At the start of what’s supposed to be the quiet phase of the offseason, at least externally, Myles Garrett finally said it firmly and directly: He wants a trade instead of returning for a ninth year with Cleveland and signing a mega-extension that would essentially make him a Brown for life.
Now the Browns are in an even more awkward spot after finishing 3-14 with what started the 2024 season as the most expensive roster in NFL history. The disastrous Deshaun Watson trade of March 2022 has closed the intended window of contention and now might cost the team one of the most gifted players ever to wear a Cleveland uniform.
Still, the Browns should trade Garrett.
There should be no more living in denial about the state of the roster and the salary cap, and no more delusion about making one more set of contract restructures and another run with players in the back halves of their careers who have produced just one playoff win.
By post-1999 standards, two winning seasons in five years under general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski constitute a golden era for this team. But Garrett’s trade request underscores that the epic failure of the Watson trade makes this a lost era.
The Browns have some good and even great players, a list that starts with Garrett — who’s in his own tier — and includes Denzel Ward, Jerry Jeudy and three offensive linemen in their 30s: Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and Jack Conklin. Speedy linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s status is uncertain due to a significant neck injury, and the team’s overall age and high payroll make it best for the Browns to look forward.
A year after the Denver Broncos cut Russell Wilson and swallowed an NFL-record $85 million in dead money, the Browns are committed to around $170 million for Watson and can’t cut him due to the salary-cap ramifications of such a move.
In December, the 29-year-old Garrett said he didn’t want to be part of a rebuild and would discuss the state of things with the team’s key decision-makers after the season. With Monday’s coordinated and calculated release of a trade request, Garrett has made his decision — and the Browns need to embrace theirs.
Myles Garrett formally requests trade from Browns
A rebuild is the only build, and maximizing a return for Garrett is the best way for Cleveland to get things fixed with the intent of building a competitive and relevant team for 2026 and beyond.
Berry doesn’t want to be remembered as the general manager who traded for Watson and traded away Garrett. But at this point, turning a Garrett trade into the Browns’ way back to relevance is probably the best chance the GM has at keeping his job.
It wouldn’t be fair to say it’s the only way, since he got to stay after the team tied for the worst record in the league and came out of 2024 with no short- or long-term answer at the game’s most important position. But the Browns aren’t a few patches or tweaks from becoming one of the AFC’s elite. Even if they were, they couldn’t afford the best fix-it kits.
As of Monday, Over the Cap had the Browns $38.6 million in the red in effective cap space. Another Watson restructure to push big dollars to future years is coming, and other gymnastics moves can get the team under the cap and ensure most of its better players are kept together for one more season. But the current roster doesn’t have a quarterback or a left tackle, for certain, and there are questions of age and performance across both lines.
The Browns hold the No. 2 pick in April’s NFL Draft, but this class doesn’t have a surefire quarterback prospect. And the potential free-agent class feels like a path to six or seven wins. Lots of things the Browns have right now point in that direction, and that won’t solve anything long-term or keep key coaches and roster-builders employed.
Browns are giving Kevin Stefanski, Andrew Berry one more chance to get it right
Therein lies the second key part of a Garrett trade: Cleveland not only needs to pick up multiple premium draft picks and perhaps a young player still on his rookie contract in return. It also needs to make sure the bulk of the return comes in 2026 and beyond, providing insurance in case things go belly-up again in 2025. An extra first-round pick might be necessary to help team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam recruit the right people to high-ranking positions and potentially help the Browns find answers at key spots. They haven’t made a first-round selection since 2021, and that showed up every time the team took the field in 2024.
The Browns don’t necessarily have to move quickly on a Garrett trade. Though a move sometime around the start of the new league year in March makes sense, any time between now and April 24 (the start of the draft) would allow all parties involved to make key decisions and shape larger plans.
The Browns shouldn’t rush. They should hold a silent auction among potential suitors in the coming weeks and accept the highest offer. They can start by asking for a pair of first-round picks plus a player, then find themselves potentially accepting a future first-rounder, the equivalent of a couple of second-rounders and more picks spread out over the next two (or even three) drafts.
Garrett going public with his demand shouldn’t affect the Browns’ ultimate return. This situation is not new despite the six-time All-Pro being under contract for two more seasons — and Garrett is that good. He’s the youngest player to reach 100 career sacks and last season became the first player to record 14 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons. He changes opposing game plans during the practice week and speeds up quarterbacks even when he’s not taking them to the ground. He has twice jumped over offensive linemen to block field goals, and he plays a premium position that the best teams spend time and major resources looking to bolster. An athletic freak with proven production such as Garrett is going to command a lot in return.
It’s time for the Browns to concede they need it all, to acknowledge there’s no other way to recover from the Watson debacle and to try to carve a path forward with as many young, promising and — at least temporarily — inexpensive players as possible.
Trading Garrett would force the Browns to account for $36 million in additional dead money in the seasons ahead on top of what’s already a pretty gross pile of it. But that would mean they have to fully embrace the rebuild and what’s ahead. That’s just the reality of where the team is. Turning Garrett into quality picks and turning those selections into quality players are the best ways not only for Berry to save his job but also to save the franchise from becoming what it was before Garrett arrived.
When Garrett said in December that 2024 was “probably more disappointing” than his rookie season, when the Browns finished 0-16, it was clear this was coming. The Browns should take the next two months to ensure they maximize the opportunity.
(Top photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
