Breaking: Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year and #Browns star Myles Garrett has requested a trade.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 3, 2025
Exclusive statement: pic.twitter.com/LgS5YCeCnP
The Browns took Garrett first overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, and he has contributed eight dominant seasons to the team, including six Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pros, and a Defensive Player of the Year campaign in 2023.
Unfortunately, Garrett's excellence hasn't translated to winning football. In his eight years with the team, the Browns have only managed two winning seasons, and their future looks as bleak as ever. They finished 3-14 in 2024, and they're still stuck with quarterback Deshaun Watson, who tore his Achilles last season.
With 102.5 sacks and 116 tackles for loss before his 30th birthday, Garrett is square in the prime of a Hall of Fame career. Players of his caliber are very seldom traded, and teams should be salivating to acquire him. He's unquestionably one of the most valuable non-quarterbacks in the league, and he has the potential to radically improve any defense he lands on. Any team that considers itself a serious playoff contender should strongly consider acquiring him, even if it also means signing him to an extension that makes him one of the league's highest-paid defenders.
Parting with Garrett would be bittersweet, but the Browns should recognize that they're going nowhere. Trading him could be just what the team needs to rebuild their franchise from the ground up. At the very least, negotiations should start with multiple first-round picks. The Browns could use that ammunition to find a young quarterback at some point in the next few drafts.
Photo Credit: © Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
