While still under contract with the Browns, Myles Garrett talked openly on Super Bowl Media Row about what he's looking for in a new team if his trade request is granted.
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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.
Takeaways from Myles Garrett’s Media Row performance at the Super Bowl …
Myles Garrett arrived in New Orleans at early afternoon on Wednesday and was chauffeured directly from the airport to Broadcast Row in Super Bowl media headquarters to hawk a yogurt product and portray himself as a humble, greatest-ever player who just wants to play for a winning team.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen or heard a player under contract so passively-aggressively knock his team and shamelessly sell himself to Super Bowl contenders.
If tampering rules applied to players, Garrett would have been called to the commissioner’s temp office in New Orleans by evening.
Here are some of the highlights of Garrett’s separate sit-downs with Rich Eisen and Mina Kimes.
The Rich Eisen Show
* Garrett, who is now represented by the LeBron James-owned Klutch Sports Group, said he reached out to James for advice on how to execute his request to be traded.
“What a transition looked like for him? What was his thought process going into it before he left Cleveland? Just making sure I made a logical decision, taking my time. Just trying to take away the pressure of doing something like that,” Garrett said. “Cleveland, really that area, Northeast Ohio, has been his home. It feels like my home, as well.
“He had actually been reaching out to me to talk and get to my side of things. He’s been a part of difficult times in his first start of his career, being frustrated with being so close to the pinnacle of his sport. [He] just wanted to see where my head was at and if I need to talk and if I was ready to consider any kind of move that he was there to communicate with and to lean on.”
* Garrett said he had several conversations with the Browns before making his intentions public.
“It's not a decision I take lightly,” he said. “It took time and lots of conversation, but just looking at the trajectory of the team, talking to some of the higher-ups … I have a lot of respect for them, but I just don't think we're aligned on where the team is going in the near future. I feel like the window for us as athletes is only so broad and only continues to close as years go by with anything being able to happen on that field from day to day. I want to be able to go out there and compete at the highest levels, day-in and day-out, and play for championships, like I said.
“We spoke after the season with the exit meeting and then spoke a few other times further down the line. So this wasn't something I blindsided them with, with my opinion. I took some time before sending it outright to them and then I released this statement. I wanted to be able to do right by them because they've taken care of me for a long time. Cleveland has been my second home and this community is one that I love, but this opinion is how I feel now.”
* Garrett wouldn’t say what he would do if the Browns refuse to trade him.
“It's possible, they could do that, but that's a little further down the line than I'm willing to look,” he said. “I know things have changed night by night. I'm sure people are calling and hopefully making some tempting offers. But I'm grateful for my opportunity and I know that recently no one's stuck to one team, seeing Luka [Doncic traded from Dallas to the Lakers], so we'll see what happens.”
The Mina Kimes Show
* Garrett said it was difficult for him and other defensive players to play on a team with a futile offense.
“It’s definitely difficult,” he said. “You look at it as a challenge. Early on, you think this is part of the journey and it’ll start to self-correct and we’ll get the right things in place for the offense to being complementary and winning things on their own. But that time really didn’t come as consistently as we all hoped. It started just to become difficult for all of us to weather all these games of wear and tear. It’s part of it. But no defense can win it all by itself.”
* Garrett specified what kind of team he’d prefer to be traded to.
“Someone who’s in position to contend soon or right away, and I can come in and still play my brand of football,” he said. “I don’t want to have to tailor my game too much. I don’t think they’d want to, as coaching and my teammates. I think we can try to elevate each other and I can take someone over the hump.”
* Garrett said he wants to be traded to a team with a good quarterback.
“Absolutely,” he said. “With any playoff team or any championship team, they’re going to have a good quarterback. You’ve seen some game managers go out there with a great defense and win it all. But if you want to be consistently at the top you have to have a really good quarterback. That’s hopefully where I find myself.”
* Garrett’s eyes brightened when Kimes rattled off team names such as the Commanders, Lions, Bills, 49ers and Eagles as potential suitors.
“You never know,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, those are all great destinations, but I’m not going to stick closely to one or another because it’s out of my hands.”
* Garrett envies Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones playing in his third Super Bowl in a row and fifth of his career.
“I see that 9-5 out there and wishing this 9-5 was out there,” he said. “He’s making plays on the big stage. I’m using that as fuel for whenever I get back out there and get my chance to dance, let’s go.”
* Garrett didn’t seem worried about fan backlash for asking out of Cleveland.
“I haven’t gotten very much,” he said. “Hopefully it stays that way. I feel I really ingrained myself in the Cleveland culture, did everything I possibly could to help elevate this team, my teammates and the community. I stepped out with most of my teammates, whether being part of museums or local school gift backs. That’s just part of becoming a family. I wanted Cleveland to feel like home and I feel I did my very best to do that and I think it will always have that feeling, especially going back for Cavs games. It’s really been a special time.”
* Garrett had a quick answer to what he’d like his legacy to be.
“I want them to say he was a winner,” he said. “When he got on the field, you felt comfortable knowing that [when] he’s out there he’s going to make the play. He was one of the very best to do it, and the very best of his generation. Winner, Super Bowl champion.”
Epilogue
There are a few relevant questions Garrett wasn’t asked.
1. Did he speak with owner Jimmy Haslam and if so what was his reaction?
2. If not traded, is he prepared to hold out, accrue fines and miss game checks during the season?
3. Did he feel he's quitting on teammates by seeking greener pastures?
4. How much did the failed Deshaun Watson trade affect his decision?