Earlier this week, Myles Garrett publicly requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns. The first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft has spent his entire career in Cleveland, but as he enters his late 20s, he believes now is the time to chase championships.
It’s debatable whether Garrett has to leave Cleveland to make that happen. The Browns will be looking for a quarterback in this year’s NFL Draft and even if Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders or Miami’s Cam Ward needs some time to develop, the Browns could look to the free agent market for a stopgap solution such as Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins.
With no control over his future, Garrett doesn’t have a leg to stand on if the Browns decide to call his bluff. But Garrett did his best to create some leverage on radio row at the Super Bowl.
Myles Garrett May Be Tanking His Trade Value For the Browns
Garrett made an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday morning and was asked about his trade request. While Garrett admitted the future was out of his hands, he also reiterated his stance that he wants to play in and win some big games, something he didn’t feel was possible with the Browns anymore.
“It’s possible they could do that, but that’s a little further down the line than I’m willing to look,” Garrett said when asked about the possibility of the Browns denying his trade request. “I know things have changed night-by-night. I’m sure people are calling and hopefully people are making some offers.”
While the Browns could command a deal similar to the trade that sent Khalil Mack from the Las Vegas (then Oakland) Raiders to the Chicago Bears, teams may not be as willing to part with a ton of draft capital and a potential contract extension to bring Garrett to their team.
Even then, Garrett has done a tremendous job letting teams know he wants out of Cleveland. When asked about the possibility of reversing course, Garrett made it known that he doesn’t believe the Browns will be in a Super Bowl window anytime soon and wants the chance to chase a championship as opposed to cement a one-team legacy on the way to the Hall of Fame.
“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,” Garrett said. I want to be able to go out there and compete at the highest levels, day in and day out and play for championships.”
While the 28-year-old seems polite in asking for his request now, things could become more intense if the Browns don’t trade Garrett. This is likely considering trading Garrett would force Cleveland to eat $36.2 million in dead cap and eat a $16.4 million cap penalty if a deal is completed by June 1 according to Over The Cap.
The more time passes, the less the Browns could ask for since general managers would know that Garrett doesn’t want to stay in Cleveland, forcing general manager Andrew Berry to take a lesser deal.
With Berry’s job on the line in the wake of the Deshaun Watson disaster, trading Garrett could be writing his own pink slip. But Garrett has put his own interests in front of the Browns and it could be enough to force his way out of Cleveland.