Cleveland Browns News & Rumors

Toward the end of the season, Myles Garrett raised the possibility of a trade sending him to a Super Bowl contender. The Browns remain insistent they will not consider doing so, but Monday saw the situation escalate with a formal trade request.

Cleveland’s stance on the situation has not changed in the wake of yesterday’s development, although that comes as no surprise since the team was aware of Garrett’s sentiment prior to his request going public. The Browns face a number of challenges this offseason, one in which a shift to a long-term rebuild is not the plan. Even if the team pursues upgrades in the near future (particularly at the quarterback position), though, the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year wants a fresh start.

As a result, attention has increasingly turned to the framework of any potential deal sending Garrett to a new team. General manager Andrew Berry‘s most recent comments on the situation made it clear a package including two first-round picks would not alter the team’s aversion to entertaining a trade. Early estimates on this front show a strong market will nevertheless be in place when suitors call about Garrett’s availability.

A poll of league executives and coaches from The Athletic’s Jeff Howe (subscription required) demonstrates the range of potential hauls the Browns could land in a Garrett deal. Three believe a package including two Day 1 selections could be in play, while there is a consensus that one first-rounder would be a feasible starting point. Pairing a first-round selection with at least one player or mid-round pick emerged as a realistic scenario for most of the respondents.

Two years remain on Garrett’s pact, with none of his outstanding base salary guaranteed. An extension would no doubt change that while tying him to the Browns, but it was reported Monday the former No. 1 pick’s request is not seen as a negotiating ploy. Even if Cleveland were to consider a trade, however, the cap implications would not make a deal easy to work out.

Garrett would account for more than $36MM in dead money if he were to be traded before June 1, adding further to the Browns’ unenviable financial situation. The team is currently over the projected 2025 ceiling, although moves like another Deshaun Watson restructure and releasing right tackle Jack Conklin should achieve cap compliance in the short term. The matter of Garrett’s option bonus money could complicate the timing of a trade, although Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald writes an arrangement could be made for it to be removed from his existing pact to make a trade (and subsequent extension) feasible for an acquiring team.

A trade after June 1 would still create a notable dead money charge but it would produce nearly $5MM in cap saving for the Browns (barring adjustments to his pact in the near future, of course). Garrett’s next team could owe him as little as $14.8MM in cash in 2025 – if his option were to be removed or deferred – and $25MM in 2026. A blockbuster deal to acquire the four-time All-Pro would no doubt include a new contractual commitment, however, and a raise bringing him to or near the top of the edge rusher market would come as no surprise.

With that in mind (along with the fact he is entering his age-30 season), the number of genuine suitors for Garrett may become relatively limited. Waiting until after June 1 – and therefore receiving draft compensation for 2026 rather than this April’s event – could likewise dissuade the Browns from moving forward with a trade. Nevertheless, this situation could make for one of the league’s top offseason storylines if a strong market develops.

One of the NFL’s defining offseason storylines looks to have taken shape today. Myles Garrett has requested a trade, and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports the team has known about the reigning Defensive Player of the Year’s aim for a while.

As could be expected, the Browns are not in a rush to accommodate the impact defender. Browns GM Andrew Berry has said multiple times this offseason Garrett would not be dealt, with his most recent offering insisting no trade would occur even if two first-round picks were proposed. The team is not budging in light of this request becoming public, but Garrett may be dug in as well.

Trade requests are a common play amid contract talks, but this appears to be a true desire on Garrett’s part to leave town. Garrett wants to be dealt to a team in better position to contend for a Super Bowl, per ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds that this is not a contract play. It could also naturally be assumed the Browns would have time to show Garrett they are serious about a route back to immediate contention, Fowler adds that the eight-year veteran would not change his mind and wants to move on.

Garrett debuted for a Browns team that went 0-16, doing so after a 1-15 season moved the team into position to draft the Texas A&M standout. Although the Browns snapped a 17-season playoff drought when Kevin Stefanski earned the first of his Coach of the Year honors by overseeing a Baker Mayfield rebound in 2020, the team’s attempt to go bigger has backfired in historic fashion. Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson acquisition, when the fully guaranteed contract is factored in, may be the worst trade in NFL history. No veteran QB had cost three first-round picks since 1976, and Watson never came close to justifying it. It has dragged down Berry’s attempts to fortify the roster around a two-time Coach of the Year.

