CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 20: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns looks on during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field on October 20, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images
Joseph ZuckerFeb 10, 2025
Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett communicated a trade request to the team "weeks" before he went public with the demand.
Garrett announced Feb. 3 in a statement he wants out, citing his desire to win a Super Bowl title.
According to The MMQB's Albert Breer, however, "his request had been in for a couple of weeks."
"My sense would be that the request becoming public came as a result of some level of frustration from the former Defensive Player of the Year," Breer said. "The Browns told him they wouldn't deal him. They've messaged that to other teams. And Cleveland planting its feet in the ground on that would motivate Garrett to go public."
At least one NFL personnel evaluator has serious doubts the Browns actually trade Garrett.
"There is no way they are going to trade that guy," the anonymous exec said to The Athletic's Mike Sando. "They would be crazy to. I think they are just going to sit on it and simmer it down. That said, when (offensive guard Joel) Bitonio came out and said he had doubts as well, it affirmed for me that this is all about Deshaun Watson. I think they want him out of the building and they want a clear path to no more drama."
An immediate reaction from many was that the six-time Pro Bowler's days in Cleveland are numbered.
Thanks in part to the Deshaun Watson trade being such a spectacular failure, whatever title window the Browns once had seems to have closed. Beyond the extent to which Garrett's trade request will linger around the organization, dealing him might be the most straightforward way for the front office to accelerate a rebuild.
Maybe the anonymous executive's read on the situation will instead prove to be correct.
Soon, free agency and the NFL draft will give fans something else to talk about, thus taking the focus away from Garrett and his future in Cleveland. General manager Andrew Berry might in turn feel a little less pressure to act.
Still, it's tough to see what the front office can do to address Garrett's concerns when the Browns are projected to be more than $30.1 million over the salary cap. Cutting ties with Watson is out of the question, too, thanks to the financial consequences.
Cleveland is going to have a new starting quarterback for 2025; that much is clear. The team may struggle to identify one who's enough of an upgrade to lift the team into contention.
