Myles Garrett has the leverage to force a trade even if the Browns say they won't deal him.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
For a while, it seemed that Myles Garrett was backing off on his warning to the Browns to show him their plan to compete for a Super Bowl without a total rebuild – or else he would ask out.
In the final episode of “Hard Knocks” that aired on January 14, in fact, Garrett appeared satisfied after meeting with GM Andrew Berry, and then said on camera, “We're closer than some may think we are.”
But something changed in recent days.
At the Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL, last week, Berry doubled-down on his season-ending statement that Garrett would go “from Cleveland to Canton” and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Berry said that he wouldn’t trade Garrett for two No. 1s, if offered, adding that he would seek to sign Garrett to a new contract and that he expected Garrett would retire as a Cleveland Brown.
And then Garrett went to his sixth Pro Bowl in Orlando, FL, and mingled with other players whose teams are a lot closer to competing for championships than the Browns. At some point there, perhaps, Garrett decided the Browns aren’t that close to the Super Bowl and he would force the issue to seek greener pastures.
On Monday, Garrett released a statement not only formally requesting a trade but also making a pointed reference to Berry’s “Canton” remarks.
Garrett wrote:
“As a kid dreaming of the NFL, all I focused on was the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl -- and that goal fuels me today more than ever. My love for the community of Northeast Ohio and the incredible fanbase of the Cleveland Browns has made this one of the toughest decisions of my life. These past eight years have shaped me into the man that I am today.
“While I've loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl.
“With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns.”
A Browns spokesman said the team was not blindsided by Garrett’s request, and that “nothing has changed” from Berry’s position.
“We’re not entertaining offers for him,” the spokesman said.
Timing is everything
The timing of Garrett’s very public loss of confidence in Berry is crucial.
The Browns are estimated to be about $30 million ABOVE the 2025 salary cap, which takes effect on March 12. A new contract for Garrett would greatly aid Berry’s task in complying with the cap. If Garrett doesn’t cooperate and agree to a new deal – which would lower his 2025 salary cap number but make him probably the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL overall – it could force Berry to release players he otherwise would keep.
Also, if the Browns changed their stance and complied with Garrett’s trade request, they would want to do so in time to receive extra draft choices prior to the April 27 draft.
In his first conversation of possibly asking out in late December, Garrett expressed frustration with the Browns’ terminal issues at quarterback, which have been exponentially exacerbated by the ill-fated trade for Deshaun Watson and his unwieldy contract.
It’s possible that Garrett took note of the bad reviews of the 2025 Draft Class and determined there is no quick fix in store for the Browns at quarterback.
What could the Browns get in return for Garrett?
There are some complications to a trade of Garrett that would need to be worked out.
For instance, the Browns would assume a cap charge of approximately $36 million if they traded Garrett, according to Spotrac. Garrett, 29, has two years left on his existing deal, which is relatively team-friendly at the rate of about $25 million per year. Any team trading for him would want to redo and extend his contract.
Assuming all of the hurdles could be cleared and the Browns warmed to the idea of trading him, the most recent comp of pass rusher goes back to Khalil Mack. In 2018, the Raiders traded Mack, then 27, to the Bears for two first-round picks and a swap of picks in the second and third rounds, and fifth and sixth rounds.
The pool of interested teams probably would be limited to those with quarterbacks still under their rookie contracts. It would be difficult for a team with a quarterback under a $200 million-plus contract to squeeze in Garrett, too.
So teams such as Washington (Jayden Daniels), Chicago (Caleb Williams), New England (Drake Maye), Atlanta (Michael Penix) and Denver (Bo Nix) might be targets for Berry to pursue.
Could Garrett change his mind?
He wouldn’t be the first player to do that.
Recently, San Francisco receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk both requested trades, and both stayed with the 49ers.
A more apt comp would be Lamar Jackson.
In the midst of contract negotiations in spring of 2023, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback issued a statement that he had requested to be traded. The Ravens stayed calm and allowed Jackson to seek other offers when they applied the non-exclusive franchise tag on him.
When Jackson found no suitors, he and the Ravens arrived at a new deal seven weeks later for $260 million over five years.
The difference is that money apparently isn’t at the root of Garrett’s frustration. It’s the direction of the team and the seeming hopelessness that it is getting no closer to a Super Bowl as Garrett’s career approaches its ninth season.