With Watson now in play to miss all of 2025 due to a second Achilles tear, it is fairly clear the Browns need a new plan. Garrett said in December he would turn to a trade request if he felt the organization’s recovery blueprint was insufficient, and he has turned his key. That said, the Browns are still somewhat protected here thanks to the DE’s contract situation and the franchise tag’s presence. The Browns could tag Garrett in 2027, and while this process should be resolved by then, the tag’s presence arms the team with more leverage. Garrett staging a true holdout would be his only countermeasure, and as the Haason Reddick situation showed this past season, it is an expensive play.

Berry said last week the Browns are open to a second Garrett extension, despite two seasons remaining on his current deal — a five-year, $125MM pact. Nick Bosa is tied to a deal worth $9MM more per year than Garrett, and star rushers T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson are in contract years. The cost of doing business will rise for the Browns as a result. They appear OK with paying Garrett once again, which makes this trade request more interesting than the usual contract-driven asks.

It should be expected Garrett, 29, will pass on attending Browns offseason activities. Minicamp holdouts have been more common in recent years, as the fine for skipping the June workouts is roughly $100K. Training camp would be the battleground for Garrett, unless the Browns switch up and make a deal to recoup significant draft capital before this year’s draft.

The Browns hold the No. 2 overall pick, and a Garrett trade would arm them further to crawl out of the 3-14 mess the Watson decision largely created. As of now, Berry and Co. are prepared to wait out their top player.

Myles Garrett hinted a trade request could be on the table if he does not receive the kind of answers he likes regarding the Browns’ long-term plan. The Browns continue to speak out against any deal involving the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year.

Andrew Berry said earlier this month he expected Garrett to retire as a member of the Browns. The sixth-year Cleveland GM, who held another front office post when Garrett was drafted in 2017, doubled down on that stance Tuesday. Berry said (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot) Garrett will not be traded, not even for a package involving two first-round picks.

Although two years remain on Garrett’s contract, the likely Hall of Fame-bound talent has outplayed that deal — a five-year, $125MM accord agreed to in 2020. Berry said he is “definitely” open to an extension, Cabot adds. It sounds like the Browns are prepared to do what they have to in order to ensure Garrett sticks around. With T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons and Trey Hendrickson in contract years, Garrett forcing the issue now could make 2025 a transformative offseason on the edge rusher market.

“I don’t want to go into contract discussions. I wouldn’t do that publicly,” Berry said. “But I think you can assume that we do anticipate at some point doing a third contract with Myles. We want him to retire here. We feel really good about Myles obviously as a big piece of our future. We’re looking forward to him being on the field.”

Garrett’s age (29) and desire for a third contract would affect the level of offers the Browns would receive, but Berry being willing to shut down a two-first-rounder proposal — as the team needs some help after a 3-14 season — does say a lot about Cleveland’s Garrett valuation.

Garrett has become one of the best players in team history, and the former No. 1 overall pick is already the top pass rusher in team annals. His 102.5 sacks have shattered the team record — both the official and unofficial marks — and prime years remain for the perennial All-Pro to add to that total. It appears that Cleveland’s QB plan matters not when it comes to Garrett this offseason.

With the Deshaun Watson trade backfiring on a historic level, Garrett mentioned the team’s quarterback problem when asked about his future. The Browns, however, do not need to act here. They have him under contract for two more seasons and could, in an emergency situation, hold a 2027 franchise tag over their superstar rusher if need be. This limits Garrett’s leverage, though withholding services could be a play he turns to if contract talks do not pick up soon.

A Hard Knocks episode captured Garrett indicating some positive communication between he and the team had occurred since his December state-of-the-union-style comments. Regardless of where this relationship stands, the Browns could potentially smooth things over with a monster extension. Timing may be critical on that front, though, as Garrett may want to wait on Watt and Parsons to strike first. Considering the Steelers’ second Watt contract did not occur until just before Week 1 in 2021 and that the Cowboys paid Dak Prescott literally hours before their Week 1 Browns matchup this past season, Garrett might need to wait a while if he wants one of his peers to go first.

Nick Bosa is tied to a $34MM-per-year deal — $6MM north of Watt per year and $9MM above Garrett. This many accomplished edge players in contract years, and with Garrett pushing this to be a de facto contract year, could move this market toward the $40MM-AAV place. That would force decisions from teams, but the Browns do not appear to be considering a future in which their defense lines up without its top disruptor.