Myles Garrett’s Latest Statement on Browns is Turning Heads

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Browns star Myles Garrett.
Myles Garrett is hopeful about the future of the Cleveland Browns — a good sign that the All-Pro pass-rusher will be sticking around.

Garrett’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors after his late-season public comments on the team’s direction. The Browns finished the season 3-14 and Garrett said he’d like to see a roadmap from the franchise to make them contenders and not rebuilding.

“First of all I want to win, and want the Browns to be able to put me and us in a position to win,” Garrett told reporters on Dec. 20. “I’m not trying to rebuild. I’m trying to win right now. And I want that to be apparent when the season’s over and we have those discussions. I want them to be able to illuminate, illustrate that for me so that can be something I can see in the near future. Because that’s all we want to do.

“I want to stay loyal to a team that showed loyalty to me and faith in me by drafting me, but we have to do, at the end of the day, what’s best for us.”

Garrett has seemingly had that discussion, per a clip in the latest episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” and is feeling good about the future.

“I’ve talked to [general manager Andrew Berry],” Garrett said in Tuesday’s episode. “How we gonna make the most of all the talent that is here? We’re closer than some may think we are.”

Browns: Myles Garrett Will Have Ticket From Cleveland to Canton

The Browns have no intention of letting Garrett go anywhere, as evidenced by general manager Andrew Berry’s comments at the end of the season. And Berry knows how quickly things can change in the NFL year to year.

“My anticipation, expectation is that he’ll have a direct ticket from Cleveland to Canton at the end of his years and expect him to be here and retire at Brown quite frankly,” Berry said. “In terms of winning, our goal is always going to be to win. Our goal is always going to be to improve the team. I think, one of the beauties of the NFL, I guess maybe a parallel, you think about the team that was holding the two-pick last year, we’re going to see them next week play. I’m not quite sure where they play, but we’ll see Washington play in the playoffs this year. So, you can never really put necessarily a time frame on it with player movement and how things change in the NFL.”

Garrett is a big piece for the Browns to build around, as is cornerback Denzel Ward. And Cleveland holds the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and could go in a few directions as they build a roster to be a postseason contender.

Myles Garrett Had Another Big Year With Browns

Garrett is coming off another big season with the Browns. He notched 14 sacks — good for second in the league — and added a first-team All-Pro nod and Pro Bowl selection to his resume. But for Garrett, he’d trade in all the accolades for team success.

“Like I have continued to say, I want to win,” Garrett said. “And a lot of the guys I look up to who are in the Hall of Fame have won at a very high level, have gone to the mountain top and either been there multiple times or won a ‘chip. I got to continue to continue to work myself into that conversation by finding a way to succeed, getting wins, and we have to continue to work on that for next year.”

Garrett will continue to be a game-changer on the defensive side of the ball. But the Browns’ premier concern to address this offseason is at quarterback. Deshaun Watson is expected to miss most, if not all, of next season and Cleveland will have to add a capable starting quarterback through the draft, a trade or free agency.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He graduated from Arizona State and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SBNation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote