A slight change has been made to Myles Garrett‘s Browns contract. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has agreed to push back the payment dates on his option bonuses, ESPN’s Field Yates reports. 
Garrett was originally owed those payments on the 15th day of the league year each season from 2026-28. In the case of this year, that fell on Wednesday, with Yates noting this revision was finalized one day earlier. Now, Garrett is in line to collect the money one week before the start of the regular season in each year (bringing his contract in line with other Cleveland pacts in that respect).
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As detailed by Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, this move will not yield any cap savings for the Browns unless the value of the option bonuses ($10MM in 2026, $13MM in 2027 and $7MM in 2028) have been changed. It would certainly come as a surprise if that were to be the case. Per Yates, the changes have nevertheless taken place in a way “that has benefit” to Garrett, who inked a four-year, $160MM extension last offseason. Yates adds that $8MM in base salary has been converted to roster bonuses for 2029 and ’30; they are scheduled to be paid out early in those league years.
Some observers have noted this tweak to Garrett’s deal would make a hypothetical trade more viable. Delaying option payments until just before the start of the season would indeed widen Cleveland’s window of opportunity to work out a trade with interested teams. The 30-year-old’s 2025 extension contains a no-trade clause, however, so he would need to approve of any potential swap. Garrett’s current focus will remain on helping lead the Browns to a rebound in 2026. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com confirms no thought is currently being given to a trade.
The five-time All-Pro broke the single-season sack record (23) in 2025, leading to his second career Defensive Player of the Year nod. Strong defensive showings will be expected once again for the Browns moving forward, and Garrett will of course be counted on the lead the way for years to come. In the event of continued struggles on the team’s part, though, trade speculation will no doubt pick up once more.
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