Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski both said during the NFL Scouting Combine that the club isn’t trading pass-rusher Myles Garrett after Garrett made it clear in February he wants to play for an advertised championship contender.
It appears the Browns are quite serious about holding onto Garrett for the foreseeable future.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported on Friday morning that “Garrett recently requested a meeting with” Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, “who declined to speak amidst Garrett’s trade request.”
“Both sides are dug in,” Pelissero continued. “Cleveland refuses to even discuss a trade, while Garrett is preparing to miss games if he’s not traded. Myles Garrett has made clear since the end of last season that he wants to continue his Hall of Fame career elsewhere. The Browns organization — from ownership to GM to coach — is aligned on its offseason plan, which does not include trading Myles Garrett.”
Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer shared that Haslam told Garrett “to talk to” Berry.
“Haslam is adamant that Garrett needs to speak with Berry,” Cabot added, “who’s running the team and in charge of such matters.”
After Berry and Stefanski made their comments during the combine, a report surfaced claiming that Garrett and his camp had “slammed the door shut on negotiations” with the Browns about a possible contract extension that would make the All-Pro the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player. Garrett is signed through the 2026 season, and his existing deal doesn’t have a no-trade clause.
It was suggested as recently as Thursday that Berry and Co. hoped that improving the club’s quarterback situation via free agency and the draft along with Pro Bowl left guard Joel Bitonio returning for another season could convince Garrett to commit at least his short-term future to the Browns. Garrett seemingly said plenty about such takes when he asked to meet with Haslam.
For what it’s worth, then-New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley teased back in the summer of 2023 that he could sit regular-season games out if he didn’t receive an extension to his liking. The Giants essentially scoffed at such threats, and Barkley ultimately reported to the club in time for training camp.
Garrett insisted throughout his Super Bowl LIX media appearances that his trade request isn’t about money and is instead related to his desire to earn a championship ring. That’s all well and good, but a player saying in March he’ll sit meaningful games out to get his way isn’t the same as that athlete forfeiting money by missing regular-season contests come September.
