Nov. 14.

Garrett lost his appeal and stands to lose about $1.2 million in salary for missing the six remaining games this season.